Boston Marathon Bombing

[Sledgstone 8,672]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/us/boston-marathon-explosions/index.html

 

(CNN) -- Two bombs struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, turning a celebration into a bloody scene of destruction.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said Monday night that the death toll had risen to three. Scores were injured at the scene.

One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy, according to a state law enforcement source.

Hospitals reported at least 144 people are being treated, with at least 17 of them in critical condition and 25 in serious condition. At least eight of the patients are children.

At least 10 people injured had limbs amputated, according to a terrorism expert briefed on the investigation.

"It felt like a huge cannon," a witness told CNN about one of the blasts.

Allan Panter, a doctor who was near the finish line waiting for his wife to finish the race, told CNN he was standing about 20 to 25 feet from the first blast. He said he treated victims on the street after the explosion.

"I saw at least six to seven people down next to me," he said. "They protected me from the blast. One lady expired. One gentleman lost both his (lower) limbs. Most of the injuries were lower extremities."

Bill Iffrig, 78 and a veteran marathoner, was nearing the finish when "the shock waves just hit my whole body and my legs just started jittering around." Iffrig, who can be seen in video of the explosion wearing an orange tank top, was helped to his feet by an event volunteer and had just a scratch from his fall, he told CNN.

Federal authorities are classifying the bombings as a terrorist attack, but it's not clear whether the origin was domestic or foreign, a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said.

A federal law enforcement official told CNN that both bombs were small, and initial tests showed no C-4 or other high-grade explosive material, suggesting that the packages used in the attack were crude explosive devices.

Running list of things we know

Another explosive device found

Authorities in Boston found at least one other explosive device that they were dismantling, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said.

Rep. Bill Keating of Massachusetts, meanwhile, said two more were found.

One unexploded device was found at a hotel on Boylston Street near the bomb site and another unexploded device was found at an undisclosed location, Keating, a Democrat and member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said. He called the bombing a "sophisticated, coordinated, planned attack."

It was unclear who may have planted the marathon bombs. There were no credible threats before the race, a state government official said.

There is no suspect in custody, but many people are being questioned, Davis said.

Investigators warned police to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with the attack, according to a law enforcement advisory obtained by CNN. The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states.

Also, a Saudi national with a leg wound was under guard at a Boston hospital in connection with the bombings, but investigators cannot say he is involved at this time and he is not in custody, a law enforcement official said Monday evening.

In addition to scrutinizing images of surveillance cameras in the area, the FBI likely was issuing subpoenas for records from cell towers in the area to isolate and trace calls from around Copley Square at the time of the blasts, according to a former federal law enforcement official who now works in the intelligence community.

The unexploded devices that were recovered could provide a treasure trove of information such as fingerprints and indications of the bomb maker's design, and from the bombs that did explode, investigators would be looking for fragments and anything indicating the "signature" of the bomb makers, the official told CNN.

As authorities searched the scene, numerous suspicious packages were found, possibly because people fled the area, leaving items behind. Investigators were checking them.

All off-duty Boston police were called in.

The Marriott hotel at Copley Place was evacuated as a precaution.

The Lenox Hotel was also evacuated as a precaution, the Boston Globe reported.

 

Click the link for the rest of the article.

 

What do you think? Terrorist group? Some local person attempting mass murder? International plot?

 

I have a feeling that it was some US citizen.. maybe another potential Timothy McVeigh.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

A Saudi National has already been caught here on a Student Visa. It was most likely Terrorisim. We don't need this shit. It just gives the government a reason to take away more of our rights.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

If anything, I could see this affecting student visa program. But I'm sure this will get spinned into some other political debate by the two parties.

[Myk JL 1,731]

I'm annoyed it prevented me from seeing the final results of the dull Batman Vs Superman fight. My expectations were they were going to find more of these bombs through the city. Then find out the people responsible for this watched The Dark Knight Rises. Which would lead to an odd question.... Does Batman cause Violence?.... Well.... He's Batman.

 

Sorry I'm not taking this seriously. I do (or should) feel sorry to all of those who lost loved ones & / or had their lives ruined by it. Part of me just doesn't care because the people I saw covering this wouldn't shut up about 9/11. Which tends to leave me with my own personal bagage about what if that didn't happen back when I was 17.

 

And the fact this might have been done by a Muslim semi ruins ranting about the harm religion does. Because Muslims tend to act like their religion is their race which it isn't. They're never going to lose their skin tone just because they stop being Muslim. So they should stop acting like they would.

 

Had it been another Timothy McVeigh that would at least spark more interesting topics about Religion, Guns, Politics, etc. Or if it was another Ted Kaczynski at least the debate of Why didn't Fox News stop or never sell hoodies to begin with.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I think these kind of attacks could become more common. Everyone watches the news. And pretty much everyone that ends up going on a killing spree with guns ends up dead or imprisoned. If some crazy person has some sense of self preservation, they'll attack remotely. Simple bomb construction could be the next weapon of choice. With all the focus on guns and gun rights, bombs can be a hell of a lot more deadly and psychologically damaging.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

how un fucking surprising that the perps are muslim scum. how un fucking surprising the christian scum online are calling for his bloody death and an eternity of torture in their fictitious hell. So much for all that forgiveness bullshit their messiah preached. 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I wonder if this guy will be shipped off to Guantanamo bay to never be heard from again.

[Pchan 5,162]

Gory imagines, you are warned. And you're also warned of a dumbass conspiracy theory in the link below.

 

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/bostonbombingdidyouthink20apr13.shtml

Edited April 29, 2013 by Godgrave

[Sledgstone 8,672]

What would be the purpose of a government staged marathon bombing? So many conspiracy nuts out there..