Cops Say Marathon Bombers Amateurs: Speculation Abounds Possible Motives, And Whether Or Not The Government Had Foreknowledge
20 April 2013
By Karin Friedemann
One day after the Boston Marathon was interrupted by
two bomb blasts, speculation abounds regarding the
perpetrator(s), possible motives, and whether or not
the government had foreknowledge.
"The pattern is becoming too, too familiar. So, Boston
cops were having a bomb squad drill the same day as
the Boston bombing, just like the attacks on Sept. 11
in New York and the 7/7 attack in London," Cynthia
McKinney, former US Congresswoman said.
The Boston Marathon has been held on Patriot's Day,
the third Monday of April, since 1897. The state
holiday commemorates Lexington and Concord, the first
battles of the American Revolution. The marathon race
from Hopkinton, Massachusetts to Boston's Copley
Square attracts about a half-million spectators every
year.
The first bomb exploded around 2:50 pm at the Fairmont
Hotel along Boylston Street. The second bomb detonated
approximately 10 seconds later near to the bleachers
close to the finish line.
Tracy Munro of Cambridge, Massachusetts posted on
Facebook, "I was a couple doors from the explosion at
the finish line. The bomb exploded suddenly while we
cheered on runners. Clanking cowbells. Holding up
signs of support. Boom. Boom. Everyone started to run
for safety. It was hysteria. I stopped myself suddenly
and I went back to help and found a young child laying
in the street, who was badly injured. Her leg was
blown off. I held her head and talked to her until
help came while others tied off her leg to stop the
bleeding. Her name is Jane. And she held on to me
while we carried her to the ambulance. Jane's brother,
Martin, did not survive. I'm horrified, but we are
safe. It took a long while to track down my family and
friends but all are safe and accounted for. I am
horrified and in true shock. I appreciate all the love
and support. I am not a hero. I am a mother who would
hope someone would come to Stella's aid in this
situation if I couldn't. She was just a baby, she was
so strong and brave. I'm going to try and find the
family. Somehow. Life is precious. Stop complaining. I
love you all. And. I hope they find who did this and
burn them alive."
A rumor started by the New York Post, that a foreign
student from Saudi Arabia who was injured in the
bombing was being questioned, has led many to fear an
anti-Muslim backlash. The Huffington Post reported,
"Security officials at Boston's largest mosque
requested police to guard its campus in the wake of
Monday's deadly explosions at the Boston Marathon, a
sobering reminder that Muslims in the U.S. often face
threats after alleged terrorist attacks."
President Obama intervened on national TV to calm the
public saying, "We still don't know who did this or
why they did this." White House officials stated that
"a thorough investigation will have to determine
whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist
group, foreign or domestic."
The date of the April 15 attack corresponds with
Israeli Independence Day, Tax Day, and Patriots Day.
Most political analysts suspect right wingers or
Muslims. The bombers are believed to be amateurs.
No one has taken responsibility for the bombing. The
Pakistani Taliban and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
have denied any role. A home in Revere, Massachusetts
was raided by the FBI but no further information has
been made available. Police are searching for an
unknown person who was filmed standing on a rooftop
watching the pandemonium below without emotional
reaction.
What we do know about the explosions that killed three
and injured 170, is that they were caused by two small
homemade pipe bombs filled with BB pellets or ball
bearings and nails, which were hidden inside two trash
cans. Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital
removed 20 to 40 pieces of shrapnel from some of the
wounded. Terror experts said devices like the ones
used in Boston could be made for $100 with
instructions found on YouTube. This style of homemade
pipe bomb is typical of teenagers who are
experimenting with explosives for laughs.
One of the more disturbing aspects about the bombing
is that it could have been inspired by a recent
episode of Family Guy, which aired on March 17, 2013.
In this prime time TV cartoon, the main character
Peter is shown driving his car through the finish line
at the Boston Marathon. Peter is shown smiling in his
blood-drenched car, raising a clenched fist as he
crosses the finish line past many dead bodies. Peter
then becomes interested in converting to Islam, as a
result of a new friend, Mahmoud, who gives him a cell
phone. Wearing Islamic clothing, Peter dials the phone
and an explosion is heard outside. He dials the phone
a second time and another explosion is heard, and
people screaming. The first explosion followed by
quiet (most people did not know what happened) and the
second explosion a few seconds later followed by
screaming, as depicted in the cartoon episode,
corresponds eerily with the real event.
State and local officials told CNN's John King that
there was no known credible threat prior to the
explosions, though there are reports of heightened
security and bomb squads present even before the race.
University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was
near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a
series of explosions went off, told local news he
thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at
the start and finish lines. Stevenson said he saw law
enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the
race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago,
D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan
areas but has never seen that level of security
before. "They kept making announcements to the
participants do not worry, it's just a training
exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15.
David Jesser, a teacher at Joseph Lee School, who ran
the marathon to raise money for the local elementary
school, said: "Nothing seemed atypical to me in terms
of security. There's always a large police presence
and there's always some military lining the course as
well as some running the race. It seemed pretty normal
to me, although I could not see the area of the
explosion and don't know if security looked any
different in that area. But for 25.8 miles it seemed
pretty normal... I guess there were about 4500 runners
that didn't finish and we were right up at the front
of those runners. I think around 23,000 ran
yesterday."
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