During Exam, Man Threatens to Blow Up Science Center

A man walked into a Science Center exam room and threatened to set off a bomb this morning, before students fled and he was taken into custody by police. No one was harmed in the incident.

The man, who identified himself to police as Kenneth Leong, interrupted the final exam of Literature and Arts B-21, "Images of Alexander the Great," in Science Center B.

The exam was just beginning with several slide identifications at 9:30 a.m. when the man--who the course professor described as tall and thin, with facial hair, a dark complexion and dark clothes--entered the room through the doors in the room's back at around 9:30 a.m. The professor, David G. Mitten, Loeb professor of classical art and archaeology, said the man looked "extremely agitated."

The man threw a brick at the blackboard and, after whipping off a satchel he had slung around his neck, informed the room that he had a bomb and "would kill everyone."

According to witnesses, Mitten demanded "Who are you? There's an exam going on." The man replied that his name was "Romanticist" and that if anyone tried to leave the room he would detonate his bomb. He said he was "declaring war on the United States of America."

Mitten said his first thought was that the man was a student late for an exam, but then "I realized he was dead serious and this was real trouble."

The man asked the students to put their heads down, but one student jumped up and ran out, starting a "stampede" for the door, according to Brandan A. Kramer '01.

Mitten, Teaching Fellow Marc A. Lindemann, and one student--Kris A. Garin--remained in the room with the man.

"I wasn't going to wait around and be held hostage," said Cecily B. Fleming '03, one of the students who fled the exam room.

As the students fled the room, others in the Science Center followed them. The building was evacuated without incident.

Emergency units were on scene within minutes of the threat. By 10 a.m., Cambridge Police officers sealed the streets around the Science Center with police line tape.

Cambridge Emergency Management also responded to the threat, joining two companies of the Cambridge Fire Department, including ladder trucks and heavy rescue units.

HUPD officers said the man struggled when officers tried to arrest him.

"He was uncooperative and failed to obey officers' commands," said Sergeant Robert Kotowski, who participated in the arrest.

Officers had to use mace to subdue the suspect, said HUPD Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley. After his arrest, the suspect was taken to HUPD's 29 Garden St. headquarters for questioning and then transported to Cambridge City Hospital for a psychological evaluation.

After removing the suspect from the scene, Cambridge police bomb technicians examined his satchel, which had been left in the Science Center. They eventually determined that it was not an explosive and removed it as well.

Outside, while news helicopters hovered overhead, Mitten talked with students.

"I'm just glad everyone's okay. I want to thank you all for acting with cool heads," he said. He added jokingly, "This is an insult to Alexander!"

Around 11:30 a.m., HUPD reopened the building to allow students to get their possessions and leave. Under the watchful eye of half-a-dozen HUPD and Cambridge Police Department officers, students filed into Science Center B and retrieved their coats and bags. HUPD also allowed students, faculty and staff back into the other areas of the building to retrieve belongings.

Exam Havoc

The bomb scare caused chaos in the Registrar's Office, which oversees the scheduling of exams.

Besides "Alexander the Great," the only other class affected was Economics 2010c, "Economic Theory," a graduate-level class that had been taking an exam in the adjacent Science Center C. Students there were evacuated to Holden Chapel to keep warm and await further instructions.

While at the Chapel, most students expressed frustration at the interruption, saying that they just wanted to finish the final.

"We're not really scared, just annoyed," said Radu Ban '02, a student in the class.

"We're not very pleased about the fact that we can't get this one over with," said C.-Y. Cynthia Lan, a first year graduate student who had been taking the exam.

After a few student protests, the class was taken to Littauer Hall to complete their interrupted exam.

"We're laughing about it, but we're not very happy about it," Lan said.

Back at the scene of the incident, exam proctors were the first back into the Science Center. HUPD allowed them to collect all exams and exam material.

Alexander the Great was reschedule for Saturday, Feb. 3.

"We're all very sorry for this very odd disruption," said Registrar Arlene F. Becella.

--Staff writer Garrett M Graff can be reached at ggraff@fas.harvard.edu. Staff writer Adam M. Lalley can be reached at lalley@fas.harvard.edu.