On Friday morning, students at Boston College were asked to remain inside their dorms as the search for a suspect in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings continues. The stay in place ban was lifted shortly after 6:30 p.m. that day.
The hours of all campus dining halls were limited on Friday, and the Flynn Recreational Complex was closed for the day. Shuttle service was suspended. All of Friday’s athletic events, including camps scheduled by women’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s basketball, were canceled. The vigil scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday afternoon and intended to commemorate the victims of Monday’s bombings was canceled as well, and the Athletic Department canceled Saturday’s Spring Football game.
The BCPD sent out an emergency text to the BC community at 6:28 a.m. Friday morning. “Due to public safety concerns, BC is closed and classes are cancelled until further notice,” the text read. “Remain indoors.”
The search Friday morning is centered around the area of Watertown, which is approximately four miles from the BC campus. The suspect pursued by police has been identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. According to The Boston Globe, Tsarnaev is a native of Kyrgyzstan and a student at UMass Dartmouth. His brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also a suspect in the bombings, died early Friday morning in a confrontation with police.
The Office of News and Public Affairs released an online update slightly after 8 a.m. “BC Police are monitoring the BC campus which, they say, is safe,” the release read. “However they reiterate the State request that all residents stay indoors until further notice. Therefore, all services are currently suspended. Students should remain inside their dorm rooms and apartments until alerted otherwise.”
A follow-up text was sent by BCPD at 8:46 a.m. “All students and local residents are asked to shelter in place until further notice,” it read. “Please remain indoors.”
At 12:51, Executive Vice President Patrick J. Keating sent an email to the student body regarding dining services. Beginning at 1 p.m., he said, staff members from the Office of Residential Life would bring on-campus students to dining halls on a floor-by-floor basis so that they could carry food back to their dormitories. “In accordance with the Massachusetts Emergency Mandate, all students will be asked to return to their dorm rooms immediately after obtaining their food,” he said. “The dining halls will reopen under this same scenario in the evening for dinner, so students are asked to take only what is needed for lunch to avoid unnecessary delays.” Keating reiterated that there was no immediate threat to the campus, but said that students needed to follow the safety orders in place until clearance was given.
Keating sent out a follow-up email shortly after 5 p.m., informing students that the same procedure would be followed for the distribution of dinner. “Thank you again for your patience and understanding throughout this unprecedented ordeal,” he said.
BCPD sent out an alert Friday evening, announcing that the lockdown was over. “BC community members are asked to remain vigilant,” the alert read.
Tsarnaev was taken into custody by police shortly before 8:45 p.m. on Friday, after being found in a boat in Watertown. According to the Boston Globe, he is conscious and has been taken to Beth Israel hospital for treatment.
