Two Men Arrested in Connection with Explosion at Harvard Medical School
Local and federal authorities are investigating an explosion that occurred at Harvard University’s medical school on 1 November. Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.
At approximately 2:48 a.m. ET on Saturday, an explosion set off the fire alarm of the Goldenson building’s fourth floor. No fatalities or injuries were reported. The Boston Fire Department’s arson unit determined that the explosion was intentional.
“Medical school officials said the explosion caused no structural damage and that all labs and equipment remained intact,” the Associated Press reported.
During a press conference on 4 November, authorities announced that two suspects, Logan David Patterson, 18, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 20, were arrested in relation to the explosion.
Video surveillance from earlier on 1 November showed two people lighting fireworks while walking near the medical school. They were later seen climbing scaffolding and accessing the building’s roof.
After the fire alarm went off, university police were dispatched to the building. Two people were seen running away from the building when a police officer arrived at the building, according to a statement from the police. Before entering the building, the arriving officer tried to stop the two people fleeing.
“The explosive, which detonated inside a research laboratory locker, is believed to have been a large commercial firework,” said Leah Foley, U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts, during the press conference today.
To help with the search for the two suspects, on Saturday the university released still images from video surveillance of the two people, asking for the public’s assistance in identifying them, according to the Times. In the images, both of the individuals were wearing ski masks.
After the photos were released, members of the public called authorities and identified Cardoza and Patterson, according to Foley. “Investigators were able to quickly piece together surveillance videos, comb through evidence, and positively identify them as alleged perpetrators of the charged crime,” Foley said.
According to Ted Docks, FBI special agent in charge, Cardoza and Patterson were arrested in their homes. The two men “boasted about what they did to their friends,” Docks said. Docks added that Cardoza allegedly tried to conceal evidence that would link him to the crime: Surveillance footage showed him taking off his pants on a bench after the explosion and throwing them away in a nearby trash bin.
The investigation is ongoing, and charges have been filed against the two men. Foley did not disclose if a motive for the explosion has been determined. Cardoza and Patternson were each charged with one count of conspiracy to damage the building by means of an explosive, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney's office.
The Boston Police Department searched the building for additional devices but did not find any. Although the building has been cleared, the school’s administration said in a letter to medical department staff that the building’s fourth floor remains closed, according to The New York Times.
(United States v. Logan David Patterson and Dominick Frank Cardoza, U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, No. 25-mj-03286-JDH, 2025)
