Eldo Kim ’16 charged in Harvard bomb threat

Eldo Kim ’16 was allegedly trying to avoid a final exam.

According to an affidavit 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].”

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

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, 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 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, see coverage in The Harvard Crimson.

 

Related topics

You might also like

Five Questions with Nancy Gibbs and Thomas E. Patterson

The Washington Post laid off more than a third of its journalists. Does this signal a new era for newsrooms?

Harvard’s Epstein Probe Widened

The University investigates ties to donors, following revelations in newly released files.

Harvard Magazine Questionnaire: The True Cost of Grade Inflation

A faculty committee is recommending changes to grading at Harvard College to limit an overabundance of A's. Add your voice to the conversation.

Most popular

The Puppet Showplace Theater keeps an ancient art form alive.

Contemporary takes on puppetry in Brookline, Massachusetts

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

What Bonobos Teach Us about Female Power and Cooperation

A Harvard scientist expands our understanding of our closest living relatives.

Explore More From Current Issue

A person climbs a curved ladder against a colorful background and four vertical ladders.

Harvard’s Productivity Trap

What happened to doing things for the sake of enjoyment?

A woman gazes at large decorative letters with her reflection and two stylized faces beside them.

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

A black primate hanging lazily on a branch in a lush green forest.

What Bonobos Teach Us about Female Power and Cooperation

A Harvard scientist expands our understanding of our closest living relatives.