Statement on police investigation at MIT's New House
At around 7:30 a.m. a private contractor doing construction work on the New House dormitory at 471 Memorial Drive at MIT noticed suspicious materials in a common area on the third floor of the building. The building was evacuated. The Cambridge Police Bomb Unit determined that the materials were, in fact, suspicious and should be disrupted by a water cannon. This first disruption of the materials was done around 9:50 a.m. State Police closed off part of Memorial Drive as a precaution while the material was being disrupted.
The bomb unit reentered the building and determined the need for an additional disruption. As a precaution, police evacuated Next House, an adjacent dormitory. The second disruption of the materials occurred around 11:30 a.m. A third disruption was conducted around 12:40 p.m.
Officials are still evaluating the scene to determine whether further action is necessary ... We will provide updates when we know more.