Three killed, 170 injured in Boston blasts
Three explosions rocked the US city of Boston on Monday afternoon,
killing three and injuring over 170, turning the traditional local
marathon festivity into a scene of blood and terror. While President
Barack Obama remained cautious and avoided calling the blasts a terror
attack, some US media and experts already started to use the phrase of
“terrorist bombings.”
If confirmed by further investigations, this could be the first major
terror attack that has actually hit the US soil since 9/11, though
authorities in the past decade have foiled dozens of terrorist plots.
In a live televised statement from the White House, Obama
acknowledged that his government has not yet got “all answers” about the
Boston explosions, but vowed to hold all those behind them accountable.
Meanwhile, he said the government has taken steps to beef up security
across the country “as necessary.”
Alarmed by the Boston blasts, all major US metropolises, including
Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami,
have tightened up security measures.
The US Secret Service reportedly expanded its security perimeter at
the White House following the Boston explosions.
Meanwhile, a New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesman said that
police have beefed up security at hotels, landmarks and other strategic
locations, as well as critical infrastructure such as subway stations,
as a precaution “until more about the explosions in Boston is learned.”
“We have 1,000 members of the NYPD assigned to counter- terrorism
duties, and they -- along with the entire NYPD and the investments we
have made in counter-terrorism infrastructure -- are being fully
mobilized to protect our city,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated.
Even in London of Britain, where a marathon is scheduled for this
coming Sunday, the Metropolitan Police have been reviewing their
security plan for the race after the Boston explosions.
“IT JUST HITS HOME”
“You put in all that hard work and it’s such a positive day ... and
to have something like this happen, it takes all the fun out of it. It’s
the best marathon in the world. And also, my brother was a National
Guard in Afghanistan three years ago. So it just hits home, something
like that,” Erica Castenzo, a Boston resident, told Xinhua shortly after
the blasts in town. Hannah Truslow, an eyewitness from Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, recalled: “We were in the VIP seating and we saw the first
bomb go off ... and people blow up in the streets and going down ...”
She burst into tears before she could finish the sentence.
Boston police confirmed later on Monday that two of the explosions
happened at around 2:50 p.m. near the finish line of the race, going off
within seconds of each other. The third one occurred at the Boston John
F. Kennedy Presidential Library, but it remains unclear whether it was
related to the previous two. Media reports said that among the two dead
was an 8-year-old child, whereas six of the 100-plus injured were in
critical condition. Many of the injured appeared to be spectators who
had gathered at the scene to watch the world’s oldest modern marathon,
which attracted over 20,000 runners this year.
Cao Yue, a student at the University of Boston, told Xinhua that he
was just 200 meters away from the Boston Marathon finish line when the
explosions went off.
Cao said he heard two huge explosions and saw heavy smoke on the
street, which he originally thought to be some celebration of the event.
But he soon found people screaming, crying and rushing to him from the
finish line, many of them spectators.
“I was totally shocked and people were really scared,” recalled Cao.
UNFORESEEABLE REPERCUSSIONS
The 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 have changed profoundly the security
landscape for the United States and the rest of the world, followed by
the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and a decade-long manhunt that
ended with the U.S. killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden in May
2011. The Obama administration has been actively seeking American
troops’ early withdrawal from Afghanistan, and has cited the death of
bin Laden as one of its major achievements in the war against terror.
For the Monday explosions, Boston police said that no suspect has been
taken into custody. And so far no individual or organization has claimed
responsibility. President Obama, who was briefed by Homeland Security
Adviser Lisa Monaco, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Secretary of
Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on the investigation and response to
the incident, said in his statement: “We still do not know who did this
or why. And people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the
facts.”
“But make no mistake -- we will get to the bottom of this. And we
will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this,” the
president stressed. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups
will feel the full weight of justice.
Xinhua
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