Boston Bombing
Dominic Sitzer
Boston bombing
On Patriots' Day, Monday, April 15, 2013, the annual Boston Marathon began without any indications of an imminent attack. Officials swept the area for bombs twice before the explosions; the second sweep occurred one hour before the bombs went off. People were able to come and go freely, and carry bags and items in and out of the area.
At 2:49 pm EDT (18:49 UTC), about two hours after the winner crossed the finish line,but with more than 5,700 runners yet to finish, two bombs detonated on Boylston Street nearCopley Square about 210 yards (190 m) apart, just before the finish line. The first exploded outside Marathon Sports at 671–673 Boylston Street at 2:49:43 pm EDT. At the time of the first explosion, the race clock at the finish line showed 04:09:43. The second bomb exploded at 2:49:57 pm EDT, about 13 seconds later and one block farther west at 755 Boylston Street.
The blasts blew out windows on adjacent buildings but did not cause any structural damage. Some runners continued to cross the line until 2:57 pm EDT, 8 minutes after the explosions.
Police and other emergency workers on the scene
Rescue workers and medical personnel, on hand to assist runners and bystanders, rushed available aid to wounded victims in the bombings' immediate aftermath. Each explosion caused injuries and death totaling 3 spectators killed and 264 casualties whose injuries were treated in 27 local hospitals. At least 14 people required amputations with some sufferingtraumatic amputations as a direct result of the blasts.
The marathon was halted abruptly. Police, following emergency plans, diverted the remaining runners away from the finish line to Boston Common and Kenmore Square. The nearbyLenox Hotel and other buildings were evacuated. Police closed down a 15-block area around the blast site; this was reduced to a 12-block crime scene on April 16.[26][30]Massachusetts Army National Guard soldiers already at the scene joined local authorities in rendering aid. Boston police commissioner Ed Davis recommended that people stay off the streets.
Many people dropped backpacks and other bags as they fled, requiring each to be treated as a potential bomb. A number of news reports stated that more bombs had been found nearby and the Boston Police Bomb Squad said they would perform a controlled explosion on the 600 block of Boylston Street, but in the end no other bombs were found. The Navy sent one of itsbomb-disposal units to Boston to help local authorities.
Emergency services at work after the bombings
As a precaution, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted airspace over Boston, and issued a temporary ground stop for Boston's Logan International Airport. Some Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service was halted. Several cities in Massachusetts and other states put their police forces on alert. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder directed that the "full resources" of the U.S. Department of Justice be brought to bear on investigating the explosions.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency suggested people trying to contact those in the vicinity use text messaging, instead of voice calls, because of crowded cellphone lines. Cellphone service in Boston was congested but remained in operation, despite some local media reports stating that cell service was shut down to prevent cell phones from being used as detonators.
The American Red Cross helped concerned friends and family receive information about runners and casualties. The Boston Police Department also set up a helpline for people concerned about relatives or acquaintances to contact and a line for people to provide information. [Google Person Finder activated their disaster service under Boston Marathon Explosions to log known information about missing persons as a publicly viewable file.
Boston Bombing. (Nd). Retrieved from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings
Questions
How could this been stopped?
What is your opinion about this story?
How do you think the people who set the bombs off reacted?
What do you think about the bombing?
How did you react to the bombing?
Answers
Checking people's bags as they walked in.
My opinion is that it should've never happened in the first place.
Maybe they didn't think that they never would have been caught.
I think that it was a bad thing and we should start checking bags when people come in.
My reaction was how did they do that without getting caught.