The annual Boston Marathon was up and running on Monday, April 15, 2013. It was Patriot's Day in Boston, Massachusetts. Patriot's Day is the 3rd Monday in April. Massachusetts, along with Maine, celebrated the battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775. This was a special day for Boston. Three hours after the winner crossed the finish line, something unbelievable happened. Something out of the blue had shocked the nation. An explosion set off around the finish line.
Runners looked back at astonishment. They see people cry as smoke flew the air. Broken glass, broken limbs, all skewed everywhere. The marathoners had so little time to react to the second explosion, which happened merely fifteen minutes afterwards. It became clear that his wasn't just a random act. This was an effort to harm, or even kill, people.
Later, police confirmed that the explosions were caused by bombs. There was a "fire related" incident at John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester. It was later said that the fire had nothing to do with the bombings. Three unexploded "bombs" were later found around the city. After the explosions, three people were murdered and more than 140 people were injured. Below is a map of the explosion placements.
What was next, you ask? In the wake of recent events, the next step was to find the suspect, or more than likely suspects. A lot of rumors were going around that North Korea was to blame. Others have said that Al-Qaeda was behind it all. Some people, like myself, thought that Americans could be at fault.
Later, officials said that they had footage of two new suspects putting backpacks on the ground where the explosions went off. Officials later claimed that they had unreleased footage of two people walking slowly away from the explosions. At a news briefing, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.'s Boston field office, urged the public to look at the pictures and a video on the F.B.I.'s Web site. Right after, calls started to flood in non-stop. At the briefing, the special agent in charge of F.B.I.'s Boston field office did not specify what led the F.B.I. to call the two men suspects, but he said that the decision was "based on what they do in the rest of the video." The video that was posted didn't have good quality resolution of the faces of the proclaimed suspects. So that held a slight difficulty.
The hunt for the suspects took a turn Thursday night when the two men are believed to have fatally shot an M.I.T. police officer. After that, a man was carjacked nearby by two armed men, who drove off with him in his Mercedes S.U.V. The two forced the man to drive. Soon after, one of the brothers took the wheel. They revealed to him that they were the culprits behind the marathon bombings. At one point they drove to another vehicle, which the authorities believe was parked and unoccupied. There, the suspects got out and transferred materials which the authorities from the parked car to the sport utility vehicle.
The victim was released at a gas station in Cambridge. The man called the police. Soon after, the police and the two suspects fired at each other. Explosive devices were reportedly thrown from the vehicle, and at the police. The brothers finally faced police officers in Watertown. Ultimately, the older brother -- Tamerlan Tsarnaev, age 26 -- got out of the car. Police shot him, and his brother ran over him as he drove away. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was critically injured. He had bullet wounds and an injury from an explosion. He was wearing explosives and had an explosive trigger. He later died, while his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of age 19, escaped.
Police then spent Friday looking door-to-door for Dzhokhar, but to no avail. Governor Deval Patrick lifted the lockdown on Boston at 6:00 P.M Friday night after a long day of searching, but less than an hour later police forces received a call from David Henneberry of Watertown, a suburb right outside the Boston area. Henneberry had gone outside soon after the shelter in place lift to check on his boat in the backyard. He had noticed the cord tying down the tarp had been cut and looked inside to find a wounded Tsarnaev in a pool of blood. He quickly retreated to call the police.
Police forces arrived with a helicopter overhead, using infrared cameras to be assured of his location, while a team down below exchanged gunfire with the suspect. One officer was slightly hit, but no police officers were killed or seriously injured. At around 8:45 P.M that night, Tsarnaev was seized and taken away in an ambulance to receive medical treatment for serious injuries maintained in the two shootouts from the past two days. As police officials drove from the site, Boston and Watertown residents cheered on in a sort of impromptu parade for their brave work.
Upon his arrest, Dzhohkar Tsarnaev's Miranda rights were not given to him, which is allowed in very rare instances, such as when there is a large scale threat to public safety. In most states, a suspect's Miranda rights include:
- The right to remain silent.
- Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
- You have the right to an attorney now and during any future questioning.
- If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge.
The federal public defender's office in Massachusetts has agreed to defend Tsarnaev once he is charged, but he is still not in a condition where he can be interrogated. Until then, the public awaits his trial wondering what will become of him.
Author's Note: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/opinion/bombs-at-the-boston-marathon.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/us/explosions-reported-at-site-of-boston-marathon.html?hp
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57579671/deadly-bombs-rock-boston-marathon/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/jfk-library-explosion-boston-bombing_n_3087446.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/us/fbi-releases-video-of-boston-bombing-suspects.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/19/us/boston-overnight/#us?hpt=us_zite1_featured
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/us/boston-marathon-bombings.html
