Boston Marathon bombings

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 This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. (April 2013)
Boston Marathon bombings

Aftermath of the twin blasts
Location Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates 42°20′59.2″N 71°04′44.1″WCoordinates: 42°20′59.2″N 71°04′44.1″W
Date April 15, 2013
2:50 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00)
Attack type Bombing
Deaths 3[1]
Injured (non-fatal) 176+[1]
Assailants Unknown
On April 15, 2013, two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon about 2:50 p.m. EDT (18:50 UTC) on Boylston Street near Copley Square, just before the finish line.[2] The blasts killed three people, and injured at least 176 others.[1] No official suspects have been named, and no arrests or claims of responsibility for the attack have been announced.[3]

Contents

Bombings


Map showing site of first (right) and second (left) blasts
On April 15, 2013, two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon about 2:50 p.m. EDT (18:50 UTC) on Boylston Street near Copley Square, just before the finish line.[2] The went off within 550 feet (170 m) of each other.[1][4][5][6][7][8] Video from the finish line shows about 12 seconds passed between the two blasts. The first occurred outside a Marathon Sports store at 671 Boylston Street, the second about one block further west of the finish line.[4][9] The race clock at the finish line was showing 04:09:43 (4 hours, 9 minutes, and 43 seconds since the third wave, or group, of runners started the marathon) at the time of the first explosion.[10]
The winners had crossed the finish line about two hours earlier; other runners were still coming across.[9] Storefront windows nearby were blown out,[9] and a window on the third floor of the Boston Public Library, across the street from one of the explosions, was damaged.[11] Law enforcement officials said that they believe the explosions were caused by homemade bombs.[12][13][2] There had been no prior indications of an imminent attack.[2]

Victims

Three people were confirmed dead.[1] The Richard family of the Dorchester neighborhood lost 8-year-old Martin Richard, while his mother Denise Richard suffered a brain injury and his 6-year-old sister lost a leg.[14][15][16] Another of the three dead is 29-year-old Krystle M. Campbell, a restaurant manager from Arlington, Massachusetts.[17]
Many victims suffered lower leg injuries and shrapnel wounds, which indicated the devices were low to the ground.[18] Some suffered ruptured eardrums.[18] At least 10 of the injured suffered severed limbs.[6][12][19][20] Two brothers, aged 33 and 31, each lost a leg.[21]

The scene, immediately after the first blast
According to the Associated Press, a doctor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center had seen an X-ray of a patient's leg containing "what appears to be small, uniform, round objects throughout it — similar in the appearance to BBs".[22] Doctors described removing “ball-bearing type” metallic beads about two to three millimeters in diameter, a little larger than a BB, and more than a dozen small carpenter-type nails about a centimeter to an inch long.[23]
Local hospitals reported that they were treating numerous injuries, some of them severe. Eight hospitals report that they have treated or are treating at least 124 people. Of those, at least 15 were in critical condition as of April 16.[24] Over 100 were being treated at various facilities.[6] 24 of the injured were treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,[25] 22 at Massachusetts General Hospital,[26][27] about 20 at Brigham and Women's Hospital,[28][4] 20 at Boston Medical Center,[4] 10 at Boston Children's Hospital,[29] and 9 at Tufts New England Medical Center.[7]

Security

Officials swept the area twice before the explosions, including once just an hour before the bombs went off. People were able to come and go freely, and carry items in and out of the area.[30]

Responses


Emergency services working after the bombings

Police and other emergency workers on the scene

Hazmat personnel near the scene
Rescue workers, bystanders, and runners rushed to try to help the wounded in the immediate aftermath. The marathon was abruptly halted. Police, following emergency plans, diverted the remaining runners away from the finish line to Boston Common or Kenmore Square.[2][31][32] The nearby Lenox Hotel was also evacuated.[2] Police closed down a 15-block area around the blast site.[11] Massachusetts National Guard units already on scene joined local authorities in rendering aid.[2] Bomb squads searched the area.[6] Many bystanders had dropped backpacks and other bags as they fled, requiring each to be treated as a potential bomb.[11] The police commissioner, Ed Davis, strongly recommended people to stay off the streets.[11]
As a precaution, the FAA restricted airspace over Boston, and issued a ground stop for Boston's Logan International Airport.[33][34][35] Some Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service was halted.[9] Several cities in Massachusetts and beyond put their police forces on alert.[36]
United States Attorney General Eric Holder directed that the "full resources" of the United States Department of Justice be brought to bear on investigating the explosions.[2] In New York City, counter-terrorism vehicles were deployed to landmark sites in Manhattan.[8]
The New York Police Department increased security at hotels, Times Square, and other places.[11][37] Security was also increased in Washington, D.C., and the White House was partially evacuated,[2] while it was being cordoned off by the United States Secret Service.[38]
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency suggested people trying to contact those in the vicinity use text messaging, instead of voice calls, because of crowded phone lines.[9] The Red Cross is helping concerned friends and family receive information about runners and casualties.[39]
Cell phone service in Boston was congested but still in operation.[40] The Boston Police Department set up a helpline for people concerned about relatives or acquaintances to contact and a line for people to provide information.[41] Google Person Finder activated their disaster service under Boston Marathon Explosions to log known information about missing persons as a publicly viewable file.[42] The Navy sent one of its bomb-disposal units to Boston to assist local authorities.[43]

