by John Osborn
Updated April 26 at 6:21 p.m.
Harvard today suddenly found itself linked to last week's Marathon bombing in Boston as residents awoke to the news that surviving suspect Dzhohar Tsarnaev had been transferred to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) at Devens.
The transfer took place Thursday night, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service who was quoted by Reuters in a news update published this morning. Prior to the move, Tsarnaev had been held at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
FMC Devens is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which, according to its web page, houses "male offenders requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care." FMC Devens also has a satellite camp housing minimum security male inmates, according to the site. An April 25 report states that the facility currently holds 1,055 prisoners, with another 127 in its minimum security camp.
Harvard Police Chief Ed Denmark said this morning that his department had not been asked to beef up local security by any federal or state law enforcement agency. The Bureau of Prisons is is responsible for the handling of prisoners in its 11 facilities The transport of federal prisoners is the responsibility of the U.S. Marshalls Service.
At Devens today there were few signs of increased security. Two state troopers were posted near the main entrance to the hospital, but no other guards were in sight. Roads in and out of Devens were open to traffic. By noon, satellite trucks from CNN and two local stations had set up shop on the westbound lane of Patton Road, but there was no press briefing and little to see beyond the glass and brick of the FMC buildings less than a quarter mile away.
Elsewhere, more than 80 volunteers from Devens-based companies were marking Earth Day by clearing trails, spreading much, planting flowers and, at the Oxbow Wildlife Refuge, pulling up invasive plants near the soon-to-be opened visitor center. At Willard Park, preparations were underway for a weekend Mud Fest.
FMC Devens is located within the historic boundaries of Harvard, its buildings and lights clearly visible from Prospect Hill. Peter Lowitt, Director of the Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC), said the FMC was among the largest employers at the former army base, which closed in 1996. But he said the DEC had no jurisdiction over the facility and he was unable to provide any additional information. The Press was unable to reach the Prison Information Officer in time for this story.