FBI visits Medford home following Northeastern package scare

Medford/Boston - The FBI and Boston Police have cleared the scene at Northeastern University as the plot from Tuesday night’s package scare thickens.

A 45-year-old Northeastern employee at the school’s virtual reality lab said he suffered a hand injury after opening a Pelican-style case.

Law enforcement sources said he claimed he was injured when the case burst open.

The reported detonation prompted the evacuation of several buildings and led to a massive response from droves of authorities.

Boston 25 News sources said investigators are investigating whether the entire incident was staged.

The FBI returned to Northeastern on Wednesday and also visited a home on Mystic River Road in Medford.

Boston 25 News has learned that the home is the former address of the Northeastern employee in question.

Neighbors said his ex-wife still resides there.

“I don’t think this guy is an enemy of the state,” said neighbor Woody MacKenzie. “Why would he send himself a bomb?”

Boston 25 News first reported information from a source on Tuesday night that investigators were questioning whether the package was some type of pressurized hoax device opposed to an actual explosive.

Law enforcement sources now say it’s clear that the case in question did not have any gun powder or explosives in it.

“He wasn’t unconscious. He was [in] like excruciating pain,” said one Northeastern student who didn’t want to be identified.

Boston 25 News spoke with a student who said she saw the employee loaded onto an ambulance with one of his hands wrapped in bandages.

“[They were] trying to lay him out, and he was panicking about what happened,” she explained.

The Boston Globe reported Wednesday night that they spoke with Jason Duhaime, the Northeastern employee taken to the hospital.

“I did not stage this, in no way shape or form. . . . They need to catch the guy that did this,” Duhaime told the Globe. “It’s a very traumatic thing that has occurred so [I’m] shaken up. . . . I’m not doing so good.”

The incident unfolded in Holmes Hall. It’s home to Northeastern’s immersive video lab and where artificial intelligence is taught

Law enforcement sources confirmed to Boston 25 News that a note found inside a hard-sided Pelican case referenced artificial intelligence, virtual reality and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg.

According to Boston 25 News sources, investigators suspect that the note may have an inside job - the writing of someone with close knowledge of the lab.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2022 Cox Media Group