Terrorism At The Boston Marathon

[pdogg]

Breaking news....two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  Puts a damper on Patriot's Day.

[seven]

Watching CNN now. Scary stuff. Nbc reporting  bodyparts scattered around.

[pacman]

This explains why the NY marathon was cancelled last year.

 

A Saudi national has been taken to hospital under police guard. He's the first suspect arrested, more will follow.

 

I wouldn't want to be a Muslim in the USA today, likely to be shot.

[azza33]

Early reports say saudi national ....

[Hoot]

I've been watching this all day - there has been no confirmed reports of anyone in custody or that of a Saudi National.  The opposite - they (Boston Police Chief) refuted those reports.

 

Other than the NY Post, whose report is unsubstantiated.  I haven't seen anything other than rumor mongering and misinformation, related to this speculation.

 

It's a horrific event.  My thoughts go out to the people in Boston.

[pacman]

I've been watching this all day - there has been no confirmed reports of anyone in custody or that of a Saudi National.  The opposite - they (Boston Police Chief) refuted those reports.

 

Thanks but why would the report it if it's a fabrication? Is someone trying to make trouble? Very strange.

[azza33]

Thanks but why would the report it if it's a fabrication? Is someone trying to make trouble? Very strange.

Agree, very odd indeed, report was very clear that a saudi national was being held in hospital in Boston with shrapnel wounds.

[Hoot]

Thanks but why would the report it if it's a fabrication? Is someone trying to make trouble? Very strange.

 

I didn't say it was a fabrication - I said it was not confirmed report and misinformation. Misinformation often comes out early in chaotic events. The news organizations try to get whatever information they get out to their readers. People pass on what they think they hear.

 

 The NY Post is still reporting an explosion at the JFK library... other major news outlets and the boston police are saying it was a mechanical fire.  Could this all change as they get even more information?  Absolutely.

 

What do I mean by Misinformation?  You said they have arrested a suspect, the NY Post said they have a suspect under guard - those two statements are not the same thing.  Especially if you are that suspect.

 

I fully expect more information to come out on this.

[rxpharm]

I agree with Hoot - there have been cases of domestic terrorism in the USA, ie. Timothy McVeigh with the Oklahoma City bombing, and it is natural to leap to conclusions. It's easy to speculate, but better to wait until more substantial facts arise.

[pacman]

You said they have arrested a suspect, the NY Post said they have a suspect under guard - those two statements are not the same thing.  Especially if you are that suspect.

 

Good point, the guy has been found half guilty already. And I can't excuse my use of the word "arrest". Too caught up in the hype to consider the facts, my fault.

 

I did think he was a dumb terrorist if he got hit by shrapnel from his own bomb. That as much as anything points to him not being involved. And these latest reports of him "acting suspiciously" mean little either if all he was doing was standing around. On that basis, everyone was acting suspiciously.

 

 

 

I fully expect more information to come out on this.

 

Of that there is no doubt.

[deepthroat]

The Saudi National was seen running from the scene of one of the blasts, along with literally hundreds of other non-Saudi's. One member of the crowd thought he looked suspicious, so he chased him down, tackled him, and held him until police arrived. 

The Saudi is said to be fully cooperating with police. Most suspicious thing I've heard in the newest reports is that he is said to have been burned (which could be an indication he was involved/too close, but could also point to him being another victim).

 

I had a strong hunch from the moment I heard about this that it was domestic terrorism, perhaps a disgruntled "patriot" or skinhead group. So far the facts that are coming in are only making my hunch stronger:

 

1. No reports of any organized group taking responsibility;

2. The bombs are said to be "improvised explosives" and far less powerful than they could have been.

 

Smells like amateurs to me. With all the political nonsense these past few years, I'd put even money on it turning out to be an ultra-conservative domestic terrorist or group.

[strocube]

Yeah, this is totally fucked up, and no doubt will be used as another pretext for more surveillance, police, a crackdown on civil liberties, etc, etc. Could even end up in more military interventions, depending on who it gets pinned on.

[pdogg]

For many finishing the Boston Marathon is a lifelong dream.

 

To have your legs blown off a minute before or a minute after you finish is an extremely cruel twist of fate. 

[JaiDee]

I don't think any runners lost their legs, PD; but some people standing in the area of the finish line sure did. For the runners, they were far enough away from the blast and they all passed through relatively unharmed.

 

  I live about 45 minutes from where all this happened, and of course it dominated news coverage for the rest of the day.  I had my TV on and the news broke in at around 3:10 to talk about it, 15 minutes after the blast, and they were still showing the carnage on live TV.  One of the things I will never forget seeing is some poor guy being wheeled away from the scene in a wheelchair, both legs blown off below the knee and what looks like his shin bone sticking out from below his knee.  I will post the video below but it's not for the feint of heart at .32 seconds.

