News Explosion reported near Boston Marathon finish line

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Two explosions occurred near the Boston Marathon finish line, resulting in at least two deaths and over 100 injuries, including many critical cases. Witnesses reported severe injuries, with some victims losing limbs, and the area was evacuated. A third explosion was initially reported at the JFK Library, but later deemed a normal fire. Authorities have identified a suspect, a Saudi national, who is currently under guard at a hospital. Investigators recovered bomb components, indicating the devices were pressure cookers packed with shrapnel.
  • #51
jobyts said:
Nothing happened to the mail box nearby?
It's not likely the bomb. The bomb appears to be closer to the building, as can be seen in this photo, if the garbage bag was still there when the blast occurred, it's likely it was blown off the curb.

http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/2013/04/16/boston-marathon-bombing/#a=1
 
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  • #53
This man is a real Hero.

http://www.10news.com/news/father-of-camp-pendleton-marine-hailed-as-hero-in-boston-marathon-bombings-041613

BOSTON - The father of a fallen Camp Pendleton Marine is being hailed as a hero for his attempts to help the wounded after the explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line.

Carlos Arredondo's efforts were one of the most enduring images from the tragedy.

His Cowboy hat and flag are seen here. http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/files/2013/04/09Bostonmdf1581976.jpg
 
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  • #54
Evo said:
It's not likely the bomb. The bomb appears to be closer to the building, as can be seen in this photo, if the garbage bag was still there when the blast occurred, it's likely it was blown off the curb.

http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/2013/04/16/boston-marathon-bombing/#a=1

All of the mass pooling of blood from vaporized flesh is near the mailbox. http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/files/2013/04/23Bostonmdf1581714.jpg

I can also see evidence locators placed near it. If that bag didn't contain the bomb (backpack in a trash bag) is was very close to that spot as the mailbox seemed to have shielded people on the other side.
 
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  • #55
nsaspook said:
All of the mass pooling of blood from vaporized flesh is near the mailbox. http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/files/2013/04/23Bostonmdf1581714.jpg

I can also see evidence locators placed near it. If that bag didn't contain the bomb (backpack in a trash bag) is was very close to that spot as the mailbox seemed to have shielded people on the other side.
It makes sense that the people were gathered on the sidewalk at the railing, so that is where the blood would be, not the explosion from behind that ripped into them. Of course I am just going by photos and reports. If you look at the explosion, you can see where it was, back towards the building and spraying out initially, which they said is how the bombs were intended, to spray projectiles straight ahead and cutting into people mostly at knee level and below. It makes the intentions all the more heinous.
 
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  • #56
As word spread of the videos Wednesday afternoon, officials emphatically denied a flurry of news reports that they had made an arrest. The F.B.I. was still “looking for a name to put with a face in a video,” one law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

. . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/us/boston-investigation-moves-into-third-day.html

Apparently websites have been created based on pictures from around the internet. Folks are trying to identify 'suspicious' people. The NYT article ends with
“Does anyone remember Richard Jewell?,” a reference to the security guard at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta who was wrongly cast as a suspect after a bomb blast there.

The perpetrator could have placed the devices hours before or minutes before, and lots of other folks traveled or stopped through the area. So there are lots of innocent folks who could be implicated simply from being there and recorded on video.
 
  • #58
Here's a link that contains a slideshow (scroll down a little, and it's to the left), if you'd rather see images as opposed to a video (showing images).
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57580325/fbi-releases-video-of-2-boston-bombing-suspects/
 
  • #59
Greg Bernhardt said:
FBI releases photos, video of Boston bomb suspects
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/boston-blasts/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
I'd hate to be suspect 2, because I'm sure family, friends or associates should be able to readily identify this person from the profile. They look like they could be university students. I wonder if they bought the gunpowder recently. A large purchase would be suspicious. Then again, apparently one can buy 8 lbs on-line. :rolleyes:
 

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  • #62
nsaspook said:
The second bomb, maybe dropped by the guy in the white hat: Saved by the mailbox. http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/us/2013/04/18/ac-steve-byrne-boston-marathon-survivor.cnn
That makes sense since the bomb was to the back and left of the mailbox, as you are facing the sidewalk. The bag of trash that had been photographed over an hour-2 earlier was not the bomb.

The man identified as "Suspect 2" was seen setting down a backpack at the site of the second explosion "within minutes" of the blast, said Special Agent Rick DesLauriers, the head of the FBI's Boston office
Thus making the little grocery bags not the bomb.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/boston-blasts/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
 
  • #63
Evo said:
Thus making the little grocery bags not the bomb.

Agree, now let's hope we can find that bastard.

I can also see evidence locators placed near it. If that bag didn't contain the bomb (backpack in a trash bag) is was very close to that spot as the mailbox seemed to have shielded people on the other side.
 
  • #64
NPR reported these two were seen coming into the area together, then splitting up - one going to site 1, the other to site 2. I almost screamed 'hell yeah!' in my car when I heard that. Really sounds like they're onto the right guys.

Those pics are great, anyone who knows the guys would recognize them immediately. I'm a bit concerned they have not been grabbed yet.
 
