Just about a half hour ago, there were at least two explosions near the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon:
BOSTON — Two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon have resulted in injuries.
Bloody spectators were being carried Monday to the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners. Police wove through competitors as they ran back toward the course.
“There are a lot of people down,” said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina. He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.
I’ve seen multiple Tweets from people on the scene that include pictures of the damage and it looks as though there was a tremendous amount of glass damage in the area, which is likely to contribute to the number of injuries. CNN is reporting that the Marathon itself, which is still going on even though the winners crossed the Finish Line some three hours ago, has been halted, and accessing Boston area news sites is next to impossible at the moment, most likely because of the traffic load.
This photo comes from a CBS screen shot at Business Insider:
A reporter for New England Cable News tweeted this:
Update: A first report from The New York Times:
A series of explosions erupted near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday. The Boston Police Department confirmed that they were looking into an explosion, but had no further comment.
The Associated Press reported that the authorities were helping injured runners leave the scene and bloody spectators were being carried to a medical tent that was being used for runners.
The A.P. said that a loud explosion was heard on the north side of Boylston Street, near a photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion was heard several seconds later.
Local television showed ambulances at the scene. Pictures posted online showed several injured runners being attended to and smoke around the finish line.
The headquarters for the organizers of the marathon, one of the world’s oldest, was reportedly locked down while authorities investigate. Reporters inside the Copley Plaza Hotel, where the media center is and where many elite athletes are staying, were unable to leave.
The explosions went off more than four hours after the start of the men’s race, which meant that there were still several thousand runners yet to finish the race.
Big city authorities are typically on the highest levels of alert for events like a marathon, said Anthony Roman, a security expert.
“It is quite the counterterrorism effort,” said Mr. Roman, who runs Roman & Associates, a New York firm.
For major events in New York and other large cities, Mr. Roman said the police would typically weld manhole covers shut, while also examining the entire route just before the race. They will also place snipers on rooftops, with helicopters overhead. Analytic cameras in the city will be focusing on the race, he said.
“They have all the analytic cameras in the city focusing on the race with their advanced software network, reading license plates,” Roman said.
And from New England Cable News:
BOSTON (AP) – Two explosions shattered the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry away the injured while stragglers in the 26.2-mile race were rerouted away from the smoking site.
Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Bloody spectators were being carried to the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners.
“There are a lot of people down,” said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina. He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.
Neither race officials nor public officials could immediately estimate the number or degree of injuries.
About three hours after the winners crossed the line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.
Smoke rose from the blasts, fluttering through the national flags lining the route of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathon. TV helicopter footage showed blood staining the pavement in the popular shopping and tourist area known as the Back Bay.
“There are people who are really, really bloody,” said Laura McLean, a runner from Toronto, who was in the medical tent being treated for dehydration when she was pulled out to make room for victims of the explosions. “They were pulling them into the medical tent.”
Fox News is reporting that three people are confirmed dead, but that report has not been confirmed by other news outlets or by law enforcement.
Obviously we don’t know the source of the explosion. It could possibly be a gas explosion, although there are no reports of the smell of gas in the area, or a steam explosion, but that would usually be followed by scene rising from the scene of the explosion, not smoke that seems indicative of some kind of explosive device. Ironically, today’s Marathon was being run in memory of the victims of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Update: The Boston Police Department is reporting 23 injured, 2 dead as of this time.
Update # 2: If this report is true, it would seem to confirm that this is not accidental:
Also, CNN is reporting that this was a bombing based on information received from law enforcement sources.
Update #3: The Boston Police Commissioner just said at a press conference that they have not found other devices. This reminds us that early reports are often inaccurate. Of course, law enforcement could be holding back information at this time.
Also, The Atlantic has photos from the scene. Be warned, several of them are graphic.
Update # 4: The Wall Street Journal is reporting through law enforcement sources that there were indeed additional devices found near the scene of the attack:
Counterterrorism officials found what they believe to be five additional, undetonated explosive devices around the Boston area, according to two people briefed on the rapidly moving investigation.
The devices—which are in addition to the two that exploded near the finish line of the marathon—were discovered over the course of a frantic inspection of suspicious packages, many of them abandoned as pedestrians, runners, and others scrambled away from crowded public streets. Each had been rendered inoperative or was in the process of being rendered inoperative, the officials said.
But the officials also sounded a note of caution, saying they are moving quickly and each device they believe is a bomb hasn’t been fully dissected or analyzed.
This has not been confirmed by law enforcement, and as the story notes a “device” may just mean a report of a suspicious package.
