Officials: 23 injured, 2 dead, "more devices" as two huge blasts rock Boston Marathon finish line
Boston Herald
Mon April 15, 2013
Area: Boston (Manchester)
Two huge explosions rocked the Boston Marathon finish line at Copley Square just before 3 pm today, apparently causing numerous casualties, some possible with traumatic injuries on streets crowded with runners, spectators and post-race partiers, while a top city official said police were finding "more devices".
Boston police tweeted: "23 injuries, 2 dead."
City Council President Steve Murphy, who was at the finish line when the two explosions happened, said, "Police sources say they are finding more devices." Murphy said police have had a controlled detonation on at least one object.
Herald reporter Chris Cassidy, who was running in the marathon, said, "I saw two explosions. The first one was beyond the finish line. I heard a loud bang and I saw smoke rising. I kept running and I heard behind me a loud bang. It looked like it was in a trash can or something. That one was in front of Abe and Louie's. There are people who have been hit with debris, people with bloody foreheads."
"Somebody's leg flew by my head, said a spectator who gave his name as John Ross. "I gave my belt to stop the blood."
People were yelling, "I need my kids!"
"It was horrific!" said a man who gave his name as Brian Walker. "I saw some horrific wounds. You could literally feel the rush of wind."
"There are at least a dozen that seem to be injured in some way," Cassidy said.
Panicked families have begun gathering at local hospital.
"I need to see my mother!" one woman screamed to unformed security holding media back at bay outside Brigham and Woman's Hospital.
A frantic scene was unfolding at Boston Medical Center, where a parade of ambulances have been arriving at the emergency room entrance, where gurneys and wheelchairs were lined up in awaiting casualties, some of whom arrived wrapped in foil survival blankets commonly given out to runners at the finish line to keep warm.
A BMC spokesman called it a "developing situation" and said hospital officials don't yet have a full picture of what their patient toll may be.
Supervisory Special Agent Martin Feely of the FBI's New York Bureau said there was no advance warning or hint of a planned attack on Boston today.
"Not at all," Feely said.
Feely could neither confirm nor deny that New York has already dispatched agents to assist their Boston brethren, but said, "To the extent that assistance is needed, we certainly will."
Herald reporter Chris Cassidy, who was running in the marathon, said, "I saw two explosions. The first one was beyond the finish line. I heard a loud bang and I saw smoke rising. I kept running and I heard behind me a loud bang. It looked like it was in a trash can or something. That one was in front of Abe and Louie's. There are people who have been hit with debris, people with bloody foreheads."
"Somebody's leg flew by my head, said a spectator who gave his name as John Ross. "I gave my belt to stop the blood."
People were yelling, "I need my kids!"
"It was horrific!" said a man who gave his name as Brian Walker. "I saw some horrific wounds. You could literally feel the rush of wind."
"There are at least a dozen that seem to be injured in some way," Cassidy said.
Chris McIntosh, publisher of the Boston Business Journal who was at the Lenox Hotel near the scene, said, "It's chaos down here. Two bombs just went off at the finish line within five seconds of each other. There must be casualties. Now I'm seeing fire trucks and ambulances racing down Boylston Street toward the scene."
David O'Neil of Westboro said he saw glass blown out of a restaurant window on Boylston Street.
"Just a really loud explosion, glass and smoke everywhere. We just ran," O'Neil said. He said he found what appeared to be a shotgun pellet in his coat pocket seconds later.
Stunned and crying people could be seen walking away from the scene down Beacon Street.
Susan Markow was standing with a friend in front of the bar Whiskey's.
"Everything was fine. The all of a sudden, we just heard one explosion, huge. Not seconds later, anoterh one. Everything stopped," Markow said. She was waiting for her son Daniel to cross the finish line and was still looking for him when she spoke to the Herald.
Her daughter Lindsey was at the finish line, and sent a rushed text, "MOM call MS."
Markow said she was "terrified. Awful. It's not good, not good."
She described a scene of panic but she said calm took over a minute later and people were orderly was they left the area.
At the Marathon finish line, City Council president Murphy said he was "30 to 40 feet" from the two explosions.
"I heard an explosion and then another one 15 seconds later," Murphy told the Herald. The councilor said he saw people injured and several people being taken out in ambulances.
"I saw a guy coming towards me with blood on his face" a shaken Murphy said.
Rachel Fox, Herald reporter who was interviewing people at the finish line several hundred feet from the blasts. "I heard the bang. I thought it was a celebratory thing. Then I saw the smoke. All in one, the ground started shaking, and it was completely quiet for a couple of seconds. The first bang was followed by a second bang. My first thought was run ... I knew something wasn't right."
A runner in his mid-30s who said he was an Army veteran from Maryland said, "I've lived through Afghanistan five times and Iraq twice. I can't believe it happened here."
"People were screaming and crying. I saw people fall to the ground. I wasn't sure if it was runners falling from exhaustion or injuries," Fox said.
George Regan of Regan Communications: "We were walking over the bridge that the media uses to cross Boylston Street and (WBZ-TV anchor) Lisa Hughes stopped us to talk to (Entercom vice president) Julie Kahn about a charity event. Otherwise we would have been right there. We felt the bombs, saw the smoke, people were running. It was 20 feet away from us. We cut down an alley because Steve Murphy said there could be secondary packages so we got off Boylston Street."
Kahn said, "I'm in shock. We were coming over the Finish Line bridge. The blasts almost knocked me off the bridge. There were two explosions 20 feet away. They were right where we were going, on the way to a party at Abe and Louie's. There was smoke. It was pandemonium. I saw blood everywhere. A woman was being carried with blood all over her legs. A man's face was covered with blood. There was fear in people's faces. It was just like 9/11 all over again. Everyone was running."
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said subway service has been suspended on the Green Line between Kenmore and the Park Street stations. Runners were being told to move on to the Boston Common. People were being instructed to turn off their cell phones as multiple calls began jamming cell phone service. The Prudential Center was evacuated.
Governor Deval Patrick, who was at the Marathon finish line hours before today's explosion, was back at the State House this afternoon working with his staff in the aftermath of today's events.
"We don't have any good information yet," he said. In a statement shortly afterward, the governor said: "This is a horrific day in Boston. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured. I have been in touch with the President, Mayor Menino and our public safety leaders. Our focus is on making sure that the area around Copley Square is safe and secured. I am asking everyone to stay away from Copley Square and let the first responders do their jobs."
Patrick said that staffers are headed back to the State House.
Athletic shoemaker New Balance was in the midst of hosting its marathon viewing party at the Solas Irish pub at the race's finish line in the base of the Lenox Hotel on Boylston Street, when the explosion occurred across the street.
"Everyone here is okay," spokeswoman Mary Lawton said in text messages sent from Solas. "The building shook, but the hotel staff made people stay inside, and we are all safe. You can smell smoke, and people are now getting carted off. It's bad. It was right next to the finish line."
Developing...
Laurel J. Sweet, Christine McConville, Matt Stout, Ira Kantor, Dave Wedge and Donna Goodison contributed
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