Harvard Police respond to bomb threat at Memorial Hall, shelter-in-place order lifted

The Harvard University Police Department responded to a bomb threat at Memorial Hall Monday morning, prompting the university to issue a stay-at-home order for people near the building.

Harvard sent an emergency alert 8:45 a.m., asking 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 around 9:20 a.m., but advised its affiliates to continue to avoid Memorial Hall and the nearby Zimmer Hall plaza.

Students were not allowed into Memorial Hall Monday morning as police and emergency personnel responded to the threat and set up a perimeter around the building. Classes in the adjacent Zimmer Room continued as scheduled.

When the threat was reported, students traveling on Harvard shuttles were told to avoid Memorial Hall, and shuttle service near the building was halted, according to two students traveling on the shuttles.

Memorial Hall is home to the Sanders Theater, one of Harvard’s largest lecture halls, and adjoins Annenberg Hall, the College’s freshman dining hall. The building is located between Harvard Yard and Zimmer Hall.

HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

—Editor Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at (email protected) and on Signal at Shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Editor Claire A. Michal can be contacted at (email protected) and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.