Harvard Student Charged in Bomb Threat

Sophomore Eldo Kim has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with e-mailing bomb threats that shut down four buildings at Harvard on Monday [3]during final exams, report several news sources, including The Harvard Crimson [4] and The Boston Globe [5].

Charged with a single count of making a bomb hoax, Kim is facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz. According to the Globe, his initial court appearance is set for tomorrow before U.S. magistrate Judge Judith Dein in Boston, and he will be represented by a federal public defender.

According to news reports, the threats were e-mailed to two Harvard officials, the campus police, and the student newspaper at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday and warned of “shrapnel bombs” in Sever, Emerson, Thayer, and the Science Center. The e-mails were sent from a disposable, temporary e-mail address with a temporary Internet Protocol number, reports the Crimson [6], but after University officials determined that the suspect had used a Harvard wireless network to create the secretive IP, an investigation led authorities to interview Kim in his dormitory on Tuesday night. According to an affidavit [7] filed with the U.S. district attorney, Kim told authorities he was “motivated by a desire to avoid a final exam scheduled to be held on [Monday].”

For extensive coverage of these events as well as background information on Kim [8], see coverage in The Harvard Crimson [6].