[h=3]By ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES, JENNIFER LEVITZ, KEVIN HELLIKER and SARA GERMANO[/h]
Associated PressA police officer blocks a road leading to the Boston Marathon route on the morning after explosions killed three and injured more than 140.
The FBI-led investigation into the bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three and wounded more than 170 intensified Tuesday, with authorities interviewing witnesses and processing what one official called the "most complex crime scene" the city had ever dealt with.
"Two and only two explosive devices were found yesterday," said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick at a news conference Tuesday morning. "All other parcels in the area of the blast have been examined, but there are no other unexploded bombs found."
Officials appealed for tips from the public and any video or photographic images of the blasts. "We have received voluminous tips in the last 18 hours," said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "We strongly encourage that assistance to continue."
The tally of those injured in the bombings increased to 176, with 17 in critical condition and three dead, including an 8-year-old boy, police said.
"This will be a worldwide investigation," Mr. DesLauriers said. "We will go to the ends of the earth to find those responsible for this despicable crime."
[h=3]Bombing Suspect Eluding Boston Police[/h]
Lisa Fleisher outlines the latest developments stemming from the Boston Marathon bombings.
Officials said no one had claimed responsibility for the bombings on one of the city's most famous civic holidays, Patriots' Day. But the blasts that left the streets spattered with blood and glass raised fears of a terrorist attack.
President Barack Obama was careful not to use the words "terror" or "terrorism" as he spoke at the White House on Monday after the deadly bombings, but an administration official said the bombings were being treated as an act of terrorism."We will find out who did this. We'll find out why they did this," the president said. "Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice."
[h=3]Explosions Rock Boston[/h]
John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesPolice officers sprang into action near a Boston Marathon runner.
Late Monday, Massachusetts State Police said a search warrant related to the investigation into the explosions was served Monday night in Revere, a Boston suburb, but provided no further details, according to the Associated Press.
Nearly a day after the deadly explosions, cities across the U.S., from Washington to Los Angeles, tightened security, monitoring landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events. New York Police Department officials activated emergency measures to protect "hotels and other prominent locations" in the city, spokesman Paul Browne said Monday. Critical response vehicles were deployed to locations throughout the city "until more about the explosion is learned," he said.
The London Marathon, scheduled to take place this Sunday, will go on in a show of "solidarity" for Boston, race organizers said. Security measures are being reviewed, but "the best way for us to react is to push ahead with the marathon on Sunday, to get people on the streets and to celebrate it as we always do in London," said a race official, quoted by the AP.
[h=3]Terror in the U.S.[/h]Review other major plots of terrorism on American soil.
[h=3]Site of the Blasts[/h]Map
The blasts at the Boston Marathon occurred at about 2:50 p.m. Monday, some three hours after the winners had crossed the finish line but while thousands more runners still were on the streets. The two bombs exploded 50 to 100 yards apart near the course's end in the city's crowded Back Bay section, Boston Police said.
Panicked spectators fled the scene as smoke from the blasts filled the air, sirens wailed and exhausted, disoriented runners and families raced to find one another amid the mayhem.
Thom Kenney, a 43-year-old Army veteran who recently returned from Afghanistan, had just crossed the finish line when the explosions rang out. "Most of the people were looking back at the first explosion, wondering what it was, when the second explosion went off," he said. "When that went off, we all started calling our families as fast as we could."
The explosions "sounded like an IED—that was the first reaction that I had," he said, referring to the improvised explosive devices used in Afghanistan.
Police initially reported a third explosion at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, about six miles away, then said it had been a fire in a mechanical room. But fearing more explosions or other events, authorities urged people to stay inside and avoid large crowds.
The blasts temporarily halted the city's transportation system as well as flights. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flights bound for Boston's Logan International Airport to remain at their original airports until late afternoon.
Hospitals around the city were flooded with victims bearing a range of injuries.
"These are very high-force, high-impact injuries so they cause a lot of damage to tissue and to bone," said Ron Walls, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Shrapnel embedded in some patients' skin seemed to be objects from the street, not from any explosive device, he said.
A Massachusetts General spokeswoman said injuries there ran the gamut from "cuts and scrapes to amputations."
