Death threats emailed to dozens of mostly Asian students at Harvard University may not be credible, according to campus police.
The Boston Herald reports the investigation into the threats is “not complete,” but Harvard police issued a statement saying “it appears at this time that the threats may not be credible. ” The statement added that “a heightened security presence — both uniformed and plainclothes — will be maintained on campus … this weekend.”
Recipients received a second email yesterday basically apologizing for the original threat.
The Harvard Crimson reports the author of the second email claimed to be 15-years old and living in France. Like the first email, it was filled with grammatical errors. He said it was his younger brother who sent out the original email.
“Please feel sorry for the terrible news that my brother has written to my email address please forgive me for the unpleasant message,” it read. “There is no running amok in Harvard University I promise you.”
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu called both emails a shame.
“If you look at the names on the email, most of them look like Asian surnames,” Wu said to the Boston Herald . “The fact that the email list seemed to be pretty targeted to Asian-Americans, that was the unsettling part … I know when I opened the first email, and I wasn’t even on campus, it was a little scary — I can just imagine what all the students’ reactions were.”
The Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association cancelled a panel discussion scheduled yesterday to talk about being Asian American at Harvard as a precaution. The original email said he or she would come at “11 clock” and “shoot all of you” and “kill you individually.”
It referred to its intended recipients as “slit eyes.” You can read more details of this on going investigation in the Harvard Crimson.
