Commonwealth Avenue is being reopened after police converged on Boston University Friday morning following a report of an armed man with hostages and suspicious devices.
Police believe the emergency was a hoax, according to school officials.
The threat, which was not a robocall, claimed to be from a gunman on the fourth floor of Mugar with hostages and explosives, Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans told reporters.
The caller claimed to have booby traps and called police a second time saying that he had shot a hostage, according to WBUR. Authorities briefly closed off and evacuated the area around 771 Comm Ave., where the school’s student union and library are located, after the call was made.
The Boston Police Department’s bomb squad was on the scene before 9.
About an hour later, BU posted on its Twitter acount that the area was clear and there was no threat.
The street was later reopened.
Karen Weintraub, a BU professor and journalist, tweeted around 8:45 a.m. that something “serious and scary” was happening near BU’s student union. She said there were “at least a dozen cop cars” out front and that one of the officers entered the building with a rifle.
#BPDTrafficAdvisory: Area around 770 Comm Ave being closed due to unfolding concern. Motorists/pedestrians asked to seek alternate routes.
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) November 18, 2016
Comm Ave and University Ave being opened to vehicle & pedestrian traffic. https://t.co/JA89EWTD1J
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) November 18, 2016
Police say they believe this morning’s emergency was a hoax. The area is all clear and there is no threat as of now.
— Boston University (@BU_Tweets) November 18, 2016
Reported threat claimed to be armed gunman in rm 420 in 4th floor with hostages and explosives. Police confirmed it was a hoax
— Rob Carter (@RobtheCarter) November 18, 2016
Evans says caller claimed to have booby traps and called a second time and said he had shot a hostage. BPD & BUPD foung nothing in building.
— Zeninjor Enwemeka (@Zeninjor) November 18, 2016
