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| Boston Combs Mile-Square Crime Scene After Blasts | Boston Combs Mile-Square Crime Scene After Blasts |
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| BOSTON — The day after two powerful bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, a mile-square area around Copley Square here remained cordoned off as a crime scene, and officials still had no one in custody. Investigators searched a house in a nearby suburb late Monday night, but later said the search had proved fruitless. | BOSTON — The day after two powerful bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, a mile-square area around Copley Square here remained cordoned off as a crime scene, and officials still had no one in custody. Investigators searched a house in a nearby suburb late Monday night, but later said the search had proved fruitless. |
| Hundreds of runners who had expected to leave Boston on Tuesday morning with a sense of triumph after a night of celebration left instead with heavy hearts after at least three people were killed. The bombings also sent 176 people to area hospitals, including 17 who were critically injured, Police Commissioner Edward Davis of Boston said Tuesday. | |
| Among the dead was an 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, of Dorchester, according to Conor Yunits, a family spokesman. Friends and family gathered Monday night at a restaurant to mourn him; he had been watching the marathon with his family, and his mother and a sister were badly injured. The names of the other victims have not been made public. | |
| Late Monday night, law enforcement officials descended on an apartment building in the suburb of Revere, about five miles north of Copley Square, linked to a man the police took into custody near the scene of the bombings. But on Tuesday morning, one law enforcement official said investigators had determined that the man, who was injured in the blast and was questioned at the hospital, was not involved in the attack. | Late Monday night, law enforcement officials descended on an apartment building in the suburb of Revere, about five miles north of Copley Square, linked to a man the police took into custody near the scene of the bombings. But on Tuesday morning, one law enforcement official said investigators had determined that the man, who was injured in the blast and was questioned at the hospital, was not involved in the attack. |
| The authorities have not announced any arrests, and so far, no one has claimed responsibility as the police conduct what they said was “a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.” | The authorities have not announced any arrests, and so far, no one has claimed responsibility as the police conduct what they said was “a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.” |
| Law enforcement officials pleaded at a briefing Tuesday morning for anyone who took pictures or video of the finish line at the time of the blast to submit them boston@ic.fbi.gov or to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). | |
| The plea underscored just how pervasive cameras have become at events like the marathon and how crucial they can be in helping the police piece together crucial pieces of evidence. But it may also suggest how few clues the authorities have otherwise. | |
| The police also said they were examining footage from nearby security cameras frame by frame as they continue their search for the identity of the person or persons who placed explosive devices at the end of the 26.2-mile course. | |
| Commissioner Davis said that officials were gradually reducing the size of the crime scene, which now stretches for 12 blocks in Copley Square, down from 15 blocks on Monday. He said it was the most complex crime scene in the history of the department. | |
| City streets that normally would be clogged at rush hour were largely deserted on Tuesday except for a cold wind and a few runners out for a morning jog. “It’s very surreal,” said Mary Ollinger, 32, who works at Wentworth Institute of Technology. “The streets are empty and the Common is filled with media trucks.” | |
| At rush hour, the city’s subway system was uncharacteristically quiet, watched over by a heightened police presence and SWAT team members. Parts of the city seemed to have ground to a halt: Stores on Newbury Street, Boston’s busy retail thoroughfare, were closed, and tables on the patio at Stephanie’s, a restaurant there, were still covered in dishes left there on Monday. | |
| Metal barriers and more police guarded a 15-block crime scene around the blast, forming something of a black hole in a busy retail and business district in this city. Inside, the streets were still littered in the detritus of the marathon — runners’ blankets, water bottles, even a pile of bananas. | Metal barriers and more police guarded a 15-block crime scene around the blast, forming something of a black hole in a busy retail and business district in this city. Inside, the streets were still littered in the detritus of the marathon — runners’ blankets, water bottles, even a pile of bananas. |
