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The Harvard University Police Department responded to a bomb threat at Memorial Hall Monday morning, prompting the University to issue a shelter-in-place order for people near the building.
Harvard sent an emergency alert around 8:45 a.m., instructing affiliates near Memorial Hall to shelter in place and telling others to avoid the area until further notice.
HUPD lifted the shelter-in-place order at around 9:20 a.m., but advised affiliates to continue avoiding the Memorial Hall and the nearby Zimmer Hall plaza.
Students were blocked from entering Memorial Hall Monday morning as police and emergency personnel responded to the threat and established a perimeter around the building. Classes in adjacent Zimmer Hall continued as scheduled.
Students riding Harvard shuttles when the threat was reported were told to avoid Memorial Hall, and shuttle service near the building was halted, according to two students riding the shuttles.
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Memorial Hall houses Sanders Theatre, one of Harvard’s largest lecture halls, and adjoins Annenberg Hall, the College’s first-year dining hall. The building is centrally located between Harvard Yard and Zimmer Hall.
HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.
—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.