Breaking: Two Explosions at the Boston Marathon

[Maestro]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/04/boston-marathon-explosions-live/64246/

Multiple outlets and law enforcement officials are reporting what a horrific looking scene makes clear: The headquarters at the Boston Marathon have been locked down after two explosions were reported near the downtown finish line mid-Monday afternoon, near the Boston Library. Boston police confirmed that there were two explosions — and doctors were told to expect casualties — but no one was saying who or what might be responsible. "There were two booms heard from near the finish line inside the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel," reports the AP.

Of course, everyone is assuming it's a bomb right off the bat. The timing is suspicious, but here's to hoping it was just a gas main or something cooking off.

!

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

Wow, I hope everyone's okay.

 

[trunk_slamchest]

oh god why

 

[Maestro]

Is it bad that the first thing that came to mind was "what civil liberties/human rights violations should I expect this time, Uncle Sam?"

 

[Maestro]

http://www.businessinsider.com/live...ress-conference-on-marathon-explosions-2013-4

Third explosion at the JFK Library around 4:15 eastern time (GMT -5). BPD Commissioner has advised people to stay at home and away from big crowds, they aren't certain yet what's caused it. ATF, FBI, state police, national guard, the whole alphabet soup got stirred it sounds like. EOD is working overtime. They've shut down the green line in the subway. No threats were made prior to this occurring, and no one has claimed responsibility.

Apparently the cell network in downtown Boston has been shut down to prevent any remote detonations.

2 dead, 23 injured so far.

 

[Stylo]

Been listening to the live coverage of this on BBC since it happened. F*cked up. A lot of those people were probably sponsors of runners running for charity and stuff. Doing it to help other people using compassion. Innocent. Blown up... and for what? For attention to be drawn to some ideology? Sheer insanity?

Humans, man. Thoughts are with Boston.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Thankfully my family is well in my city of birth. I hope the bombs are all gone.

 

[MFL]

Be prepared for extremely graphic images. The injuries here are very bad.

 

[Stylo]

Be prepared for extremely graphic images. The injuries here are very bad.

Unfortunately I've already come across someone with their legs missing being wheeled away by Emergency Workers.

 

[Stigmata]

Jesus, that's awful... It's bad enough as it is now, hopefully all those injured will survive.

 

[Krynn72]

Third explosion at the JFK Library around 4:15 eastern time

Last I heard it wasn't an explosion, just a violent fire. Possibly unrelated to the bombing.

My brother and two of my cousins live in Boston, but thankfully they all sent word out right away that they were ok. Somehow my brother's cellphone still works, despite service being shut down. My dad works with a guy whose daughter was there though, and hasn't heard from her all day.

One of the two killed was an eight year old boy. And yeah, there are a lot of lost limbs, and will probably be more with amputations being necessary.

 

[Stylo]

Last I heard it wasn't an explosion, just a violent fire. Possibly unrelated to the bombing.

I heard this too. Initial reporting from BBC said that it was another bomb event that was touted to be a controlled explosion by bomb disposal. Then it was a separate attack. Then it was a fire that broke out that's possibly unrelated.

 

[Maestro]

Last I heard it wasn't an explosion, just a violent fire. Possibly unrelated to the bombing.

My brother and two of my cousins live in Boston, but thankfully they all sent word out right away that they were ok. Somehow my brother's cellphone still works, despite service being shut down. My dad works with a guy whose daughter was there though, and hasn't heard from her all day.

One of the two killed was an eight year old boy. And yeah, there are a lot of lost limbs, and will probably be more with amputations being necessary.

I was just writing down what the people in the press conference were saying. They mentioned a third explosion at JFK library.

 

[Krynn72]

I was just writing down what the people in the press conference were saying. They mentioned a third explosion at JFK library.

Yeah, I just saw on the news that they think its just a fire. One person said she "heard an explosion" but there were actually people in that room and none of them are saying there was an explosion, and there are no injuries or anything. The actual bombing went off not too long beforehand, so maybe the lady heard that and somehow thought it was closer.

