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Jason Duhaime was arrested at his home in San Antonio, TX for lying to prosecutors in connection with the incident that happened on Tuesday, Sept. 13, FBI Boston and US Attorney Rachael Rollins report. Duhaime was recently hired to work at the university as a new technology manager of the Immersive Media Lab, according to his Northeastern biography.
Authorities said Duhaime made a 911 call around 7:30 p.m. saying he was injured by sharp objects that flew out from a pelican case when he opened it in a closest inside the lab. The case was allegedly one of several packages Duhaime had picked up from the mailroom earlier that night.
He also told police that he found a note threatening the lab inside the case, authorities said. Duhaime was later taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The incident prompted the response of several law enforcement agencies, cancelled several evening classes and placed the campus on a partial lockdown.
When investigators arrived at the scene, they found the same case that Duhaime described to be empty and undamaged, authorities said. The case also did show any signs of an explosion as well as a closet that Duhaime also claimed to have opened. Overall, no suspicious objects or debris was found and the situation was eventually contained just before 10 p.m.
Throughout the investigation, Duhaime "expressly denied" making the whole thing up. An FBI forensic examiner also found a "word-for-word" digital copy of the letter Duhaime described on his computer drafted hours before he called police about the explosion. So far investigators have not determined a motive.
"We believe Jason Duhaime wanted to be the victim but instead victimized his entire community by instilling fear at college campuses in Massachusetts and beyond," Special Agent in Charge Joe Bonavolonta's said. "Today's arrest should be a warning to others that this is not a game, and threats like these are not a joke."
Duhaime was charged with one count of intentionally conveying false and misleading information related to an explosive device and one count of making materially false statements to a federal law enforcement agent.
If convicted, Duhaime could face up to five years in prison for each offense. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date, authorities said.
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