‘ATTACKS HAPPENED WITHOUT WARNING’
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is taking the lead in investigating the double bombing that killed at least three people and left at least 144 others injured the Boston Marathon finish line even as local police authorities say the attacks happened without warning.
‘We will turn every rock over to find the people who were responsible for this,’ Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said, according to Boston Globe.
No suspects have been arrested, Davis said, though police were questioning many people. Davis said the attacks had occurred without warning. ‘There was no specific intelligence’ suggesting an attack would take place, he said.
A range of different agencies are involved in the hunt to find out who carried out the potential terrorist attack Monday afternoon in one of the oldest cities in the US and an international centre of higher education and medicine.
Harvard University, the nation's oldest, is located across the Charles River in Cambridge. Its business and medical schools are in Boston, the capital city of Massachusetts State.
‘This will be a combined federal, state and local effort,’ Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, told reporters Monday evening, according to CNN.
Describing it as a ‘criminal investigation’ that is also ‘a potential terrorist investigation,’ DesLauriers said the FBI was declaring federal jurisdiction over the matter through the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force.
A law enforcement official in Boston cited by CNN said investigators ‘have a number of active leads and some good early progress in the forensics analysis’ but are yet to identify any suspects.
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 the packages used in the attack were crude devices.
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, according to Democrat Bill Keating, a member of the House Homeland Security committee.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONDEMNS TWIN BOMBINGS
The international community condemned the bombings at the Boston Marathon Monday, which killed three people and injured more than 100 and forced many US cities to step up security.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday said the bombing ‘is all the more appalling for taking place at an event renowned for bringing people together from around the world in a spirit of sportsmanship and harmony.’
Speaking at a ceremony at UN headquarters commemorating the 19th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, Ban called the Boston Marathon explosions ‘senseless violence’, reported Xinhua.
‘For now I just wanted to say that my thoughts are with everyone in Boston,’ Ban said, expressing his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishing those wounded a speedy recovery.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was shocked to learn of the explosions.
‘It is truly a sad day when an event as inspiring as the Boston Marathon is clouded by such senseless violence,’ Harper said.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured or affected by this horrible incident. We stand with our American neighbours in this difficult time,’ he said.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday that they have been shocked by the tragic scenes in the US. Speaking at a press conference in Canberra, she called it a ‘brutal and senseless
attack’.
BLASTS WITNESS REMEMBERS MUMBAI ATTACK
A woman who saw the horror unfold at the Boston Marathon compared it with the 2008 attack in Mumbai, the Indian city she was visiting when Pakistani terrorists went on a killing spree.
Stephanie Douglas had come up here from Virginia to cheer on her friend Linda Claire Willits when two bombs exploded, killing three people and injuring over 140.
She was reminded of 2008 when she was in Mumbai when 10 Pakistani terrorists sneaked into India’s commercial capital and went on rampage. As many as 166 people were killed in the 26-28 November mayhem.
‘This is twice I've been in two cities when this kind of thing has been happening,’ CNN quoted her as saying.
Willits crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon and texted Douglas who was waiting down the street at the bar at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
‘I'm on my way,’ Willits said. Her friend, Stephanie Douglas was ready to celebrate.
Just then the first explosion took place, followed barely seconds later by a deafening roar that tore through the area.
‘It was so strong the bar filled up with smoke and chairs tipped over,’ Douglas said.
BOSTON BOMBINGS BECOME PART OF VIOLENT US APRIL
The Boston Marathon bombings in the historic city that saw several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, become part of violent April in US history. These incidents include the 1993 FBI siege of David Koresh’s compound in Waco, Texas, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 and the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The Boston attack came on Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine marking the anniversary of the American uprising against British authority in Lexington, Massachusetts, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The actual battles were fought on 19 April, 1775, but Patriots Day is celebrated on the third Monday in April, falling this year on 15 April. The Waco siege and the Oklahoma City bombing fell on 19 April, the actual anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, CNN noted. Time Washington correspondent Alex Altman also noted Patriots Day's ‘significance’ to the ‘militia movement’ in a tweet that was shared 507 times. The militia movement is a political movement of unconnected paramilitary groups in the United States who believe the federal government is a threat to their freedom and are opposed to any limit of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.He also mentioned the Oklahoma City bombing anniversary. He clarified that ‘OKC was on Apr. 19, anniversary of the Battles of Lexington & Concord, which are celebrated in Mass(achusetts) as Patriots Day.’