  • #65
nsaspook said:
Agree, now let's hope we can find that bastard.
Yeah, there was a tree with dirt all around it that would have possibly captured a lot of evidence. I've seen photos of them scraping out the dirt with a hand trowel and a shovel and carrying the dirt away. Now they even cut down the tree and removed it, I suspect they hope to find more evidence lodged in the tree.
 
  • #66
Astronuc said:
... They look like they could be university students. I wonder if they bought the gunpowder recently. A large purchase would be suspicious. Then again, apparently one can buy 8 lbs on-line. :rolleyes:
Has anybody heard what was the explosive?

One report I saw Monday said FBI was looking for people who've recently researched 'Sodium Chlorate' over internet... so I assumed it was a home-brew .

the smoke looked to me too light-colored for black powder.
 
  • #68
jim hardy said:
Has anybody heard what was the explosive?

One report I saw Monday said FBI was looking for people who've recently researched 'Sodium Chlorate' over internet... so I assumed it was a home-brew .

the smoke looked to me too light-colored for black powder.

It's really hard to say from just looking at the pictures. The pressure cooker IED is a cheap way to increase the effective blast force from a slow burning powder.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/boston-bomb-smoke/
 
  • #69
Just speculation re: the explosive, but Pyrodex is cheap and widely available.

I wish the media had not given so many details about the containers and the shrapnel they contained. It appeared that the bombs were relatively simple and that could encourage copycats.
 
  • #71
  • #72
nsaspook said:
This looks like #2 after the bombing. (backward white cap)
http://i.imgur.com/NFPlOCI.jpg

The guy behind him in khaki pants -- could he be the other? The way the girls are looking at him makes me think he's pushing past them.

Re the explosive

I must've seen a reference to this conversation:

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Boston Marathon Explosives Speculation

It is still too early into the investigation of yesterday’s dual bombings along the route of the Boston Marathon to know for sure what actual explosives were used in the attack. Having said that a CNN report yesterday makes the following comment:

“Based on the bombs' effects, the devices could have been small enough to be concealed in small bags or boxes, a law enforcement official said. The smoke was consistent with a "low-velocity improvised explosive mixture, perhaps flash powder or sugar chlorate mixture," the official said.”IF the ‘sugar chlorate’ mixture was the material of construction, it MIGHT indicate (note the big ‘IF’ and the big ‘MIGHT”, this is all speculation at this point) it might indicate that a theft/diversion of a DHS chemical of interest (COI) was involved in this attack. Either sodium chlorate or potassium chlorate would be effective in this role and both are DHS COI.
http://chemical-facility-security-n...4/boston-marathon-explosives-speculation.html

The one I remember was from a different source, don't recall what it was. It didn't mention sugar and I'm pretty sure said 'sodium chlorate'.
 
  • #73
collinsmark said:
Yes, it most certainly does!
Yep, that's him back against the wall. No sign of the backpack he was carrying a few minutes earlier.

Yes, Jim, that appears to be the other guy back there trying to get past the women. Same hat, jacket, pants. No more backpack.
 
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  • #75
Apparently one of the bomb suspects is dead, but the one who was arrested looked to be in good condition (stripped naked, walking around). I hope they find the other suspect soon, the names and profile pictures are now made public so it will be impossible to move around unnoticed with this kind of news coverage.
 
  • #76
Monique said:
Apparently one of the bomb suspects is dead, but the one who was arrested looked to be in good condition (stripped naked, walking around). I hope they find the other suspect soon, the names and profile pictures are now made public so it will be impossible to move around unnoticed with this kind of news coverage.
Three suspects? :confused: I've only heard of two. I haven't seen any pictures of the one arrested. Got a link?
EDIT: Now the stories are saying that the first suspect is dead and the other is on the run. I was really hoping they would be caught alive.
 
  • #79
Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College, etc. are all shut down. All MBTA transit service is shut down (bus, subway, etc.). Amtrak service in and out of Boston is suspended.
 
  • #80
The guy arrested and made to strip was later confirmed as a bystander, not a suspect.
 
  • #81
As of this morning:
The Associated Press identified the surviving Boston bomb suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass., and said that the suspects were brothers.

The mayhem began at approximately 10:20 p.m. Thursday when police said the bombing suspects robbed a 7-Eleven store in Cambridge. Minutes later, police said, the men shot and killed an MIT campus officer responding to the robbery call. The terror suspects then carjacked a Mercedes-Benz with the driver inside and fled, eventually letting driver go. They were then spotted in Watertown where they exchanged dozens of rounds of gunfire with patrol officers.

Suspect 1 was shot by police and brought to Beth Israel Medical Center. He arrived at the hospital under cardiac arrest with multiple gunshot wounds and blast-like injuries to his chest. The second suspect fled on foot, leading to the tense manhunt that is still underway at this hour.

"We believe this to be a terrorist," said Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis. "We believe this to be a man who has come here to kill people. We need to get him into custody."

. . . .
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/boston-mit-shooting-explosion-suspect-watertown-064355149.html
 
  • #82
This is just absolutely insane. My mind is blown. All of Boston is on lockdown.
 
