Harvard student "remorseful" over bomb hoax, attorney says

BOSTON -  A Harvard student accused of making fake bomb threats to get out of an exam was  released Wednesday on $100,000 bond.

Eldo Kim, 20, of Cambridge, Mass., made a brief appearance in U.S. District Court in South Boston. He wore Harvard sweatpants and was shackled with his hands cuffed behind his back.

As a condition of his release, Kim must live either with his sister in Boston or an uncle in North Carolina and must stay away from Harvard unless given permission by the school and the court.

Kim's attorney, Ian Gold, said the student had been under a great deal of pressure and was having trouble coping this month with the three-year anniversary of his father's death.

"He's  a very remorseful, shattered young man," Gold told reporters outside the court.

Federal prosecutors say Kim, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from South Korea, emailed several bomb threats to Harvard officials Monday morning, just before final exams were about to begin.

Three academic buildings and a residence hall were evacuated, shut down and searched.

In the email, Kim allegedly wrote: “shrapnel bombs placed in science center, sever hall, emerson hall, thayer hall, 2/4. guess correctly. be quick for they will go off soon.”

No explosives were found and no one was hurt.

Kim was scheduled to take a final exam at 9 a.m. in Emerson Hall, CBS Boston reported.

According to investigators, when he heard the alarms go off, "he knew his plan had worked."

The threats drew investigators from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the United States Secret Service; the Harvard University Police Department; the Cambridge Police Department; the Boston Police Department; and the Massachusetts State Police.

If convicted under the bomb hoax statute, Kim faces up to five years in prison.

According to Harvard’s website, Kim is a “freshman intending to concentrate in Psychology and pursue a secondary in Japanese.”

The site went on to say Kim writes for the Harvard International Review, dances as a member of the Harvard Breakers and “in his free time, he enjoys playing pool, trying new restaurants, watching terrible cult films and playing with his Mini Schnauzer puppy.”