At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Stephen Epstein, attending physician in the emergency department, said X-rays of patients showed metal balls that appeared to be ball bearings. "They look like BBs," he said, adding that the balls were distinct from the shrapnel thrown up from debris on the street. Dr. Epstein said some people are at risk of losing limbs.
Raw video courtesy of WHDH shows one of the bombs detonating near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Moments later, another blast can be heard down the street. Photo: AP.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis called the bombs "powerful devices" but declined to describe them further. "There was no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen," Mr. Davis said at a news conference.
A Justice Department official said Attorney General Eric Holder directed agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), said that "if this is in fact a malicious attack, those responsible will be held accountable.''
Brent Cunningham, 46, had traveled from Sitka, Alaska, to run in the marathon. "We heard two explosions, and I thought, 'that had a 9/11 feel to it,' " he said.
Mr. Cunningham had finished the race and was walking in Boston Common with his family when the blasts hit. "It wasn't until we heard sirens, then we knew something had happened."
Beth Wolniewicz, a 46-year-old Chicago resident, said she had finished the race about three minutes before the initial blast. "I saw the first explosion. I never saw the second one go off," she said. "It was loud but more staggering was the velocity of the smoke. It was rising really quickly."
Paul Thompson, a spectator who is a sports cardiologist, has researched and published extensively about the health implications of running the Boston Marathon. Driving away from the bloody scene near the finish line Monday, Dr. Thompson couldn't speak without crying.
"For what? For what?" said the 65-year-old. "These people are totally innocent. They're not engaged in combat."
A 29-time finisher of the race who first witnessed it as a child at his father's knee, Dr. Thompson said he couldn't imagine the race ever being the same. "Unequivocally, it will change these events. It will become less fun. Less of a party. I just can't tell you how terrible I think this is."
—Ted Mann, Devlin Barrett, Jon Kamp, Cameron McWhirter, Mike Esterl, Caroline Porter, Jack Nicas, Lisa Fleisher and Stu Woo contributed to this article.Write to Jennifer Levitz at [email protected], Kevin Helliker at [email protected] and Sara Germano at [email protected]
Associated PressA police officer blocks a road leading to the Boston Marathon route on the morning after explosions killed three and injured more than 140.
The FBI-led investigation into the bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three and wounded more than 170 intensified Tuesday, with authorities interviewing witnesses and processing what one official called the "most complex crime scene" the city had ever dealt with.
"Two and only two explosive devices were found yesterday," said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick at a news conference Tuesday morning. "All other parcels in the area of the blast have been examined, but there are no other unexploded bombs found."
Officials appealed for tips from the public and any video or photographic images of the blasts. "We have received voluminous tips in the last 18 hours," said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "We strongly encourage that assistance to continue."
The tally of those injured in the bombings increased to 176, with 17 in critical condition and three dead, including an 8-year-old boy, police said.
"This will be a worldwide investigation," Mr. DesLauriers said. "We will go to the ends of the earth to find those responsible for this despicable crime."
[h=3]Bombing Suspect Eluding Boston Police[/h]
Lisa Fleisher outlines the latest developments stemming from the Boston Marathon bombings.
Officials said no one had claimed responsibility for the bombings on one of the city's most famous civic holidays, Patriots' Day. But the blasts that left the streets spattered with blood and glass raised fears of a terrorist attack.
President Barack Obama was careful not to use the words "terror" or "terrorism" as he spoke at the White House on Monday after the deadly bombings, but an administration official said the bombings were being treated as an act of terrorism."We will find out who did this. We'll find out why they did this," the president said. "Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice."
[h=3]Explosions Rock Boston[/h]
John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesPolice officers sprang into action near a Boston Marathon runner.
Late Monday, Massachusetts State Police said a search warrant related to the investigation into the explosions was served Monday night in Revere, a Boston suburb, but provided no further details, according to the Associated Press.
Nearly a day after the deadly explosions, cities across the U.S., from Washington to Los Angeles, tightened security, monitoring landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events. New York Police Department officials activated emergency measures to protect "hotels and other prominent locations" in the city, spokesman Paul Browne said Monday. Critical response vehicles were deployed to locations throughout the city "until more about the explosion is learned," he said.
