Double Bombing at Boston Marathon

 You can see the explosion at the far right just as it happened

 

 

Two bombs exploded near the finish of the prestigious Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people, injuring at least 134 others, according to local reports, and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators, race organizers and police said. Hospitals reported at least 15 of the injured are critical.  One of the dead is an eight-year-old boy, the Boston Globe reported. Emergency room doctors were pulling ball bearings out of victims injured in the blasts.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said the two explosions occurred about 50 to 100 metres apart “simultaneously” on Boylston Street, shortly before 3 p.m. local time. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for blasts. They are suspected to be black powder bombs loaded with ballbearings, which acted as shrapnel and tore into people like bullets. They are low quality bombs and the components could be bought  almost anywhere.

Police asked Boston residents to stay at home and not go any place with large crowds. Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick told reporters Monday evening it wouldn’t be business as usual in Boston Tuesday morning. There will be a heightened police presence and security checks on transit, he said.

 

 

The victims’ injuries were described as burns, gashes, and missing limbs.

“They just started bringing people in with no limbs,” said runner Tim Davey of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children’s eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but “they saw a lot.”

“They just kept filling up with more and more casualties,” Lisa Davey said. “Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed.”

There was no word on the motive or who may have launched the attack, and authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility.  The FBI  is present on the scene and have already collected vital evidence. President Obama said every single federal resource has been made available for Boston but did not refer to the incident as a “terror attack” in a carefully worded statement.

“We don’t yet have all the answers,” Obama said in a brief national address shortly after 6 p.m. “Make no mistake, we will get the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this and we’ll find out why they did this.

“Any responsible individual or any responsible group will feel the full weight of justice.”

A White House official later said the incident was being treated as terrorism. A third incident (a fire) occurred at the JFK Library at about 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon but no injuries were reported. It was later clarified that it was  not related to the Boston bombing.

 Numerous bags were dropped and left at the scene by runners and each is being treated as a possible threat.  Police have not called the incident a terrorist attack, but “you can reach your own conclusion.”

Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old state trooper from Greenville, R.I., had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the first blast.

 

 

 

“I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the ground,” he said. “We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people had limbs amputated. … At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing.”

The blasts went off at 4:10 into the marathon, which is minutes away from last year’s peak time for marathon finishers. About 27,000 runners were participating in the event.

“We’re all runners here, and running in the marathon is such a huge event. You have people from 90 countries here for this race today,” said Canadian runner Rob Watson, who finished 11th in the men’s race.

“It brings everybody together. We’re all here, we’re all together, it’s a great feeling to finish a marathon and there’s such a camaraderie. It’s so senseless, why would you do that? It’s just so so upsetting. It’s just terrible. Why would people do something like that?”

As the president was being briefed on the incident, the Secret Service quickly expanded its security perimeter at the White House. The agency shut down Pennsylvania Avenue and cordoned off the area with yellow police tape. Several Secret Service patrol cars also blocked off the entry points to the road.

What we know so far

• Two powerful explosions hit Boston at 673 Boylston Street at 2:50 p.m., near the finish line of the Boston Marathon
•The bombs are thought to be black powder bombs loaded with ball bearings
• Three people are dead and 134 injured, 15 critically
• President Barack Obama says those responsible face ‘full weight of justice’
• A White House official later said the incident was being treated as terrorism.
• More than 2,000 Canadians were taking part in the marathon
• Canadians in Boston needing assistance can reach the Consulate General at (617) 247-5100