 

[CptStern]

obviously things have changed since the last post. most likely a terrorist attack with 3 dead and over 100 injured. any guesses as to who will claim responsibility? I like to think it was a case of domestic terrrorism; some militia group etc. however the alternative; foreign terrorism, would be far worse as there's a hell of a lot more unknowns than simply a disgruntled american dissatisfied with the state of the nation

 

[Maestro]

obviously things have changed since the last post. most likely a terrorist attack with 3 dead and over 100 injured. any guesses as to who will claim responsibility? I like to think it was a case of domestic terrrorism; some militia group etc. however the alternative; foreign terrorism, would be far worse as there's a hell of a lot more unknowns than simply a disgruntled american dissatisfied with the state of the nation

Militias are all talk, no walk. They get up in arms about shit but they won't actually do anything except build their creepy compounds in the middle of nowhere. Besides, there's always a manifesto from guys like that. I'm guessing it's just another whacko who wanted to get his licks in.

Turns out the cell networks were not shut down, but simply overloaded. Verizon and AT&T officials have both said that they received no request to shut down the cell networks.

 

[Krynn72]

obviously things have changed since the last post. most likely a terrorist attack with 3 dead and over 100 injured. any guesses as to who will claim responsibility? I like to think it was a case of domestic terrrorism; some militia group etc. however the alternative; foreign terrorism, would be far worse as there's a hell of a lot more unknowns than simply a disgruntled american dissatisfied with the state of the nation

I heard they have a wounded Saudi man under guard, and people are thinking he may be a suspect. Which, you know, could just be racism. Reporters also are harassing his roommate. Asking him if he and his friends had anything to do with the bombings, as if the police would just let him walk to his classes if they suspected him of being involved.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/us/2013/04/16/intvw-boston-revere-roommate.whdh

 

[CptStern]

Militias are all talk, no walk.

not always

I heard they have a wounded Saudi man under guard, and people are thinking he may be a suspect. Which, you know, could just be racism.

a brown guy, apparently on fire, running from the scene of a bombing; what else can he be but the bomber?

brown = evil

 

[Maestro]

I thought Timothy McVeigh acted of his own accord, even though he was a militia sympathizer.

 

[CptStern]

ya he was a sympathizer but there are other groups that have been associated with criminal activity and plotting terror

http://www.examiner.com/article/ana...-e-a-r-accused-of-plotting-domestic-terrorism
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/30/michigan.militia.arrests/index.html
http://www.fbi.gov/detroit/press-releases/2010/de032910.htm

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Yeah, I just saw on the news that they think its just a fire. One person said she "heard an explosion" but there were actually people in that room and none of them are saying there was an explosion, and there are no injuries or anything. The actual bombing went off not too long beforehand, so maybe the lady heard that and somehow thought it was closer.

But from what I hear, they located an incendiary device in the library, they haven't mentioned whether its a device similar to the ones in the marathon incident, or of different specifications. Worst case scenario, you got more than one suspect working on the same day, which means one could evade the police.

 

[Stylo]

To be honest, if this was the work of a terrorist cell, they would surely have claimed responsibility for it by now? Usually they're jumping to show how proud they are of what they've done and get their message across.

I'm thinking it may be a home grown nutter. Some sort of Anders Breivik-esque idiot.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

It could be months considering they're just shrapnel IEDs anyone could make in their basement. Probably just a pissed off psychotic national.

 

[Maestro]

It could be months considering they're just shrapnel IEDs anyone could make in their basement. Probably just a pissed off psychotic national.

Bingo. That's my guess. Bombs are the simplest, most deadly weapon for someone to fabricate at home. All it takes is some basic chemistry, knowledge, and a workspace.

 

[morgs]

If it was a large terrorist organization, surely there'd be more than two or three homemade bombs involved. If there really was a terrorist group out to bring down the US, they'd do more than blow up a couple of bombs every 10+ years.

 

[Stylo]

Surely got to be a disturbed lone bomber.

 

[Maestro]

If it was a large terrorist organization, surely there'd be more than two or three homemade bombs involved. If there really was a terrorist group out to bring down the US, they'd do more than blow up a couple of bombs every 10+ years.

I'm guessing it's a Hannibal Lecter-style psychopath. I can't think of any reason for blowing people up with homemade bombs and not claiming, aside from a Jokeresque desire to watch people squirm when things go horribly wrong.

 

[Stigmata]

Don't forget the conspiracy angle - the bombs were set off in order to spur regulation/limitation of gunpowder sales because that's what people use to load their own ammunition.

 

[CptStern]

the brown guy did it!

