Explosion near finish line of Boston Marathon

[Charles Kozierok]

Looks pretty bad:

At least one explosion struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, police and witnesses said.

The explosion occurred as thousands of runners finished the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, with crowds watching and cheering at the finish.
Reporters in the media center heard a blast.

"There was an explosion, police, fire and EMS are on the scene. We have no indication of how many people are injured," a spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department said.

A spokesman for the Boston Marathon told reporters that no one would be allowed in or out of the hotel that was serving as headquarters for the event.
Mike Mitchell of Vancouver, Canada, a runner who had finished the race said he was looking back at the finish line and saw a "massive explosion."

Smoke rose 50 feet in the air, Mitchell said. People began running and screaming after hearing the noise, Mitchell said.

More details as I find them.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

All the websites I use for local Boston news are overloaded. I saw one mention of "at least a dozen" injured. No indication yet if anyone has died.

 

[woolfe9998]

Now being reported as two explosions.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...eard-near-finish-line-of-boston-marathon?lite

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Still no word on any deaths.

It already doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If they wanted to kill a bunch of people, I would think doing it at the start would be the way to go. And they waited what, two hours after the winners came through? Why? Strange story.

 

[woolfe9998]

We don't know anything yet about the cause of the explosions. I suppose it's theoretically possible if was an accident, like a blown gas line? Probably intentional but info is vague right now.

 

[DrPizza]

Video http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-boston-marathon-explosion-20130415,0,641755.story that catches the explosions. Unedited video as of now. I saw no bodies that looked dead.

 

[fskimospy]

Still no word on any deaths.

It already doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If they wanted to kill a bunch of people, I would think doing it at the start would be the way to go. And they waited what, two hours after the winners came through? Why? Strange story.

A lot of it might just have been opportunity.

If the data coming in as of right now is accurate (ball bearings, etc) there's really no chance of this being an accident.

A lot of times terrorists are shockingly incompetent, so it may just be that they weren't capable of setting it in an optimal location.

 

[werepossum]

My wife said two bombs, with a third bomb found unexploded which if true is great as it offers some insight into how and thus perhaps who.

 

[Dendra]

From boston police via cnn - 2 dead, 22 injured

 

[ivwshane]

You think this will be the new normal?

 

[jpeyton]

You think this will be the new normal?

When is the last time we had a major terrorist attack/bombing on our shores?

 

[Jaskalas]

When is the last time we had a major terrorist attack/bombing on our shores?

I'd say (per initial reporting) the Aurora theater and Sandy Hook count as greater injury or loss of life.

Do explosions at an outdoor venue count differently as a "major" incident, be it terrorist or not? I guess what I'm saying is it's too early to speculate on terrorism over crazy criminal, and even later as we get details on those responsible it would be a grey area in some cases.

I'm just not sure what to count this as yet. Mass shootings are more of a "major attack" so far.

 

[Fern]

Well, there's a lot of conflicting info out right now.

The Post is saying 12 dead, and (IIRC) 50 injured. They're claiming they've confirmed it with police.

Given that one of the bombs supposedly went off in a hotel lobby 12 dead doesn't surprise me.

I'm also hearing of a possible 5 bombs in total. 3 more found undetonated. I've also heard the JFK library at UMASS was hit.

I guess it will be a while before we get accurate info.

(Now, which politician is going to fess up to an old affair etc in hopes no one will pay attention.)

Fern

 

[fskimospy]

I'd say (per initial reporting) the Aurora theater and Sandy Hook count as greater injury or loss of life.

Do explosions at an outdoor venue count differently as a "major" incident, be it terrorist or not? I guess what I'm saying is it's too early to speculate on terrorism over crazy criminal, and even later as we get details on those responsible it would be a grey area in some cases.

I'm just not sure what to count this as yet. Mass shootings are more of a "major attack" so far.

I think terrorism has to have a political objective or at least some sort of larger objective outside of the incident itself. I don't really think that Aurora or Sandy Hook count as terrorist attacks because the motive of the perpetrator wasn't to terrorize. (as best as I understand it)

 

[ivwshane]

When is the last time we had a major terrorist attack/bombing on our shores?

The political climate we have now, I think, is different than what we have had in the past.

This looks like a home grown attack to me. So my question wasn't based on the premise that these type of occurrences are happening more frequently but rather, is this the start of the new normal.

Hopefully not but I'm just speculating at this point until more info comes in.

 

[fskimospy]

The P&N thread is pretty depressing.

 

[ivwshane]

The P&N thread is pretty depressing.

Only if you include the posts of those who should have been banned long ago.

 

[randomrogue]

So being overseas during things like this changes the "feel". It's terrible and the pictures are gruesome but there's very little information and what I really hope doesn't happen is that people jump on the terrorist bangwagon immediately. If I start seeing "Well it might have been Iran, North Korea, or Al Queda" in the next couple hours I'm going to be very disappointed.

 

[randomrogue]

3rd explosion at Library in Boston.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

The P&N thread is pretty depressing.

No, it's par for the course. I started this one because that one was already being trolled 15 minutes after it was started.

What's depressing is how many people would still rather post there.

 

[fskimospy]

No, it's par for the course. I started this one because that one was already being trolled 15 minutes after it was started.

What's depressing is how many people would still rather post there.

Well they've made it all the way to holocaust denial, which is pretty great actually.

 

[woolfe9998]

No, it's par for the course. I started this one because that one was already being trolled 15 minutes after it was started.

What's depressing is how many people would still rather post there.

Honestly it's turned into even more of a cesspit since you started the DC. I'm pretty sure that many of the more intelligent posters are not posting on P&N anymore.

 

[randomrogue]

I'd just like to thank you guys for starting this section. This event is a perfect example of why this section is needed. The P/N version is just sick.

 

[randomrogue]

So they say they have a Saudi national in custody but he was injured in the bomb? Also the death count is up to a dozen?

 

[woolfe9998]

So they say they have a Saudi national in custody but he was injured in the bomb? Also the death count is up to a dozen?

So far it's the Post that is reporting both of those possibilities but no other press is on board with either yet. So either the Post has a better or more forthcoming source than the rest, or they're being misled. We'll see.