2 arrested in connection with explosion at Harvard Medical School, FBI says

By Michelle Watson, Melissa Gray, CNN

(CNN) — Two men were arrested following an explosion this weekend at Harvard Medical School, according to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Harvard University Police Department.

Logan David Patterson, 18, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 20, both of Massachusetts, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to damage by means of fire or an explosive a building belonging to an institution that receives federal financial assistance, according to a criminal complaint. It’s unclear whether the two have attorneys.

It’s too early to speculate on the motive, as the investigation is ongoing, said Leah Foley, the US attorney for the district of Massachusetts.

But a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN the two men filmed the explosion and later showed it to friends. The official added so far, the two men did not appear to be driven by political ideology.

The men were arrested Tuesday morning at their homes, said Ted Docks, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Boston division. Members of the public had called authorities to identify them after police released surveillance camera images, said Leah Foley, the US attorney for the district of Massachusetts.

The incident came after a tense year for Harvard students, teachers and staff who were thrust into the national spotlight amid the White House’s push to reshape higher education. Officials from Harvard and the White House have been in discussions for months about a high-dollar deal to restore all federal funding to the university and end its ongoing lawsuits against the administration.

How the explosion unfolded

An officer responded to the Goldenson building just before 3 a.m. ET Saturday and saw two people fleeing after a fire alarm was activated, according to Harvard police.

Surveillance footage circulated by police showed two masked people, one of them wearing what appeared to be a gray ski mask and the other a long face mask and black hoodie.

“Surveillance video shows the two suspects lighting what appear to be roman candle fireworks at approximately 2:24 a.m.,” the complaint says, adding the two then climbed over the fence and ended up near a construction area surrounding the building.

Minutes later, the two “climbed scaffolding erected beside the Goldenson Building and accessed the building’s roof,” the complaint says.

The two made a stop on the fifth floor “before exiting the building through a first-floor emergency exit leading into a courtyard,” and then fled on foot in opposite directions, the complaint says.

The pair later tried “to conceal or dispose of articles of clothing” that they had worn in the Goldenson Building, the complaint says.

Docks called the incident “selfish” and “shortsighted.”

“What’s equally disturbing, these two men allegedly boasted about what they did to their friends,” he added.

A message sent to the Harvard Medical School community Sunday afternoon said there was no structural damage to the building.

“The small section of the fourth-floor hallway where the explosion took place has been cleared and is fully operational,” the message said. “There was no structural damage to the building, and all labs and equipment remain intact.”

The Sunday message also said the building “will be fully open and accessible to all who work in the building.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s John Miller contributed to this report.

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