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Student Charged For Bomb Threats At Harvard

Police officers patrol Harvard University Monday after bomb threats were made. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Police officers patrol Harvard University Monday after bomb threats were made. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A Harvard University student who was allegedly trying to get out of a final exam has been charged with making bomb threats that led to the evacuation of four campus buildings and the cancellation of some final exams Monday.

Eldo Kim, 20, of Cambridge, allegedly "emailed several bomb threats to offices associated with Harvard University, including the Harvard University Police Department and the Harvard Crimson," the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement announcing the charges.

The criminal complaint (PDF), authored by Boston FBI Special Agent Thomas Dalton, quotes the emails, which were received by several Harvard email accounts at 8:30 a.m. Monday:

shrapnel bombs placed in:

science center
sever hall
emerson hall
thayer hall

2/4. guess correctly.

be quick for they will go off soon

The four buildings were then evacuated. No explosive devices were found.

While being questioned by authorities later, in his dorm, Kim allegedly admitted to sending the emails and said he acted alone, according to the complaint.

Kim told investigators he "was motivated by a desire to avoid a final exam," according to the complaint. He was scheduled to take a final exam at 9 a.m. Monday in Emerson Hall. He was in the building when the fire alarm sounded for an evacuation, the complaint says.

Kim allegedly used the word "shrapnel" in his emails because he said he thought it sounded more dangerous.

Kim sent the emails using Guerrilla Mail, an "application that creates temporary and anonymous e-mail addresses available free of charge," according to the complaint. He also allegedly used TOR, a service that assigns temporary and anonymous Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

Kim will make an initial court appearance Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

According to the U.S. attorney's office's statement:

The maximum penalties under the bomb hoax statute are five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

This article was originally published on December 17, 2013.

This program aired on December 17, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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Benjamin Swasey Digital Manager
Ben is WBUR's digital news manager.

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