3 are dead and over 170 injured after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday.
The explosive devices appeared to be carried into the area in backpacks. The devices consisted of explosives and shrapnel-BB round metallic beads, pellets, and sharp nail-like objects-packed inside a pressure cooker and were likely triggered by a timer.
Bomb victims were sent to six Boston-area hospitals. Flags at the White House and across the country are being flown at half-staff to honor victims.
Among the deceased are 8-year old Martin Richard and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, both Massachusetts residents.
The area around the site of the explosion remained closed to foot and vehicle traffic.
Increased police presence will continue in Boston. Precautionary measures are being taken across other major U.S. cities, such as New York, Atlanta, and Oklahoma City-cities that have been attacked by bombing incidents.
The attack raises questions about how to handle large crowds gathering for outdoor sporting events.
Residents of Boston and Boston Marathon participants say the incident will not dissuade them from attending future outdoor events or future marathons. The Boston Marathon is always held on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April.
The Boston Celtics game scheduled for tonight against the Indiana Pacers has been canceled. The NBA reports that the game will not be rescheduled.
Oklahoma City will proceed with its scheduled marathon this weekend. On Friday, the city will observe the 18th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people in 1995.
The police and federal government still have no idea who is behind the Boston Marathon attack, nor do they have a sense of motive.
Police are asking for any footage–videos or photographs–that may help with the investigations.
President Obama called the incident “a heinous and cowardly act…We will find whoever harmed our citizens and we will and bring them to justice.”
