On April 15, roughly three weeks ago, National Patriot Day, which consists of thousands of people gathering for the Boston Marathon, was cut short because of a tragedy that has swept our nation since.
At about 2:49 p.m., two pressure cooker bombs exploded approximately 200 yards from each other, right in the vicinity of the marathon’s finish line on Boylston Street. Three people were killed and 264 were injured.
The day consisted of chaos and utter confusion as the Boston Police responded to the situation, the FBI took over and the Navy even sent in bomb specialists to the scene to try to find and detonate any other bombs.
That day, the New York Post reported that a Saudi Arabian male was being questioned as a suspect and three days later they posted a picture on their front page of two men they said were being sought out by authorities.
“We just wanted answers and to make sure everyone was safe and the suspects were off the streets,” said senior biology major and Boston native Nilofar Fallah-Sohy. “It was such a confusing day.”
It turns out that neither of those reports was accurate, as the Saudi Arabian male was just a witness and the two men in the picture were not the suspects.
The FBI identified the actual suspects on Apr. 18 as brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. After their images were released, they killed an MIT officer, stole an SUV and started a gunfight with police in Watertown.
Tamerlan was killed at the gunfight, however Dzhokhar escaped and incited a manhunt that resulted in his capture on Apr. 19, found hiding in his backyard.
Dzhokhar was questioned at the Boston Hospital after his capture and described that although they were not involved with any terrorist group or organization, they were inspired by their extremist Islamic beliefs. He is in custody and has been charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction and destruction of property resulting in death
Although the casualty count wasn’t as high as many would have expected from such a horrific attack, the amount of people affected went far beyond just those who were taken to the hospital.
With 264 injured, many having lost limbs, people across the nation reached out to show their support to families and members of the Boston community. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox designated hitter, even got on the loud speaker at a game and addressed the world and his city with passion and fury.
“It was important for Big Papi [Ortiz] to come out and stand up for our city,” said junior communications major and Jacob Berns who’s originally from Boston. “The fact that things like this happen is sickening, but when our nation comes together afterwards it’s a beautiful thing.”