My heart goes out to the victims and dead, to the friends and family members of the victims and dead, and to the first responders and bystanders that stepped up to help.
I do not really have a lot of input on the attack. I think what is interesting though is that no one has claimed responsibility yet, which might indicate that we are dealing with an individual or a pair that put this together, and not an organization. If I had to speculate, my guess is that this is domestic terrorism, but you never know?
This attack is not particularly complex, and whomever the bomber was, could have easily put this attack together on their own. All of the components used in this IED would not really flag the individual prior too this attack. In the US, gunpowder or fertilizer is very easy to purchase (speculation). Pressure cookers can be bought anywhere, as can backpacks. There are plenty of videos and news broadcasts of attacks just like this one that came out of places like Iraq or Afghanistan, that a bomber could learn from and copy. The amount of information on such topics is all over the internet.
On that note, authorities are in the process of pouring over the thousands of images and film taken with cellphone cameras and other devices that people had taken at the time. Someone had to have seen the bomber place the backpacks into those trash cans. There is even a time period when the backpack was placed, based on the IED sweep done by authorities prior to and during the race. Here is the quote:
Officials swept the area for bombs twice before the explosions; one of the sweeps occurred an hour before the bombs went off. People were able to come and go freely, and carry items in and out of the area. More than 5,700 runners had yet to cross the finish line at the time of the explosions.
I hope they are able to catch them, and please, if you think you might have seen something of interest here, contact the FBI. –Matt
Boston Marathon bombings (from wikipedia)
Two bombs exploded at the 2013 Boston Marathon on the afternoon of April 15, 2013, injuring spectators, runners, and others near the finish line. The improvised explosive devices exploded about 12 seconds apart at 2:50 p.m. EDT (18:50 UTC) along Boylston Street west of Copley Square. The blasts killed 3 people and injured at least 183 others.
No suspects have been named, and there have been no arrests or claims of responsibility for the attack. President Barack Obama announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating the bombings as an act of terrorism.
Bombings
On Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 15, 2013, the annual Boston Marathon was held with no indications of an imminent attack. Officials swept the area for bombs twice before the explosions; one of the sweeps occurred an hour before the bombs went off. People were able to come and go freely, and carry items in and out of the area. More than 5,700 runners had yet to cross the finish line at the time of the explosions.