• Victims of Boston Marathon bombing remembered.
Third- grader, restaurant manager and Chinese student killed in explosions
BOSTON — Third- grader Martin Richard had just got ice cream when bombs fashioned from kitchen pressure cookers and packed with shrapnel erupted, fatally wounding the eight- year- old and turning the famed Boston Marathon into a scene of blood- soaked chaos.
Heartbreaking images and details have started to emerge of those killed and injured in what U. S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday branded an act of terrorism — as well as the devices used to carry out the attack.
A day after the twin explosions killed Martin, Krystle Campbell and a Chinese national, scores of victims remained in Boston hospitals, some with nails and metal sticking out of their limbs, others left to deal with amputations doctors had no choice but to perform.
A nine- year- old girl and 10- year- old boy were among 17 victims listed in critical condition Tuesday. Martin’s mother, Denise, and six- year- old sister, Jane, were also badly injured.
Officials found the bombs consisted of explosives put in common six- litre pressure cookers, one containing shards of metal and ball bearings, the other packed with nails, according to a person close to the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was still going on. Both bombs were stuffed in to duffel bags, the person said.
At a news conference, Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge in Boston, confirmed investigators had found pieces of black nylon from a bag or backpack and fragments of BBs and nails, possibly contained in a pressure cooker. He said the items were sent to the FBI for analysis at Quantico, Va.
Pressure- cooker explosives have been used in international terrorism, and have been recommended for lone- wolf operatives by al- Qaida’s branch in Yemen.
But information on how to make the bombs is readily found online, and U. S. officials said Americans should not rush to judgment in linking the attack to overseas terrorists.
DesLauriers said there had been no claim of responsibility for the attack, and the range of suspects and motives “remains wide open.”
“We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime,
“We’ve removed BBs and we’ve removed nails from kids. One of the sickest things for me was just to see nails sticking out of a little girl’s body.
DR. DAVID MOONEY BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
and we will do everything we can to bring them to justice,” he said.
Throughout the day, he and other law enforcement authorities asked members of the public to come forward with any video or photos from the marathon or anything suspicious, such as hearing someone express an interest in explosives or a desire to attack the marathon, or seeing someone carrying a dark heavy bag at the race.
“Someone knows who did this,” the FBI agent said.
The bombs exploded 10 or more seconds apart, tearing off victims’ limbs and spattering streets with blood, instantly turning the race into a hellish scene of confusion, horror and heroics.
Martin had been watching the race with his parents and siblings, according to U. S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a family friend for a quarter- century. His brother and father were also watching the race but were not hurt.
“They were looking in the crowd as the runners were coming to see if they could identify some of their friends, when the bomb hit,” Lynch said.
Neighbour Betty Delorey, 80, said Martin loved to climb the neighbourhood trees and hop the fence outside his home.
“I can just remember his mother calling him, ‘ Martin!’ if he was doing something wrong,” she said. “Just a vivacious little kid.”
Delorey had a photo showing Martin dressed as the character Woody from the Toy Story films, wearing a cowboy hat, a sheriff’s badge, jeans and a big smile.
His sister, Jane, was at his right dressed as Woody’s friend, Jesse. Their older brother, Henry, was to their left, dressed as Harry Potter. “I’m sick to my stomach,” she said. “It’s hard to say anything really.”
Campbell, the second person killed, was trying to get a picture of her best friend’s husband as he neared the finish line. Twenty- nine years old, she was a restaurant manager from Medford, Mass.
The Chinese consulate in New York said a Chinese national, a graduate student at Boston University, was the third fatality.
A state- run Chinese newspaper says she was originally from the northeastern city of Shenyang. The Shenyang Evening News reported Wednesday that the victim is named Lu Lingzi. An editor at the newspaper says Lu’s father confirmed his daughter’s death when reporters visited the family home.
Doctors who treated the wounded corroborated reports that the bombs were packed with shrapnel intended to cause mayhem.
“We’ve removed BBs and we’ve removed nails from kids. One of the sickest things for me was just to see nails sticking out of a little girl’s body,” said Dr. David Mooney, director of the trauma centre at Boston Children’s Hospital.
All four amputations performed at Massachusetts General Hospital were above the knee, with no hope of saving more of the legs, said Dr. George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery.
Investigators said they have not yet determined what was used to set off the Boston explosives. Typically, these bombs have an initiator, switch and explosive charge, according to a 2004 warning from Homeland Security.
The Pakistani Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the 2010 attempt in Times Square, has denied any part in the attack.