Bombs have gone off in Boston killing two people at the end of a marathon race.

Several other live bombs were found and are being detonated safely.

Wtf America.

-PB

Two explosions near finish line of Boston Marathon, suspect held
News Limited Network
April 16, 2013



POLICE are reportedly guarding a man in a Boston hospital after he was linked to the bombing of a marathon, killing two and wounding many more.

Two bombs have exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon, killing two people, injuring 23 others and sending authorities rushing to help wounded spectators at the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon.

The New York Post reports a bomber was seen on CCTV footage and that a Saudi national - aged 20 - has been placed under armed guard burn wounds in the Boston Hospital.

A senior US intelligence official hassaid two other explosive devices were found nearby.




LIVE UPDATES BELOW

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Suspect on the common. White van had police dogs in it. ubpic.twitter.com/CWjGbarxv1. Twitter: Eric_Twardzik

7.50am AEST: The United States Senate has held a moment of silence for the Boston bombing victims.

7.47am AEST: Boston police now say the explosion and fire at JFK Library appears not to be related to attacks at marathon

7.45am AEST: Persident Obama will make a statement at 6.10pm local (8.10am AEST)

7.43am AEST: Boston PD has evacuated the emergency room of Tufts medical Centre. The remainder of the hospital remains open.

7.39am AEST: CBS news reports Boston police as having confirmed they have video of someone bringing several backpacks to the blast site.

7.38am AEST: The suspect being guarded at Boston Hospital is believed to be aged 20.

Boston Marathon bombing

Alleged Boston suspect on CCTVCBS News is reporting that CCTV vision has shown a suspect carrying backpacks in the vicinity of trash cans within the finish line precinct...
16 April 2013
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On the ground as the bombs went off
Eye witness to bombings
Boston explosion
Bombing horror
Moment of terror at the finish line
Alleged Boston suspect on CCTV
7.37am AEST: Boston Medical Centre reports having 20 patients related to the bombing, including two children.


President Obama receives a briefing from FBI Director Robert Mueller on the Boston bombings. Source: Supplied

7.35am AEST: The Pentagon has reportedly sent fighter jets to guard Boston's city airspace.

7.33am AEST: Mass. General Hospital has reported having 22 patients in ER. Six are in a critical condition. Five are serious.

7.20am AEST: Suspicious packages have been located a mile from the Marathon bombing site.

7.15am AEST: The Boston Globe reports two have been killed, at least 90 injured.


Destruction and injured people at the site of the one of the explosions that went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon. Barricades hindered the EMS from getting to the injured. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

7.14am AEST: Josh Cox, an elite runner and commentator for Universal Sports, told the BBC: "There were bodies, people laying on the ground. Some runners who had just finished who had just gotten by it were crying, understandably. It's tragic, absolutely tragic."

7.13am AEST: The final mile of the Boston Marathon had been dedicated to the Newtown families of the massacre victims. None of the family members were reportedly injured in the blast. A minute's silence was held for the Sandy Hook victims at the beginning of the race.

7.12am AEST: Boston officials said a number of parcels had been dropped along the parade route and were now being treated as suspicious. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said President Barack Obama had phoned him to inform him he would receive full cooperation from the FBI and other authorities. We are asking that people stay out of crowds and calmly make their way back home or to their hotels, he said.

7.01am AEST: AP reports the cellphone network has been disabled in Boston in order to prevent any further remote-controlled explosions.

6.59am AEST: Police have told media there has been a total of four bombs. Two detonated at the marathon finish site. There are reports of a fire at Boston's JFK Library (no injures were reported) . It is not confirmed as an explosion. Another device was located and deactivated by police.

6.58am AEST: The New York Post has identified the suspect as being a Saudi national. He is reportedly under armed guard in the Boston Hospital with shrapnel wounds.


A picture posted to Twitter of an explosion at the Boston Marathon

6.49am AEST: The New York Post reports police as confirming a third explosion at JFK Library in Boston. It was unclear if the explosion was linked to the two earlier ones that took place at the marathon.

6.45am AEST: DFAT has issued the following phone number for people wishing to get in touch with relatives: 1300 555 135. They report no Australians have yet been identified among the dead or injured.

6.42am AEST: Authorities have a identified a suspect, who is currently being guarded in a Boston hospital with shrapnel wounds. Law-enforcement sources said at least the first explosion occurred in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel.

6.40am AEST: NECN reporter Jackie Bruno posted on Twitter: "I saw people's legs blown off. Horrific. Two explosions. Runners were coming in and saw unspeakable horror."

6.37am AEST: GALLERY OF SOCIAL MEDIA PICTURES FROM THE SCENE

6.35am AEST: The New York Post is reporting 12 people have been killed by the blasts. An earlier police statement reported two confirmed deaths.


A picture posted by Twitter user Jim Wilhelm.

6.34am AEST: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has told reporters: "This is a horrific day ... Stay away from Copley Square."

