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Monday, April 15, 2013

Two Blasts Rock Finish Line at Boston Marathon; Dozens Injured

April 15th, 2013Top Story

Two Blasts Rock Finish Line at Boston Marathon; Dozens Injured

By Cord Jefferson

Two Blasts Rock Finish Line at Boston Marathon; Dozens InjuredTwo explosions tore through downtown Boston today, killing at least two of the thousands of people who'd gathered to watch that city's famous marathon race. The explosions went off near the race's finish line, causing mass panic and ripping off people's limbs, according to early eyewitness accounts. Explosives units have been dispatched to investigate another suspicious device in the area as EMTs and doctors attend to the reportedly dozens of wounded.

Though details right now are sketchy, various media outlets and citizens on the scene are reporting that things are grisly and chaotic, though police and medical teams have been quick to act.


The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon race, attracting tens of thousands of runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators each year.

Updates:

5:37 PM EST: NBC News reports that police are guarding a "possible suspect" at a Boston hospital, though, unlike the Post, it's not said anything about that person's nationality.

5:24 PM EST: Of the Post's "Saudi national suspect" story, a Boston police spokesperson told Talking Points Memo the Post's "scoop" is bogus: "Honestly, I don't know where they're getting their information from, but it didn't come from us."

5:10 PM EST: Cellphone service has been temporarily disabled in the Boston area in order to prevent remote detonations of explosives, according to the AP.

5:01 PM EST: The New York Post—which has no clear reason to know anything anyone else doesn't know, and which is still reporting a death toll of 12, in contradiction of official reports—has taken the role of being first to publish purported information about a purported suspect. The Post claims that Boston police, who have said nothing about the matter, are guarding a hospitalized Saudi national who has shrapnel wounds.

4:58 PM EST: Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis just said in a press conference that while he won't officially call this a terrorist attack, "you can reach your own conclusions based upon what happened."

4:51 PM EST: The Boston Globe raises the wounded count to 64—though it says there are still only two confirmed deaths.

4:48 PM EST: Terrifying video of the second explosion:
Click to view

4:42 PM EST: An AP reporter says families who suffered through the Newtown shooting in December were among those seated in the marathon's VIP section, which was adjacent to one of the blasts.

4:38 PM EST: Tom Putnam, director of the JFK Presidential Library, says today's fire in the library and museum was not caused by a bomb and was confined to a mechanical room.

4:31 PM EST: The Associated Press reports that two more "devices" have been found and are being dismantled.

4:21 PM EST: Boston's JFK Presidential Library caught fire in the immediate aftermath of the explosions. Though it's not certain the two events are related, Boston journalist Dave Wedge reports that police have been deployed to assist firefighters.
Two Blasts Rock Finish Line at Boston Marathon; Dozens Injured

4:13 PM EST: Boston police just said that there are 23 injured and two dead, which conflicts with Fox's earlier report that three people had been killed.

4:04 PM EST: There are now multiple reports of "secondary devices," though how many there are is undetermined.

3:45 PM EST: New video shows the turbulent moments immediately following the first blast:
Click to view

3:40 PM EST: The Boston Herald quotes an eyewitness who says one of the explosions "looked like it was in a trash can or something."

3:36 PM EST: Fox News is reporting that there are at least three deaths so far.

3:26 PM EST: Cambridge resident Bruce Mendelsohn tweeted this picture, saying, "I was in office right above it. There was a primary and a secondary explosion."
Two Blasts Rock Finish Line at Boston Marathon; Dozens Injured

3:23 PM EST: An explosives unit has been dispatched to examine a "possible device" in front of the Mandarin Hotel.

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