 

   Who did it?  No one knows yet, but the FBI is all over it and they will come up with a suspect soon, I am sure. What surprises me is that almost 24 hours later no one has claimed responsibility yet. Sad day for sure, but as always we will pull together as Americans to find out who did this and if they were Islamic terrorists, make sure they get to meet Allah.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T1K6PsNM5c

[seven]

Surprisingly quiet regarding speculations on suspects. No one claimed anything yet. If anything can be read into that, i´d say its a domestic lunatic like Tim McVeigh from the Oklahoma bombing. Islamist usually make their claims immediately.

 

Why chose liberal Boston? Any islamist hating Usa could've chosen other targets?

[pacman]

Who did it?  

 

I'm working on a theory that Venezuela wanted to pay back the US for giving Chavez cancer & they asked Castro for some help. He got onto the Russians who spoke to the Taliban & they knew someone in Boston who owed Al-Qaida a favour & he did it.

 

All quite simple really...        

 

And it sounds very familiar to that other great conspiracy theory we all know. You remember...         

 

Surprisingly quiet regarding speculations on suspects. No one claimed anything yet. If anything can be read into that, i´d say its a domestic lunatic like Tim McVeigh from the Oklahoma bombing. Islamist usually make their claims immediately.

 

Why chose liberal Boston? Any islamist hating Usa could've chosen other targets?

 

I'd say you might be right. No one is claiming it as their work & it does not appear to be a very sophisticated bombing. Two of them didn't go off..... thank god.

 

As for Boston, I don't think its reputation as a liberal town would have had anything to do with it. The marathon presented a "soft target" that provided lots of people & lots of coverage. They certainly got world attention. JD mentions he had it on TV all day & he lives 45 minutes away. I live 24 hours away & it was on TV all day here....  ON EVERY CHANNEL (almost).

 

And you hit the nail on the head calling him a lunatic. A psychopath like this will have given himself away well before this IMO. I am sure the FBI are getting plenty of names of deranged individuals & I'm betting that among them will be our man. Now that's a theory I do believe.

[JaiDee]

 If anything can be read into that, i´d say its a domestic lunatic like Tim McVeigh from the Oklahoma bombing. Islamist usually make their claims immediately.

 

Why chose liberal Boston? Any islamist hating Usa could've chosen other targets?

 

 Yes,  I'd agree it wasn't Al-Qeada or one of the main terrorist groups from the middle east because it's been well over 40 hours now and still no claim of responsibility, which is unlike them. Right now it looks like it was a homegrown terror plot, with the pressure-cooker explosive being a crude, hillbilly-type device. Still too early to speculate on who did it, but the fact that the race was held on Patriots day and Tax Day, as well as very close to the anniversary of the Waco incident could prove to be helpful in finding out who did it.  And I am 100% sure they WILL find out, and soon.

 

  Paccers, the early reports of other bombs in the area not detonating were false; turns out it was just those 2, and thankfully there was a race-recovery tent staffed by doctors and nurses just yards away from the finish line or the death toll would surely have been much higher.

[pdogg]

  Waco incident 

There was an explosion a few hours ago near Waco that injured over a hundred people.

[pacman]

Paccers, the early reports of other bombs in the area not detonating were false; turns out it was just those 2, and thankfully there was a race-recovery tent staffed by doctors and nurses just yards away from the finish line or the death toll would surely have been much higher.

 

How can they get that wrong? It is unbelievable to me that at a time when news services are relied on to get out accurate information, they are jumping at shadows & reporting bullshit. How difficult is it to confirm what is a bomb & what isn't? Did some panicked spectator imagine he saw a bomb & rang up the station? I can't understand how someone could get it wrong then how their mistake gets reported as truth. I guess it's the great rush to be first with the news. In the information vacuum they will report anything.

 

There was an explosion a few hours ago near Waco that injured over a hundred people.

 

At least this isn't a terrorist attack. Or so far it isn't. It sounds terrible though, they are expecting loss of life including firemen & at least one police officer. Coming so soon after Boston people must be wondering what they ever did to deserve such events.

 

Don't bad things come in threes? 

[pdogg]

The Waco Explosion

 

[JaiDee]

seems like that one was an accident, PD

[seven]

They released photos of the alleged terrorists. Looks like arabs.

[rxpharm]

Seven - they were not Arabs, they are Chechnyans. Further investigation will reveal if this was related to an Islamic group or not. Apparently one was a student at a Boston college.

[Tomcat]

Chechens are just about the worst of all these terror types...It seems as if the Police have killled one suspect anyway in a shoot out

 

i hope no prisoners are taken when they find the other two.. 

[SiamSam]

They were Chechen brothers. One was shot dead by police last night and the other (19 years old) is one the run. They have closed down and surrounded Watertown (suburb of Boston) where authorities believe the suspect is hold up. They even closed the air space. It is only a matter of time.