6.32am AEST: The Red Cross has established a website for those wishing to get in touch with loved ones. It may be difficult to access the site due to the demand being placed on it.

6.27am AEST: Boston police are saying they are becoming overwhelmed with 911 reports of unexploded bombs.

6.26am AEST: By AMANDA LULHAM

Fearnley said the two Australian athletes he had travelled with to Boston, including fellow Paralympian Christie Dawe, we safe and accounted for.

Local journalists were this morning reporting the medical tent at the race was being used to treat the injured.


Lelisa Desisa crosses the finish line claiming the first Ethiopian men's victory in Boston since 2009. Picture: AFP/Jim Rogash

People were also being encouraged to use Twitter to try and local loved ones to stop the phone system overloading.

A GOOGLE STREET VIEW OF THE AREA OF THE BOSTON MARATHON FINISH LINE


View Boston Marathon Route in a larger map

6.24am AEST: President Obama has been on the phone with the Boston Mayor and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

6.23am AEST: There are reports two more devices have been discovered and are in the process of being dismantled. It is not sure if one of these is the bomb reported as being deliberately detonated earlier.

6.21am AEST: Worried about a runner in the marathon? Check where they were at the time on this website.


Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. (AP Photo/The Boston Globe, David L Ryan)

6.19am AEST: The Boston Marathon organisers have said on their facebook page that the explosions were caused by bombs.

6.16am AEST: The United States FAA has issued flight restrictions over downtown Boston.

6.15am AEST: The Secret Service has shut down Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House.

6.13am AEST: NBC News reports officials telling it that a "small homemade bomb is preliminary cause of explosion".

6.06am AEST: President Obama has ordered "whatever assistance is necessary" be given to Boston officials.

6.05am AEST: Reports vary at this early stage, but initial police reports state at least two people have been killed and 22 injured.


Medical workers and authorities work on the scene near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/WCVB-TV/ABC) MANDATORY CREDIT

6.02am AEST: By AMANDA LULHAM

Paralympic champion Kurt Fearnley and a number of Australian athletes have been caught up in an explosion at the finish line of the famous Boston Marathon.

Just before 5am the wheelchair racer alerted family and friends via Twitter that he was safe.

Fearnley reported he was hearing there had been an explosion which was confirmed soon after.

He posted on Twitter: "Couple of freaky explosions from the Marathon finish line. Bit of a spin out?? Any news???"

The multiple Paralympic gold medallist, who has crawled the Kokoda trail and contested the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, said he had been speaking to an eyewitness.

"Friend just said he saw it & few people hurt bad. WTF. Hope it's not true," Fearnley tweeted.

Just after 5.30am Fearnley re-tweeted a call for blood donations near the sight of the famous marathon race.

6.01am AEST: Boston has called up all off duty and holidaying police officers. President Obama has received a briefing on the explosions.

5.59am AEST: Boston police have issued a statement following the explosions:
"We're stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations in the city through deployment of the NYPD's critical response vehicles (CRVs) until more about the explosion is learned."

5.56am ASEST: Boston police have warned there will be a controlled explosion on Block 600, Boylston St.

5.53am AEST: Police have reportedly found a third unexploded bomb. The device is reportedly being detonated safely by police.

5.52am AEST: Fox News is reporting Boston Marathon bystanders saying they were struck by ball bearings during explosions

5.49am AEST: Boston is in lockdown with counter terrorism forces surrounding key landmarks. Emergency services have also issued a warning asking people not to use mobile phones in the fear they could be used to trigger further explosions.



EARLIER

“I saw two explosions. The first one was beyond the finish line. I heard a loud bang and I saw smoke rising,” Boston Herald reporter Chris Cassidy, who was running in the marathon, told his newspaper.

“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.”

"There are a lot of people down," one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina, told the Associated Press. He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.

About 2.45pm local time (4.45am AEST), about three hours after the winners crossed the line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.

A Boston Globe staffer said on Twitter that dozens of people have been injured.

Runner Laura McLean of Toronto said she heard two explosions outside the medical tent.

"There are people who are really, really bloody," McLean said. "They were pulling them into the medical tent."

Cherie Falgoust was waiting for her husband, who was running the race.

"I was expecting my husband any minute," she said. "I don't know what this building is ... it just blew. Just a big bomb, a loud boom, and then glass everywhere. Something hit my head. I don't know what it was. I just ducked."


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/reports-of-explosion-near-finish-line-of-boston-marathon/story-fnd134gw-1226621194152

Edited by Joffa: 16/4/2013 08:09:55 AM

Sad... scenes reminiscent of any other day in the hornets nest America stirs up in places like Baghdad. Lucky there weren't years of sanctions before hand so the hospitals were well equipped to deal with it.

i hate to say this

but im not entirely surprised to be perfectly honest

This being America you can't automatically assume its the Muslims either. Just as likely to be crazy fundamentalist Christians.

Indeed, smells a lot like domestic terrorism.

-PB

I'd say so.