  • #83
I was just watching the CBS Morning News which had live footage of police sweeping through Watertown, searching houses and apartment buildings. About 20 blocks are cordoned off and they think/hope the suspect is inside there somewhere.

Governor Patrick just made a statement telling people in all of Boston and the near western suburbs (Watertown, Cambridge, etc.) to stay indoors, look the doors and don't open them except for properly identified police officers.
 
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  • #84
My sister didn't go to work this morning. When she doesn't take the T she usually runs to work: not a good day to be running through Boston with a backpack on your back!
 
  • #85
Why are people still reading the New York Post?

"[url "]Teen stunned at portrayal as Mass. bombing suspect
[/URL]

From reporting 12 people dead, then reporting a suspect when there was none, and now this.
 
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  • #86
I have seen many names come by already, in some countries it's forbidden to release names of suspects and confirmed criminals and it makes sense with all this false identification taking place.
 
  • #87
From the NY Times:
The two suspects were identified by law enforcement officials as brothers from Chechnya. The surviving suspect was identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass., a law enforcement official said. The one who was killed was identified as his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26. The authorities were investigating whether the dead man had an improvised explosive device strapped to his body when he was killed, two law enforcement officials said.
. . . .
Col. Tim Alben of the Massachusetts State Police said investigators believed that the two men were responsible for the death of Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer and the shooting of an officer with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, . . . .
. . . .
About 10:30, police received reports that a campus security officer at M.I.T. was shot while he sat in his police cruiser. . . .

A short time later, police received reports of an armed carjacking of a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle by two males in the area of Third Street in Cambridge, . . .

The police immediately began to search for the vehicle and pursued it into Watertown. During the chase, “explosive devices were reportedly thrown from car by the suspects,” the statement said, and the suspects and police exchanged gunfire in the area of Dexter and Laurel streets.
. . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/us/boston-marathon-bombings.html

A crazy night in Boston suburbs.


Update: NPR was reporting that there is a third suspect or person of interest in custody, and apparently suspect #2, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, is in a house surrounded. He was identified when police matched his image with a driver's license record.
 
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  • #88
Astronuc said:
apparently suspect #2, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, is in a house surrounded.

Or maybe not?

Connecticut and Massachusetts state police are searching for a gray Honda CRV, with Massachusetts license plate 316-ES9, that might be occupied by Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Police said they believe Tsarnaev is headed to New York.

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x1031160752/State-police-searching-for-bombing-suspect-car#ixzz2Qv4bLqUI

Also, a tweet from the Boston PD showed up on boston.com a few minutes ago:

#WANTED: Police seeking MA Plate: 316-ES9, ’99 Honda CRV, Color - Gray. Possible suspect car. Do not approach.
 
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  • #89
And, the latest tweet that it was found unoccupied. Definitely a fluid situation.
 
  • #90
Any word on a motive?
 
  • #94
Boston suspect's web page venerates Islam, Chechen independence

(Reuters) - Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted links to Islamic websites and others calling for Chechen independence on what appears to be his page on a Russian language social networking site.

http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-page-venerates-islam-chechen-independence-130738093.html
 
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  • #95
#WANTED: Police seeking MA Plate: 316-ES9, ’99 Honda CRV, Color - Gray. Possible suspect car. Do not approach.
NPR just described a '99 Honda Civic 4DR, MA: 116 GC7

The story keeps changing. :rolleyes:

As someone said - the situation is fluid.
 
  • #96
Evo said:
http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-page-venerates-islam-chechen-independence-130738093.html


Wasn't their family also granted political asylum here?
 
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  • #97
aquitaine said:
Wasn't their family also granted political asylum here?
I believe.

What I'm thinking is that he got his bomb instructions from contacts from these sites and that the FBI will be scrutinizing any visitor to those sites, could expose a terrorist cell, IMO.
 
  • #98
Evo said:
I believe.

What I'm thinking is that he got his bomb instructions from contacts from these sites and that the FBI will be scrutinizing any visitor to those sites, could expose a terrorist cell, IMO.


So we give them safe refuge and the chance to make something of themselves, and they repay us by attempting to kill a huge number of people, unarmed civilians no less. No good deed goes unpunished?
 
  • #99
Motives.

What motivated the brothers?

Each of them has left possible clues online.
Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout earlier today, appears to have been sympathetic to Islamist radicalism. Five months ago he appears to have created a channel on YouTube called “Terrorists.” The channel features videos from the one of the leaders of the insurgency in Dagestan who goes by the name Amir Abu Dudzhan. YouTube appears to have removed two of the videos but in a third features Dudzhan calling for jihad. Holding a Kalashnikov rifle, he says, “Jihad is the duty of every able-bodied Muslim.” Among the other videos on his channel is one of Timur Mutsuraev, the bard of the Chechen resistance in the 1990s; it features his song, “We will devote our lives to jihad.”

http://news.yahoo.com/brothers-tsarnaev-clues-motives-alleged-boston-bombers-162101446.html

Still makes no sense to me, it appears to be an act of insanity.
 
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  • #100
Since when was religious extremism logical?
 

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