Thursday, 4:30 PM
Harvard employee charged with making terror threat
A 43-year-old Harvard College Library employee was charged with making terrorist threats and disorderly conduct after witnesses said he implied there was a bomb in his backpack while at the MBTA's Alewife station on the Red Line.
As a result, train service was suspended between Alewife and Davis stations today for about 30 minutes to examine the backpack, which was found to be harmless.
David S. Toomey of Arlington is scheduled to be arraigned in Cambridge District Court tomorrow morning under the state antiterrorism statute for making terrorist threats and disorderly conduct.
A spokeswoman at Harvard University confirmed that Toomey was an employee at the library but declined further comment.
MBTA Transit Police were called to Alewife at 10:45 a.m. to investigate the incident. One witness said Toomey was agitated and had said, "You might want to check the backpack."
After Toomey was taken into custody, explosives technicians were brought to the station, where they carefully examined the backpack. No bomb or device was found.
At 11:30 a.m., just before the backpack was examined, transit police requested that all train service into and out of the station be suspended. Buses shuttled passengers between Alewife and Davis stations for about 30 minutes before police reopened Alewife around 12:07 p.m.
