On Monday, April 15, 2013, over one hundred people were injured and three were killed when two bombs went off near the Boston Marathon finish line. The bombs went off about four hours after the race had started, and most of the runners had already crossed the finish line.
In the worst attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001, more than 170 people were taken to nearby hospitals after the bombs exploded. At least ten of the injured had limbs amputated. Two of the victims, a 29-year-old woman, Krystle Campbell and a Boston University graduate student, Lu Lingzi, were killed immediately after the bombs went off. An 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, later died as the result of injuries he received at the race.
The city of Boston was completely shut down until the suspects, brothers Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, were captured. On Thursday, April 18, the FBI released pictures of the suspects leaving backpacks at the finish line. Later on Thursday night, the pair tried to rob a 7-Eleven and soon after an MIT campus cop was found shot multiple times. He was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead soon after. About half an hour later, the brothers car-jacked an SUV and were chased by police to Watertown, Massachusetts, where a shoot-out occurred. One officer was shot as was Tamerlan. He was wearing explosives and was taken to the hospital but didn’t survive.
On Friday, the manhunt continued for the younger brother, Dzhokhar. Watertown and all surrounding towns were shut down and activity was halted. Police went door-to-door looking for the suspect. A resident living in Watertown went outside and noticed his boat looked different. He saw what he thought was the suspect with bloody clothes, and he called the police. After a two-hour-long shootout, Dzhokhar was wounded and had significant blood loss when police took him into custody.
As more information is surfacing, more people are being questioned. Three college friends of Dzhokhar were accused of removing evidence from Dzhokhar’s dorm room. They allegedly took a backpack that contained firework tubes and disposed of it in the garbage. The three are still waiting for a hearing date.
More news is developing every day and much more information is being released about the brothers and others involved in the bombing.