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Boston Explosions Kill 3, Injure Scores at Marathon’s End

*from www.bloomberg.com, April 16, 2013 (To view original article click here.)

Take Away #1: Bombings killed three people, injured scores and sent smoke and flame soaring near the Boston Marathon’s finish line yesterday.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The bombings triggered an FBI investigation into what authorities described as an act of terror.
  • The explosions near Copley Square occurred as recreational runners were finishing about 2:50 p.m. local time yesterday, police said.
  • At least 140 people were hospitalized and as many as eight were in critical condition, officials said.
  • Among the dead was Martin Richard, an 8-year old boy from nearby Dorchester, the Boston Globe reported.
  • His mother and sister were also injured, the Globe said.
  • Witnesses described a joyous scene turned hellish as spectators watched runners finishing one of the greatest sporting challenges in the U.S.

Take Away #2: The FBI has taken charge of the case, said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the bureau’s Boston office.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • “It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation,” said DesLauriers.
  • Authorities were questioning a foreigner with an expired student visa, though he wasn’t a suspect of “person of interest,” said a federal law-enforcement official.
  • An apartment in the suburb of Revere was searched by police and several bags removed, Boston television station WBZ reported.
  • “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice,” said President Barack Obama.
  • While he didn’t use the word terrorism to describe the attack, an administration official, said the bombings are being investigated as an act of terror.

Take Away #3: The Pakistani Taliban denied any involvement in the bombings, the Associated Press reported citing spokesman Ahsnullah Ahsan.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The group provided training for the 2010 failed car bombing in New York’s Time Square.
  • The U.S. had no information that any foreign group was planning an attack, said Senator Diane Feinstein, who heads the Intelligence Committee.
  • Officials in Washington and New York stepped up security, including in the subways.

Take Away #4: The blasts at the Boston race follow several bombing attempts since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, a 21-year-old man from Bangladesh, pleaded guilty in February to planning to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.
  • In 2010, Faisal Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted car bombing in Times Square.
  • Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaeda and plotting in 2009 to attack New York subways.

Take Away #5: The blasts at the Boston race, which attracts 25,000 runners and 500,000 spectators each year, is not the first bombing of a major U.S. sporting event.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • A blast at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996 killed two people and injured more than 100.
  • Eric Robert Rudolph, an anti-abortion activist, admitted detonating the 40-pound pipe bomb.
  • The Boston Marathon, first run in 1897, is considered the most prestigious in the U.S. and is held every Patriot’s Day.
  • Patriot’s Day is a statewide holiday celebrating the first battles of the American Revolution.
  • Its 26.2 mile course runs from Hopkinton to downtown Boston.

Take Away #6: The blasts happened at the “thickest time” for runners finishing the race, said John Hanlon, who was with his wife and two of their children ear the finish line.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The elite athletes crossed the line hours earlier.
  • “People were screaming and grabbing their families and getting the hell out of there,” said Hanlon.
  • Dan O’Gara, who was working at Marathon Sports, a running store on Boylston Street, said three injured people were brought in.
  • Employees bandaged them with shirts.
  • As night fell, the city’s streets were quiet, and the area around the finish line was dotted with hundreds of yellow bags left behind in the commotion.

*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.

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