| Hundreds if not thousands of office workers avoided the city on Tuesday because of the closures. Maria Luna, 38, who lives in Watertown and usually commutes by bus to her job as an investment analyst at John Hancock, said she was staying home. “My manager told me it would be very limited access,” she said by phone. The emergency protocol in her office was activated, she said, meaning that essential workers, like those who must move cash on a time-sensitive basis, could report to an off-site disaster recovery station in Portsmouth, N.H., where the company has computers. | Hundreds if not thousands of office workers avoided the city on Tuesday because of the closures. Maria Luna, 38, who lives in Watertown and usually commutes by bus to her job as an investment analyst at John Hancock, said she was staying home. “My manager told me it would be very limited access,” she said by phone. The emergency protocol in her office was activated, she said, meaning that essential workers, like those who must move cash on a time-sensitive basis, could report to an off-site disaster recovery station in Portsmouth, N.H., where the company has computers. |
| She said she felt a combination of sadness and terror. “Right now I have a big ball in the pit of my stomach,” she said. | She said she felt a combination of sadness and terror. “Right now I have a big ball in the pit of my stomach,” she said. |
| But many runners, clad in the blue and gold jackets given to this year’s marathoners, made pilgrimages to the blockade on Boylston Street, pausing to take pictures with their cellphones. Others came wearing jacket from previous marathons — the symbol of accomplishment had, apparently, turned into a sign of solidarity. | |
| Alison Gardner, a runner from Austin, Tex., who completed the race on Monday about 10 minutes before the blasts, left a potted hydrangea and tucked a bunch of tulips into the metal barrier. | |
| “It’s supposed to be a day of celebration today, and it’s a day of sadness,” said Ms. Gardner. | “It’s supposed to be a day of celebration today, and it’s a day of sadness,” said Ms. Gardner. |
| Her companion, Bonnie Yesian, is among many visitors still marooned in the city, because her hotel — and her luggage and identification — is inside the crime scene. | Her companion, Bonnie Yesian, is among many visitors still marooned in the city, because her hotel — and her luggage and identification — is inside the crime scene. |
| “I can’t fly, so I’m stuck,” said Ms. Yesian, who said strangers and marathon volunteers had offered her guest rooms and supplies in the meantime. | “I can’t fly, so I’m stuck,” said Ms. Yesian, who said strangers and marathon volunteers had offered her guest rooms and supplies in the meantime. |
| While many area colleges were open on Tuesday, Emerson College said it canceled classes “for healing and reflection.” | While many area colleges were open on Tuesday, Emerson College said it canceled classes “for healing and reflection.” |
| White House officials said that President Obama received updates overnight about the investigation from Lisa Monaco, his chief counterterrorism and homeland security adviser. “The president made clear that he expects to be kept up to date on any developments and directed his team to make sure that all federal resources that can support these efforts, including the investigation being led by the F.B.I., be made available,” a White House official said. Mr. Obama is to be briefed again later this morning by Ms. Monaco and the director of the F.B.I., Robert Mueller. | |
| Almost three-quarters of the 23,000 runners who participated in the race had already crossed the finish line when a bomb that had apparently been placed in a garbage can exploded around 2:50 p.m. in a haze of smoke amid a crowd of spectators on Boylston Street, just off Copley Square in the heart of the city. Twelve seconds later, another bomb exploded several hundred feet away. | |
| President Obama, speaking at the White House on Monday night, vowed to bring those responsible for the blasts to justice. “We will get to the bottom of this,” the president said. “We will find who did this, and we will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.” | |
| Mr. Obama did not refer to the attacks as an act of terrorism, and he cautioned people from “jumping to conclusions” based on incomplete information. But a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity afterward, said, “Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror.” | Mr. Obama did not refer to the attacks as an act of terrorism, and he cautioned people from “jumping to conclusions” based on incomplete information. But a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity afterward, said, “Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror.” |
