Northeastern University explosion: Anti-Zuckerberg manifesto found inside package that went off
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: An unnamed employee was hospitalized with minor injuries to his hand after Northeastern University in Boston reported an explosion on Tuesday, September 13. It has been reported that the package that exploded contained a manifesto against Mark Zuckerberg.
In the investigation, it was revealed that the package - a hard-sided Pelican case - was delivered around 7 pm on Tuesday, September 13 to Holmes Hall on Leon Street, and went off around 10 pm. Holmes Hall on Leon Street has a Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies program, the journalism department and campus Virtual Reality club, and immersive media (VR) labs.
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A student member of the university’s virtual reality club, who chose to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail that he isn’t aware of any plot targeting the organization.
“I think it's possible that, given the loss of in-person communication during quarantine, some people (in the general public, not Northeastern students in particular) may have begun relying on virtual reality for social interaction,” shared the student. “We don't know what psychological effects this has yet, it's a very new space.”
“It's possible that someone was hurt by an interaction they had in VR and wanted to lash out. But that's just a guess - it seems odd to target Northeastern in particular,” he added.
Police later found a second suspicious package in the area but this was eventually declared safe. An insider revealed to CNN that the first package carried a note hitting out at Zuckerberg and academic work around the development of virtual reality.
Zuckerberg had propounded the 'metaverse’, which is a set of virtual spaces allowing individuals to access games, work and communicate with other people who are not in the same space physically.
He had introduced the Oculus Quest headset, now known as Meta Quest, and sees "virtual world as the future." Facebook announced, “You'll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create, and more. It's not necessarily about spending more time online — it's about making the time you do spend online more meaningful.”
Meanwhile, investigations into the Northeastern explosion are underway. Terrorism hasn't so far been ruled out.