Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the bombings that took place at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. The families of the late victims and others who were effected by the tragedy gathered in the streets to remember what happened that day and to pay homage to those who had helped to take the city forward.
Many notable Bostonians were asked to speak at the event to comfort and encourage the people moving forward. One of the speakers at the event stated, "There is no way to walk to Boylston Street without being reminded of the evil spilling of precious blood, the hateful strike on a world treasure, but we are also reminded of the amazing capacity of the human spirit to rise in heroism, compassion and sacrifice."
An American flag was lifted on the finish line at 2:50 pm, the time when the first of several bombs went off twelve months earlier.
Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino spoke to all of the people present saying, "I want you to hear this solemn promise. When the lights are dim, know that our support and love for you will never waver. Whatever you have to do to recover and carry on, know that the people of Boston and I are right there by your side."
But the emotional day was to be obscured by another man dressed in black with a rice cooker in his backpack.
The man was reported to be walking around the finish line area and leaving three backpacks unattended. He was later arrested while police and bomb squads did a controlled detonation of two of the bombs, ruling the other to be a fake.
Twenty-five year old Kevin Edson was charged yesterday with "possession of a hoax device, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace."
Personally, I think that this was a cruel, insensitive, terrible, and uncalled-for "joke"--if you can even call it that. Edson was probably just trying to make a name for himself, hoping to get the media time that the Tsarnaev brothers did during their investigation. But many people could have been very seriously hurt or killed, and it is never okay to attempt to take the lives of innocent people.
http://backbay.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/boylston-street-shutdown-suspicious-backpacks-at-finish-line
http://espn.go.com/boston/story/_/id/10786467/solemn-tributes-mark-anniversary-boston-marathon-bombing
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