Muslims cheer terror bombings in Boston

I've always pondered this. Sure, DPRK is nothing short of a nation-wide cult but it doesn't help when they only have to peer over the DMZ to see countless Americans peering back at them. No wonder they say ROK is a puppet state.

Some conspiracy theories floating around that it was probably pro-gun extremists.

-PB

Let's ignore the 50 people killed in bombings across Iraq. Three dead in America is far more important.

You're absolutely right, more focus should be made on Islamists blowing up shit everywhere. Something like 40K people have been killed in Syria alone the past couple of years.

This reaction shits me to bits. People in my news feed are getting wound up at Obama because he's all concerned about the explosions in Boston but allegedly doesn't care about Iraq or Syria or whatever. But what to they EXPECT him to say? He's the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, not the president of some country on the other side of the world. It's not like he can turn around and go "the pain of american families is nothing compared to the 15 people killed on the other side of the world in a completely unrelated event".

"we must be careful not to jump to conclusions before we have all the facts"

Daft comments to make. I agree that more attention should be paid on Syria but:
a) The West will always report on incidents closest to home
b) The Middle East is volatile, very volatile; if we went through every death in the Middle East every day we literally wouldn't have time for any programmes.
c) America isn't as volatile as the Middle East; we're talking about explosions in the jewel of Western civilization, the most powerful nation in the world - how is it not a big deal? This is the sort of thing you'd expect in the Middle East as a result of its volatility, you don't expect it in America on such a public occasion and that's why it's big news.

Where the fuck did I mention Obama? Of course he's going to talk about what's happening in his own country ffs.

More concerned with all the media attention drawn to this despite more severe attacks taking place elsewhere in the world.

Especially the western backed ones!

Involvement in that region only stirs things up...picking sides, one or the other...it just provokes resentment. And then the blowback spills back to where u would naturally expect.

What was it that GWB said...fight them there so we dont have to fight them here...the US and Europeans have been on the offense for decades, no surprise it is filtering back with events such as today. Get used to it...

Well put Ken. I can't beleive people still need this concept explained to them.

It's a matter of context. There are so many explosions across the middle east we're desensitized to it. It's literally a daily occurrence. There have been 68 explosions in Iraq this year and not one person on this site can say they were aware of (let alone gave a shit about) every single one of them.

When something is a daily occurrence it suddenly becomes a lot less news-worthy. But you know what isn't a daily occurrence? People being dismembered and killed in downtown Boston. And THAT makes it newsworthy.

Boston College has a partnership with my uni so they send a lot of students out here on exchange and as a result I've lived with dozens of BC students on campus during the previous two years and have made some great friends during the process and had a mate running the marathon today, luckily he's fine though.

I don't get what the complaint is when people are shocked by news like this just because it's a daily occurrence in the Middle East, obviously we're desensitized to the violence in the world but when something like this happens in a powerful first world nation like the US it clearly is shocking due to the complete social and political juxtapositions between the situations.

Also whilst I care about the suffering in the middle east, it is really depressing to read about on a weekly basis. When something happens on a society that is not too different from ours and it's something that is pretty rare in occurrence it hits home a lot more.

Bastards, I agree seems a lot like domestic, probably Muslims or those christians groups like the ones in the Waco seige.

#-o

There is a lot of Irish in Boston, it's a stretch but IRA. God knows what the reason would be though.

Edited by leftrightout: 16/4/2013 02:03:10 PM

What?

It wasn't the IRA, it's not there modus operandi, the IRA always claim credit for their actions and usually target people in authority rather than civilians

Edited by Joffa: 16/4/2013 02:07:02 PM

This is the key factor as to why it is so newsworthy. When violent attacks occur in unstable regions, we are detached by our distance geographically and socially. When acts of violence occur in a place that is the same as us the "oh shit, that could be me" factor is intensified. The US invests significant amounts of resources into ensuring things like this don't happen which makes it all the more shocking.

And personally, I have never intended to go to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria etc (mostly due to the instability.) I did, however, have a long term plan in 2008 to run the Boston Marathon in 5 years time, which would have been this year had I stuck to that. Now the qualification bar for international competitors is so high that I would have been well finished by the time the bombs went off (had I qualified) but it is still numbing to think that something like this could happen in a place like Boston.

Shows how little I know on the subject. I only know that Irish settlement = Boston. Irish terrorist = IRA :lol:

Didn't the IRA disband or was that just 1 of many IRAs

Your stupidity in trying to play the blame game. "Probably muslims" "or those christians" #-o #-o

You're right, the IRA have a very particular MO. There's usually something significant in the build-up as well. That's not to say it isn't Irish loyalists.

There's so much going on right now it could be any one of a bazillion groups that end up claiming credit for it.

Your stupidity in trying to play the blame game. "Probably muslims" "or those christians" #-o #-o
[quote]

Oh Suck it up princess, someone is responsible and some groups more likely than others, I said probably not it was. Just another contribution to your self-righteousness, wander why you didn't highlight the Christian bit.