On Mon. April 15, two bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed and at least 183 were injured.
Quick Facts (Obtained from CNN)
– The Boston Marathon is the oldest and one of the largest races in the world. This was the 117th marathon.
– 26,839 runners entered the race
– The first bomb went off at 2:45 p.m.; the winners had already crossed the finish line
– 5,756 runners were unable to finish the race
– The bombs went off 12 seconds apart
– The distance of the crime scene is 12 blocks, which is about 50 to 100 yards
– At least 13 victims have had their limbs amputated
– Law enforcement officers have found two devices, each in a pressure cooker and hidden in black duffel bags.
– Many who finished the marathon continued on running to area hospitals to donate blood.
– Local restaurants offered free food, seating and charging stations to all via social media, and an open Google Document was created to offer beds, rides and food to stranded runners.
– Google launched their Person Finder application which, at its peak, received 80 posts per minute from people identifying or seeking missing persons.
Quotes from Guilford community, in Boston and Greensboro
“Alex (my step-son) attends Emerson (College), which was near the bombings, but he was not on campus or near at the time of the bombings. He has shared very little. He is very shaken and was desperately trying to get in touch with all of his friends.” – Kimberly A. Burke, Coordinator of Disability Resource, Access Consultant
“I was with Daniel (Hood ‘12) and a couple of his friends at a local ice cream place across from Boston College. It was a beautiful day … Then, we saw the police pull up and begin stopping the runners in their tracks, which seemed a bit ominous, and then the news came on overhead. The audio replay of the bombings was terrible to hear.” – Madeleine Strouble ‘12
“All of a sudden, the radio stopped playing music, and there was a woman reporting what was happening in and around the finish line. For the first few minutes, we didn’t quite notice, and people were talking loudly in the shop so we couldn’t quite hear properly but then my friend checked her iPhone and it said there had been two explosions down by the finish line.
A hush fell over the ice cream shop, and we listened in horror as the radio DJs passed the mics to TV reporters live on the scene, playing and replaying a clip they had found of the first explosion and the resulting screams. We were in shock, disbelieving, we didn’t fully understand what was going on … The cell towers were overloaded, and it took three or four tries to get a text through, sometimes several tries.” – Daniel Hood ‘12
“It’s a horrific event, truly terrible. As a runner, I can’t imagine the horror of that moment. Finishing a long race with family and friends watching and cheering, proud, only to see innocent people blasted to pieces.” – Ken Gilmore, Associate Professor of Political Science
What Now?
“The city now, from my perspective, is a bizarre combination of normal and very much changed. I got on the T this morning to go to work just like any other Tuesday, but then I was discussing the attack with my coworkers this morning in a conversation that was far from the ordinary watercooler talk. I think people want to push forward, carry on, make sure they are not beaten by what has happened, but at the same time so many people need time to grieve and recover. My heart goes out to all of the victims of this tragedy and their families.” – Madeleine Stroubel ‘12
“As for the conditions of the city now … there feels like there is a small amount of resilience to simply take this in stride. To go back to work and be unafraid … My bus in to school this morning was subdued. It normally is somewhat sleepy at 8:30 a.m., but today it was more than that. People were awake, but hushed. Bostonians have steeled themselves, we are not unaffected, we are deeply affected … We may be victims, our city may have been attacked, we may be reeling, but we refuse to go gently into the night. We are Boston, we are strong, it’ll take more than this to keep us hiding under our beds. Our hearts are with the victims, our heads are held high, and our knees are unbowed. We are Boston.” – Daniel Hood ‘12
