When runners from all over the US gathered on Monday to take part in The Boston Marathon, little did they know they’d soon be running to save their lives. With two bombs going off near the finish line, the marathon became a horrific event for runners and spectators alike, resulting in three deaths and over 200 injuries.
The suspect responsible for the attack has been identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, a 19 year old resident of Cambridge, Mass. After shooting and killing an MIT officer, the Tsarnaev brothers took off on a police chase, which left Tsarnaev’s older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaey, shot and killed by police. The Boston area was on lock-down for hours as investigators and police searched the city for Tsarnaev and eventually found him hiding in a boat in a residential area.
Before capturing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the search for who was responsible puzzled investigators since they were unsure whether it was an act of domestic terrorism or international terrorism. All they knew was that the attack had been planned meticulously and with great expertise in how to successfully carry out such an act.
Today, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in police custody and has been questioned while recovering from severe gunshot wounds in the hospital. According to Tsarnaev, although not having any contact with terrorist groups, the brothers were self-radicalized through the Internet.
Among those found dead was 29 year old Krystle Campbell, a Massachusetts native who had gone with a friend to join the crowd as they watched the marathon. Lu Lingzi, a graduate student from China who had been studying statistics at Boston University, was also a spectator who was watching with her friends as they stood near the finish line in close proximity to where the bombs went off. And lastly, there was 8 year old Martin Richard who was cheering on his dad throughout the race just minutes before the bomb explosion took his life.
Since then, members from different communities all throughout the nation have joined together to remember the lives of those lost as well as pray for those still recovering in hospitals. Candlelight vigils are being held and everyone is sending their thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the attacks. The attacks, although unknown who is responsible, have shaken up the entire nation especially those Boston natives whose thoughts and memories of one of their most cherished events have changed forever.