A twenty-year-old man who had been watching the Boston Marathon had his body torn into by the force of a bomb. He wasn’t alone; a hundred and seventy-six people were injured and three were killed. But he was the only one who, while in the hospital being treated for his wounds, had his apartment searched in “a startling show of force,” as his fellow-tenants described it to the Boston Herald, with a “phalanx” of officers and agents and two K9 units. He was the one whose belongings were carried out in paper bags as his neighbors watched; whose roommate, also a student, was questioned for five hours (“I was scared”) before coming out to say that he didn’t think his friend was someone who’d plant a bomb—that he was a nice guy who liked sports. “Let me go to school, dude,” the roommate said later in the day, covering his face with his hands and almost crying, as a Fox News producer followed him and asked him, again and again, if he was sure he hadn’t been living with a killer.

Why the search, the interrogation, the dogs, the bomb squad, and the injured man’s name tweeted out, attached to the word “suspect”?

What made them suspect him? He was running—so was everyone. The police reportedly thought he smelled like explosives; his wounds might have suggested why. He said something about thinking there would be a second bomb—as there was, and often is, to target responders. If that was the reason he gave for running, it was a sensible one. He asked if anyone was dead—a question people were screaming. And he was from Saudi Arabia, which is around where the logic stops.

pretty goddam pathetic

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/04/the-saudi-marathon-man.html?mobify=0

 

[Maestro]

the brown guy did it!



pretty goddam pathetic

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/04/the-saudi-marathon-man.html?mobify=0

:|
>my face when this bullshit

And people wonder why I distrust the government.

 

[morgs]

They need any excuse they can get to demonize the Middle East to keep everyone afraid of them.

 

[Krynn72]

:|
>my face when this bullshit

And people wonder why I distrust the government.

The Government checked him, and then cleared him. It was the media that went batshit with accusations and harassment of anybody they could find associated with him.

 

[Stylo]

Let's get a Dulux colour chart and search anybody that looks darker than Light Nutmeg.

 

[Maestro]

The Government checked him, and then cleared him. It was the media that went batshit with accusations and harassment of anybody they could find associated with him.

For what possible reason did they need to check him? I'm guessing they used one of those detestable PATRIOT act powers to do what amounts to a warrantless search in his home while he was in the hospital for injuries sustained. It's despicable and despotic. Generally speaking, getting hit with your own bomb doesn't fit terrorist MO, unless done intentionally. In that case, he would not be alive right now. The singular reason why he was searched was due to being from Saudi Arabia, which is flimsy under the best of conditions.

He's been cleared, but that's not the problem. The problem is the ridiculous and baseless expansions of the executive branch's power to **** with legitimate citizens and visa holders for no reason other than "well he looked dangerous." He's an English major at a snobby east coast school, not a terrorist.

 

[Krynn72]

I'm guessing they used one of those detestable PATRIOT act powers to do what amounts to a warrantless search in his home

A judge issued a search warrant and then the roomate signed it.

 

[Maestro]

A judge issued a search warrant and then the roomate signed it.

What kind of warrant? The 'blind warrants' from PATRIOT act still qualify. Any warrant that makes it through this quickly automatically sets of my "executive overreach" alarm. They either had a very friendly judge, or used emergency doctrines to sidestep due process.

 

[Stylo]

YO. News.

FBI have released photos of 2 suspects wanted in connection with the bombings.

 

[morgs]

Baseball caps and hoodies... definitely terrorists.

But seriously what makes them think this is them? unless I missed it on the page.

 

[Krynn72]

What kind of warrant? The 'blind warrants' from PATRIOT act still qualify. Any warrant that makes it through this quickly automatically sets of my "executive overreach" alarm. They either had a very friendly judge, or used emergency doctrines to sidestep due process.

Warrants can easily be issued that quickly, and always have been. As I understand it, the main thing the Patriot Act does with respect to search warrants is give authorities the ability to not notify the person in question (as in, they can go into his place without him knowing). I believe there was a part of it that also allowed warrants without probably cause, but that was ruled unconstitutional.

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

Baseball caps and hoodies... definitely terrorists.

But seriously what makes them think this is them? unless I missed it on the page.

I feel like I have some safety in assuming the FBI have more than "hey, these guys are wearing suspicious clothing" to go on as a reason for releasing their photos to the general public. They don't owe anyone that information.