The London Marathon, scheduled to take place this Sunday, will go on in a show of "solidarity" for Boston, race organizers said. Security measures are being reviewed, but "the best way for us to react is to push ahead with the marathon on Sunday, to get people on the streets and to celebrate it as we always do in London," said a race official, quoted by the AP.
[h=3]Terror in the U.S.[/h]Review other major plots of terrorism on American soil.
[h=3]Site of the Blasts[/h]Map
The blasts at the Boston Marathon occurred at about 2:50 p.m. Monday, some three hours after the winners had crossed the finish line but while thousands more runners still were on the streets. The two bombs exploded 50 to 100 yards apart near the course's end in the city's crowded Back Bay section, Boston Police said.
Panicked spectators fled the scene as smoke from the blasts filled the air, sirens wailed and exhausted, disoriented runners and families raced to find one another amid the mayhem.
Thom Kenney, a 43-year-old Army veteran who recently returned from Afghanistan, had just crossed the finish line when the explosions rang out. "Most of the people were looking back at the first explosion, wondering what it was, when the second explosion went off," he said. "When that went off, we all started calling our families as fast as we could."
The explosions "sounded like an IED—that was the first reaction that I had," he said, referring to the improvised explosive devices used in Afghanistan.
Police initially reported a third explosion at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, about six miles away, then said it had been a fire in a mechanical room. But fearing more explosions or other events, authorities urged people to stay inside and avoid large crowds.
The blasts temporarily halted the city's transportation system as well as flights. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flights bound for Boston's Logan International Airport to remain at their original airports until late afternoon.
Hospitals around the city were flooded with victims bearing a range of injuries.
"These are very high-force, high-impact injuries so they cause a lot of damage to tissue and to bone," said Ron Walls, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Shrapnel embedded in some patients' skin seemed to be objects from the street, not from any explosive device, he said.
A Massachusetts General spokeswoman said injuries there ran the gamut from "cuts and scrapes to amputations."
At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Stephen Epstein, attending physician in the emergency department, said X-rays of patients showed metal balls that appeared to be ball bearings. "They look like BBs," he said, adding that the balls were distinct from the shrapnel thrown up from debris on the street. Dr. Epstein said some people are at risk of losing limbs.
Raw video courtesy of WHDH shows one of the bombs detonating near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Moments later, another blast can be heard down the street. Photo: AP.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis called the bombs "powerful devices" but declined to describe them further. "There was no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen," Mr. Davis said at a news conference.
A Justice Department official said Attorney General Eric Holder directed agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), said that "if this is in fact a malicious attack, those responsible will be held accountable.''
Brent Cunningham, 46, had traveled from Sitka, Alaska, to run in the marathon. "We heard two explosions, and I thought, 'that had a 9/11 feel to it,' " he said.
Mr. Cunningham had finished the race and was walking in Boston Common with his family when the blasts hit. "It wasn't until we heard sirens, then we knew something had happened."
Beth Wolniewicz, a 46-year-old Chicago resident, said she had finished the race about three minutes before the initial blast. "I saw the first explosion. I never saw the second one go off," she said. "It was loud but more staggering was the velocity of the smoke. It was rising really quickly."
Paul Thompson, a spectator who is a sports cardiologist, has researched and published extensively about the health implications of running the Boston Marathon. Driving away from the bloody scene near the finish line Monday, Dr. Thompson couldn't speak without crying.
"For what? For what?" said the 65-year-old. "These people are totally innocent. They're not engaged in combat."
A 29-time finisher of the race who first witnessed it as a child at his father's knee, Dr. Thompson said he couldn't imagine the race ever being the same. "Unequivocally, it will change these events. It will become less fun. Less of a party. I just can't tell you how terrible I think this is."
—Ted Mann, Devlin Barrett, Jon Kamp, Cameron McWhirter, Mike Esterl, Caroline Porter, Jack Nicas, Lisa Fleisher and Stu Woo contributed to this article.Write to Jennifer Levitz at [email protected], Kevin Helliker at [email protected] and Sara Germano at [email protected]