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is taking the lead in investigating the double bombing that killed at least three people and left at least 144 others injured the Boston Marathon finish line even as local police authorities say the attacks happened without warning.
‘We will turn every rock over to find the people who were responsible for this,’ Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said, according to Boston Globe.
No suspects have been arrested, Davis said, though police were questioning many people. Davis said the attacks had occurred without warning. ‘There was no specific intelligence’ suggesting an attack would take place, he said.
A range of different agencies are involved in the hunt to find out who carried out the potential terrorist attack Monday afternoon in one of the oldest cities in the US and an international centre of higher education and medicine.
Harvard University, the nation's oldest, is located across the Charles River in Cambridge. Its business and medical schools are in Boston, the capital city of Massachusetts State.
‘This will be a combined federal, state and local effort,’ Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, told reporters Monday evening, according to CNN.
Describing it as a ‘criminal investigation’ that is also ‘a potential terrorist investigation,’ DesLauriers said the FBI was declaring federal jurisdiction over the matter through the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force.
A law enforcement official in Boston cited by CNN said investigators ‘have a number of active leads and some good early progress in the forensics analysis’ but are yet to identify any suspects.
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 the packages used in the attack were crude devices.
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, according to Democrat Bill Keating, a member of the House Homeland Security committee.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONDEMNS TWIN BOMBINGS
The international community condemned the bombings at the Boston Marathon Monday, which killed three people and injured more than 100 and forced many US cities to step up security.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday said the bombing ‘is all the more appalling for taking place at an event renowned for bringing people together from around the world in a spirit of sportsmanship and harmony.’
Speaking at a ceremony at UN headquarters commemorating the 19th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, Ban called the Boston Marathon explosions ‘senseless violence’, reported Xinhua.
‘For now I just wanted to say that my thoughts are with everyone in Boston,’ Ban said, expressing his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishing those wounded a speedy recovery.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was shocked to learn of the explosions.
‘It is truly a sad day when an event as inspiring as the Boston Marathon is clouded by such senseless violence,’ Harper said.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured or affected by this horrible incident. We stand with our American neighbours in this difficult time,’ he said.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday that they have been shocked by the tragic scenes in the US. Speaking at a press conference in Canberra, she called it a ‘brutal and senseless
attack’.
BLASTS WITNESS REMEMBERS MUMBAI ATTACK
A woman who saw the horror unfold at the Boston Marathon compared it with the 2008 attack in Mumbai, the Indian city she was visiting when Pakistani terrorists went on a killing spree.
Stephanie Douglas had come up here from Virginia to cheer on her friend Linda Claire Willits when two bombs exploded, killing three people and injuring over 140.
She was reminded of 2008 when she was in Mumbai when 10 Pakistani terrorists sneaked into India’s commercial capital and went on rampage. As many as 166 people were killed in the 26-28 November mayhem.
‘This is twice I've been in two cities when this kind of thing has been happening,’ CNN quoted her as saying.
Willits crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon and texted Douglas who was waiting down the street at the bar at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
‘I'm on my way,’ Willits said. Her friend, Stephanie Douglas was ready to celebrate.
Just then the first explosion took place, followed barely seconds later by a deafening roar that tore through the area.
‘It was so strong the bar filled up with smoke and chairs tipped over,’ Douglas said.
BOSTON BOMBINGS BECOME PART OF VIOLENT US APRIL
The Boston Marathon bombings in the historic city that saw several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, become part of violent April in US history. These incidents include the 1993 FBI siege of David Koresh’s compound in Waco, Texas, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 and the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The Boston attack came on Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine marking the anniversary of the American uprising against British authority in Lexington, Massachusetts, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The actual battles were fought on 19 April, 1775, but Patriots Day is celebrated on the third Monday in April, falling this year on 15 April. The Waco siege and the Oklahoma City bombing fell on 19 April, the actual anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, CNN noted. Time Washington correspondent Alex Altman also noted Patriots Day's ‘significance’ to the ‘militia movement’ in a tweet that was shared 507 times. The militia movement is a political movement of unconnected paramilitary groups in the United States who believe the federal government is a threat to their freedom and are opposed to any limit of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.He also mentioned the Oklahoma City bombing anniversary. He clarified that ‘OKC was on Apr. 19, anniversary of the Battles of Lexington & Concord, which are celebrated in Mass(achusetts) as Patriots Day.’