BOSTON – Authorities said they haven’t determined the motive or perpetrators behind yesterday’s explosions at the Boston Marathon as evidence suggested the bombs were built inside metal pressure cookers and designed to maim as many people as possible.
President Barack Obama in his second televised statement on the attack in less than 18 hours said that the investigation will find those responsible for the attack that killed three people and injured more than 170, though it may take time.
“This was a heinous and cowardly act and, given what we now know took place, the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” the president said in a statement in the White House briefing room. “We don’t have a sense of motive yet, so everything at this point is speculation.”
Law enforcement officials investigating the two explosions near the finish line of the race believe at least one of the devices may have been contained in a metal pressure cooker and hidden in a backpack or duffel bag, according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter who asked for anonymity to discuss details.
Some victims had 40 or more fragments of pellet and nail- like shrapnel embedded in their bodies, said Dr. George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. The fragments were uniform, indicating that they came from the two blasts and not from the surrounding environment, he said in a news briefing today.
Amputated Limbs
Doctors at the facility, one of many in the area to receive patients after the blast, have performed four amputations and may do two more, he said.
William C. Mackey, surgeon in chief at Tufts Medical Center, said at a briefing that each shard removed becomes part of the investigation and is turned over to authorities.
“In the operating room last night, the nurses were very careful to isolate all the foreign bodies that were removed from the wounds, put them in a specimen container with the patient’s name and turn those over to the police.”
The bombing was one of the highest-profile acts of terror in the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and Washington. Police said they didn’t have suspects, and no organization claimed responsibility. U.S. lawmakers and intelligence officials have said there had been no indications of a plot beforehand.
Bag searches
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The nation was on heightened alert. A terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport was evacuated because of a suspicious package and a US Airways Group Inc. flight was stopped on the tarmac and diverted to a remote location at Boston’s Logan Airport so authorities could search a bag.
“Yesterday we deployed our critical resources to hotels,” Ray Kelly, New York’s police commissioner, said at a news conference today. “We also patrolled houses of worship, sigificant infrastructure and city iconic potential targets — Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building. We have increased our coverage in the subways; we have the second largest transit system in the world. We’re doing bag searches in the system.”
Obama was briefed today by his national security team, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Lisa Monaco, his adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism.
The president avoided using the word terrorism in his remarks yesterday. Today he said, “Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror.”
In Boston, authorities at a press conference today urged residents turn over photos and video of the scene.
“We will go to the ends of the earth to identify the suspect or subjects responsible for this despicable crime,” Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the city’s FBI office, said at a news conference.
Officials will be working for days at the mile-square scene of the attack, said DesLauriers, whose agency is in charge. He said citizens can help by sharing images.
“There has to be hundreds, if not thousands, of photos and videos,” said Timothy Alben, superintendent of the State Police.
Security videos
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said security footage had been taken from nearby businesses.
“Even as we were removing victims, officers were assigned to go into the local establishments and secure those videos,” he said.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said two explosive devices were found yesterday, and no unexploded bombs.
The blasts near Copley Square occurred as recreational runners were finishing about 2:50 p.m. local time yesterday, police said. Among the dead was an 8-year-old boy from the Dorchester neighborhood, Martin Richard. Medford, Massachusetts Mayor Michael McGlynn identified another victim as Krystle Campbell, 29.
Obama said the nation is resilient and won’t be cowed by such acts.
“The American people refuse to be terrorized,” Obama said, praising the acts of heroism, generosity and selflessness on the streets of Boston yesterday.
He cited people running to hospitals to give blood, others who tore off their own clothes to make tourniquets, and the first responders who plunged into the chaos to save lives.
No suspects
“If you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil, that’s it: selflessly, compassionately, unafraid,” the president said.
Police said the had no suspects in custody.
Federal and local law enforcement officers last night searched an apartment in the northern suburb of Revere, seven miles (11 kilometers) from the blast site.
The apartment is shared by three Saudi nationals studying English, according to one man living there.
Mohammed Badawood, 20, said police arrived at the apartment at 364 Ocean Ave. about 7:30 p.m. They told him a roommate was injured in the explosion.
Badawood said he hadn’t seen his roommate in two days and doubted he had anything to do with the explosions.
“He is a nice guy,” he said. “Quiet and clean.”
Police searched the unit with dogs and went through the trash, Badawood said. Badawood said he left at midnight to stay with a friend and police were still there.
Investigators probably are examining the possibility of either foreign or domestic attackers, said Timothy Murphy, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent for 23 years. He was deputy director of the bureau for a year and a half ending in 2011, when he left to work in the private sector.
“They’ll look at the timing — the events that occurred in the past, who is most likely to commit something like this,” Murphy said. “They’ll come up with theories. They’ll look at international terrorism, including state sponsored.”