Other explosive devices

During a news conference on April 16, Governor Deval Patrick said there were "only two explosive devices", the two that exploded.[44] Initial reports conflicted over whether additional bombs were found, with numerous suspicious packages or bags initially discovered.[45][8][46][47][48][4] The Boston Police Bomb Squad performed a controlled explosion of one of the packages on the 600 block of Boylston Street.[49][50]

Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the attack along with the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Counterterrorism Center,[51] is treating the bombings as a terrorist attack, though no perpetrator has officially been identified.[8][52]
Boston police commissioner Edward Davis said at a 6 p.m. press conference on April 15, "There is no suspect in custody."[53] Though not treated as suspects, several people who were near the scene of the blast and the surrounding area were taken into custody and questioned about the bombings, including a Saudi man tackled by a suspicious civilian and brought to police.[54][55]
Early in the morning on April 16, law enforcement officials searched a residence in the nearby Boston suburb of Revere, home to a Saudi man, considered a "person of interest", who was injured by shrapnel.[56][8][57][58] Some investigators left the residence carrying brown paper bags, plastic trash bags, and a duffel bag.[59] The Washington Post reported that the individual was being treated as a witness, not a suspect, by law enforcement.[60] The New York Times also reported that a law enforcement official said that investigators had determined the man had no involvement in the attack.[61]
United States government officials stated that there had been no intelligence reports that indicated such a bombing would take place. Representative Peter King, member of the Intelligence Committee, was quoted as saying, "I received two top secret briefings last week on the current threat levels in the United States, and there was no evidence of this at all."[62]
Police are searching for a Penske rental van and for a hooded man who left the area before the explosions.[63]
A person who was briefed on the investigation said at least one of the devices was made from a pressure cooker filled with metal objects, placed in a backpack.[64][65][66][67] According to English-language terror magazine Inspire, a pressure-cooker bomb is a preferred weapon of al-Qaeda.[68] A pressure cooker was also used in the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt.[69]

Reactions

Local

As a precaution, the National Hockey League postponed a Boston Bruins hockey home game against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden scheduled for the day of the bombing to a future date.[70][71] The National Basketball Association cancelled a Boston Celtics basketball home game scheduled for the next day (April 16) against the Indiana Pacers also at TD Garden and would not be played as both teams' playoff seedings were already set.[70][71] The Boston Symphony Orchestra cancelled their performance that night..[72]

National

U.S. President Barack Obama delivering a statement on April 15, 2013 in the aftermath of the bombings.
President Barack Obama addressed the nation three hours after the attack.[73] He said that, while the perpetrator(s) were still unknown, the government would "get to the bottom of this" and that those responsible "will feel the full weight of justice".[74] The President again addressed the American people the next day.
Speaker John Boehner ordered that flags outside the U.S. Capitol be lowered to half-staff.[75] The flag on the White House was lowered to half staff the next day as well. President Obama also issued a proclamation ordering flags to half-staff through April 20 on all federal buildings as "a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on April 15, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts."[76]
A minute of silence was observed at the openings of the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and NYMEX the next day.[77]

International

Organizers of the forthcoming London Marathon, planned for April 21, reviewed security arrangements for their event, despite no specific threats against the event.[78] Security measures have been increased worldwide as a response to the explosions in Boston.[79] The Canadian Consulate in Boston,[80] located approximately 250 meters (820 ft) from the Boston Marathon finish line, was put into lockdown and all calls were redirected to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in Ottawa. All staff were accounted for.[81]
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ready to help the US authorities with the investigation into the blasts. Putin also called for the international community to join forces against terrorism.[82] According to sports minister Vitaly Mutko, the Boston bombings are "a serious warning bell" to Russia, which is about to hold several international sports events in the near future, including the 2014 Winter Olympics, and that special attention will be paid to security at those events.[83]

References

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External links

Wikinews has related news: Multiple explosions hit Boston Marathon
Wikinews has related news: Two people confirmed dead in Boston Marathon bombing
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