| On Tuesday morning officials said that the only explosive devices found were the ones that exploded at the marathon — clarifying conflicting statements that were given Monday in the chaotic aftermath of the blast, when some law-enforcement officials had said that other devices were found. “There were no unexploded devices found,” Gov. Deval Patrick said Tuesday morning. | On Tuesday morning officials said that the only explosive devices found were the ones that exploded at the marathon — clarifying conflicting statements that were given Monday in the chaotic aftermath of the blast, when some law-enforcement officials had said that other devices were found. “There were no unexploded devices found,” Gov. Deval Patrick said Tuesday morning. |
| Gene Marquez, the acting special agent in charge of the Boston field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said at a news conference Tuesday morning that earlier incorrect reports that unexploded devices had been found may have stemmed from “some suspect packages that were disrupted” after the blasts but which turned out not to be bombs. | Gene Marquez, the acting special agent in charge of the Boston field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said at a news conference Tuesday morning that earlier incorrect reports that unexploded devices had been found may have stemmed from “some suspect packages that were disrupted” after the blasts but which turned out not to be bombs. |
| Steve Mahan, a South Boston resident who is a manager at the Jos A Bank clothing store on a blockaded section of Boylston Street, hovered near metal barrier closest to his store, which he said could be closed for another couple of days. | Steve Mahan, a South Boston resident who is a manager at the Jos A Bank clothing store on a blockaded section of Boylston Street, hovered near metal barrier closest to his store, which he said could be closed for another couple of days. |
| “They clean this up pretty quick after a race,” he said, of the marathon’s frozen mess. “You see this now, you know how bad it was.” | “They clean this up pretty quick after a race,” he said, of the marathon’s frozen mess. “You see this now, you know how bad it was.” |
| It had begun as a perfect day for the Boston Marathon, one of running’s most storied events, with blue skies and temperatures just shy of 50 degrees. The race typically draws half a million spectators. And long after the world-class runners had finished — the men’s race was won by Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia, who finished it in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 22 seconds — the sidewalks of Back Bay were still thick with spectators cheering on friends and relatives as they loped, exhausted, toward the finish line. | It had begun as a perfect day for the Boston Marathon, one of running’s most storied events, with blue skies and temperatures just shy of 50 degrees. The race typically draws half a million spectators. And long after the world-class runners had finished — the men’s race was won by Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia, who finished it in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 22 seconds — the sidewalks of Back Bay were still thick with spectators cheering on friends and relatives as they loped, exhausted, toward the finish line. |
| Dr. Natalie Stavas, a pediatric resident at Boston Children’s Hospital, was running in the marathon with her father and was nearing the finish line when the explosions shook the street. | Dr. Natalie Stavas, a pediatric resident at Boston Children’s Hospital, was running in the marathon with her father and was nearing the finish line when the explosions shook the street. |
| “The police were trying to keep us back, but I told them that I was a physician and they let me through,” she recalled in an interview. | “The police were trying to keep us back, but I told them that I was a physician and they let me through,” she recalled in an interview. |
| First she performed CPR on one woman. “She was on the ground, she wasn’t breathing, her legs were pretty much gone,” she said, adding that she feared that the woman had not survived. | First she performed CPR on one woman. “She was on the ground, she wasn’t breathing, her legs were pretty much gone,” she said, adding that she feared that the woman had not survived. |
| Then she tried to help a woman with an injury in her groin area, and a man who had lost his foot. Dr. Stavas said she had applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg with someone’s belt. “He was likely in shock,” she said. “He was saying, ‘I’m O.K., doctor, I’m O.K.’ ” | Then she tried to help a woman with an injury in her groin area, and a man who had lost his foot. Dr. Stavas said she had applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg with someone’s belt. “He was likely in shock,” she said. “He was saying, ‘I’m O.K., doctor, I’m O.K.’ ” |
| “Then ambulances started coming in by the dozen,” she said. | “Then ambulances started coming in by the dozen,” she said. |
John | Reporting was contributed by John Eligon and Jess Bidgood from Boston, Michael Cooper, Steve Eder, Ashley Parker, William K. Rashbaum and Mary Pilon from New York, and Mark Landler, and Michael S. Schmidt, Eric Schmitt and Abby Goodnough from Washington. |