Boston Marathon Bombings

Devon · Apr 16, 2013

As of posting 3 confirmed deaths and 130 injured.

Two bombs ripped through the crowds near the finish line of the Boston Marathon this afternoon, killing three spectators, injuring more than 130 people, and leaving the nation on edge as word of the explosions â€“and confused reports of additional devicesâ€“flared across television and social media.

The first explosion occurred at 2:50 PM ET, according to the Boston Police, when an unidentified device detonated on the north side of Boylston Street approximately fifty feet from the marathonâ€™s finish line. A second explosion went off about ten seconds later less than 100 yards up the route. Police said three people had been killed. Local hospitals reported that 134 people had been brought in for treatment, according to the Associated Press. One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy, law enforcement officials told the Boston Globe.

CNN reported that a number of the injured had suffered leg wounds, suggesting a low blast, and that doctors were removing ball bearings from some victims, suggesting that the bombs were designed to spread shrapnel.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis told reporters at an afternoon press conference that no additional bombs had been found along the race route, but more recent reports â€“including a CBS news story citing Massachusetts congressman and Homeland Security committee member Bill Keating as a source â€” have continued to assert that other bombs were found undetonated along the marathon route, including one at a hotel on Copley Square.

A fire which occurred at the JFK Library in South Boston about an hour after the attacks appeared to be unrelated to the bombings, though the Boston Police said it was still investigating.

The identity and motivation of the bomber or bombers is still unknown, but local CBS affiliate WBZ reported that a suspect was being questioned, and that authorities have security video showing a male suspect carrying multiple backpacks, and dropping one at the site of the explosion.

Around 8 p.m., law enforcement authorities issued a bulletin saying they were on the lookout for a dark-skinned male with a black backpack who had been trying to gain access to a restricted area shortly before the blasts.

Later in the evening, authorities said that the FBI had taken over the investigation.

In a short address from the White House, President Barack Obama pledged â€œevery single federal resource necessaryâ€ to help the people of Boston, and said that while the motive and identity of the bomber or bombers is still unknown, â€œwe will find out who did this and we will hold them responsible.â€

The blasts occurred about two hours after the marathonâ€™s winners crossed the finish line at Copley Square, while the area was still packed with racers and spectators; according to Runners World magazine, of the 23,326 runners who started only 17,584 crossed the line. Police cleared the area immediately as emergency service workers flooded in to care for the wounded. Runners were rerouted away from the area, hotels nearby were locked down, and occupants barred from leaving.

Law enforcement officials in Massachusetts and across the country scrambled to increase security against potential follow-up attacks. The Associated Press reported that cellphone service was temporarily shut down in Boston to prevent remote detonations of more devices, however cellular later said that was not the case. Parts of Bostonâ€™s subway system and several bridges over the Charles river were closed to the public; and the Federal Aviation Administration placed a temporary flight restriction on Bostonâ€™s Logan airport. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., located approximately 45 miles south of the city, began performing additional security checks.

The New York Police Department announced via Facebook that it is stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations in the city through deployment of critical response vehicles (CRVs); as New Yorkers began their evening commute home, tourist hotspots like Times Square were packed with police cruisers. In Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House was closed to pedestrians.

Christopher Falkenberg, president at Insite Security Inc. and former Special Agent of the United States Secret Service, cautions that it will take some time to know what had happened in Boston, but suggested that judging from photos and video the devices were small, and possibly home-made. â€œIt doesnâ€™t seem as though these were high explosives,â€ he said.

Store windows behind the scene of the first blast appeared to be undamaged, further suggesting the bombs were not powerful.
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Source: Forbes.com

Loonylion · Apr 16, 2013

BBC reporting of this was rather shambolic. They were still saying 2 dead 23 injured even after eyewitnesses had stated that it was much higher than 23 injuries and official statistics were released that added up to way more than 50.

Also they continued to avoid using the word 'bomb' for hours after it was universally acknowledged to have been bombs.

That and referring to pictures taken in the immediate aftermath as 'new pictures just coming in' 4 hours after the event, and having shown them dozens of times already. It seemed almost like they recorded the original news broadcast and then played it back repeatedly, only occasionally adding actual new information.

the live text was much more reliable than the so-called live feed, despite lagging behind by quite some time.

Shame that some people decided to ruin what seemed to be a very joyful event. I hope the police catch them quickly.

best wishes to all those injured, whether physically or otherwise.

necr0 · Apr 16, 2013

Loonylion said:

That and referring to pictures taken in the immediate aftermath as 'new pictures just coming in' 4 hours after the event, and having shown them dozens of times already. It seemed almost like they recorded the original news broadcast and then played it back repeatedly, only occasionally adding actual new information.
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That pretty much sums up Sunrise as well.

Prectorian · Apr 16, 2013

One of my FB acquaintance is from Boston, haven't heard from her since the incident.
She usually updates her status every few hours.
Not sure if she's been caught in the incident; she'd probably be present in the event, since she's a professional photographer.
Might have been there to take some pictures for her postcard series for online sales.

It's a pity terrorism is still targeting the innocent instead of directing it to the source of their rage.

Loonylion · Apr 16, 2013

prectorian said:

It's a pity terrorism is still targeting the innocent instead of directing it to the source of their rage.
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It's not always about targeting, often it's just a case of getting attention

necr0 · Apr 17, 2013

Loonylion said:

It's not always about targeting, often it's just a case of getting attention
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Well they got the world's attention... that's for sure.
But why? The person who did it is arrested. He probably wont say who organised it, if it was a terrorist group or if he was just some loner who wanted to blow something up.

It's stupid.

athemoe · Apr 17, 2013

This whole situation is rather unfortunate and awful, but you never hear news when America kills people with airstrikes.

Loonylion · Apr 17, 2013

Xenirina said:

The person who did it is arrested.
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Where did you see that, all I've seen is police saying they don't know who it was and they have no-one in custody at this point.

Arcwolf09 · Apr 18, 2013

Loonylion said:

Where did you see that, all I've seen is police saying they don't know who it was and they have no-one in custody at this point.
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They were not arrested because some news agencies were making shit up. also how can the Sandy Hook princapal be injured in the bombings when she is dead.

Loonylion · Apr 18, 2013

the really sick thing is that email spammers are now trying to use this for their own profit.

Arcwolf09 · Apr 18, 2013

it's terrible how quickly people jump to profit.

Void · Apr 18, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzMsagY7oRs

Gonna leave this here because I thought it was really fucking cool.

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