A student was arrested for allegedly sending a bomb threat via e-mail to several administrators that resulted in the shutdown of the Sachar Academic Complex on May 5 and the cancellation of final exams in progress there. A student was arrested during an exam in the Gerstenzang Science Library. He refused to comment for this article.

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said he contacted Information Technology Services to pinpoint the threat's origin. Callahan said his conversation with ITS led him to a specific computer on the ground floor of the Shapiro Campus Center.

The Department of Public Safety, with the help of the Waltham Police, identified the student as the person who committed what Callahan described as a "crime against public peace."

The police apprehended him at 4:30 p.m., during his last exam of the semester.

"One person was identified and, obviously, we looked at some of the information we had in terms of the Waltham police and had a collaborative effort with sufficient probable cause, which is basically reasonable information that leads a person to believe that an offense has been committed or is being committed," Callahan said.

Jay White, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said he could not find any information about this incident and that it is not unusual since such cases are usually handled by city or state police.

Although an arrest was made, Lt. Bryan Navin of the Waltham Police Department said that no sign of a bomb was evident when police arrived at Sachar to investigate the threat.

"We responded up there on report of a bomb threat," Navin said. "Administrators got e-mails saying a bomb would be there on that day and we also sent a bomb dog ... for the northeast area, both the dog and the fire department didn't find anything."

The student spent a night in jail and was bailed out by a friend in the morning.

The student denied making the threat in a petition he circulated via e-mail the next day. He claimed that he was suspended from the University, barred from entering the campus and would receive a no-grade (NG) in all his classes for the semester, including those for which he completed exams. He asked students to sign the petition in support of his claim of innocence.

"I was in New York on 9/11, and having experienced such a tragedy personally, would never even think of doing such a horrific thing," the e-mail read. "I had absolutely no motive-none of my finals were at the International Business School."

A pre-trial hearing for the student was scheduled for May 17, but, according to the Middlesex County district attorney's office, it has been postponed until June 15.

According to Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer, the student was allowed to finish his finals and his claims about receiving "NGs" on his transcript are false.

"Given the timing of this, there was concern and sensitivity toward completing coursework, but also acknowledging that a very serious charge has been made against a student of ours and that a judgment should have been made," Sawyer said.

According to Callahan, there have been several bomb threats made, both by e-mail as well as by telephone, over the course of his tenure.

Commenting on a May 2003 incident when two bomb threats that were received at the science complex did not interfere with final exams, Callahan said each unique threat requires different responses.

Callahan said the investigation into the student will continue through the fall, and though the academic year has concluded, the University is planning its next steps.

"It's preliminary to say, but obviously this is a serious situation and this will move through the court process and the University processes," Callahan said.

 — This article was edited to remove a students name, as of April 2024.