Last Monday, I walked into my room after my run and found half my Lucy friends sitting on my futon staring at the TV. Pure shock was all over our faces as we watched the medics rush to help those hurt by the detonation of the homemade bombs.
As the story unfolded, the nation learned that the attackers were a pair of brothers, ages 26 and 19 who were immigrants from Russia. The older brother made trips back and forth from Russia and the United States and although Russia asked the United States to interrogate him, they found nothing of interest.
But, the older brother is not what shocked me the most. No, the idea that the younger brother was 19 years old, a college freshman, and was described as “normal” by his friends is what shocks me. CNN reports that, “Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was on the campus of University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth every day after the attack until late Thursday,” a university official told CNN. “Tsarnaev attended classes and dorm parties and went to the gym while the rest of Boston came to a tense standstill.” This man who ended three lives, injured 106 people and managed to evade police capture for about a week, was a college kid. He lived in a dorm, attended classes, took tests, went to parties, and probably ate the equivalent of Marvin’s on late nights after going out. That is the profile of the man who bombed the Boston Marathon. To me, this fact is one of the most shocking parts of the tragedy.
Currently, Dzhokar Tsarnaev is in ICU at Beth Israel’s Hospital and cannot talk. He suffered major throat injuries. He has not been read his Miranda rights yet but the government thinks that they will have a case without the statements by the young man.