Published June 7, 2011

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Update 2:44 p.m.: Officials have determined that the “suspicious materials” were harmless and that the buildings are safe to reenter, according to a statement on the MIT Emergency notifications website.

Officials have investigated and determined there was no threat to campus safety. An object that had the appearance and characteristics of a pipe bomb turned out, on further examination, to be a collection of harmless materials.

Update 12:11 p.m.: MIT just updated its alert:

MIT Police, Cambridge Police, Cambridge Fire, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Cambridge Bomb Squad are still on the scene at New House. The situation is ongoing. Please continue to stay away from the Amherst Alley area.

Update 11:51 a.m.: Cambridge police disabled some of the hazardous materials using a high pressure water cannon at around 9:50 a.m. Some time later, “Cambridge Bomb Techs reentered the building and determined the need for a second disruption,” according to a police statement.

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Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating a possible bomb in an MIT building, according to the school.

From an MIT emergency alert:

MIT Police, Cambridge Police, Cambridge Fire, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Cambridge Bomb Squad are investigating possibly hazardous materials in Building W70. The building has been evacuated. Police have cordoned off Amherst Alley and ask everyone to stay away from the area.

As a precaution, another bulding, W71, was also evacuated.

Boston Police report the hazardous materials are possibly a pipe bomb and say they’ve joined the investigation. Just before 11:30 a.m. BPD tweeted:

Bomb Squad and K9 units responding to MIT in Cambridge to assist with possible pipe bomb found on premises.