Voices in the aftermath

U. S. President Barack Obama:

“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. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

“It is truly a sad day when an event as inspiring as the Boston Marathon is clouded by such senseless violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured or affected by this horrible incident. We stand with our American neighbours in this difficult time.”

Al McBeth, Langley:

“There was glass, smoke and bodies flying all over the place ... There was people laying all over the road and the sidewalk. I’ve got a very graphic image of a police officer running down the street with a little boy probably three years old in his arms saying ‘ hang on.”’

Rob Watson, 29, Vancouver runner:

“People were freaking out. There were lots of tears. People were running around. People didn’t know what the hell was happening.”

Cathy Leboeuf, 49, WindsorEssex, Ont.:

“When the explosions happened there was no fire, just two really loud bangs that made you look around. You knew something was wrong, but you never thought it would be something like this. People were starting to panic and officials were trying to direct them but no one knew where to go.”

Jeff Wood, 53, Amherstburg, Ont.:

“We weren’t sure where we were going we were just trying to get out of the area. It was difficult to get anywhere because of all the barricades so we just hopped over the barricades and got out of there. We started to walk and people were just everywhere. They were panicking and crying. It was crazy because no one knew what was going on.”

NDP leader Tom Mulcair:

“That it ( the Boston Marathon) was targeted in this way is particularly horrifying.”

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau:

“My first thought goes out to the thousands of people who every year are involved in the Boston Marathon.”