UPDATE 2:25 P.M. Another victim of yesterday’s bombing has been identified as 29-year-old Krystie Campbell of Medford, Mass. The number of those injured now stands at 176, with 17 in critical condition.
UPDATE 10:50 P.M. CNN revises the number of injured up to 144.
UPDATE 10:32 P.M. CNN now reports that today’s bombing left at least 141 injured and three dead. Earlier reports that cell phone service in Boston was shut down were inaccurate. The Boston Globe reports that the fire and potential explosion at the JFK library were likely unrelated to the carnage at the marathon, and the newspaper’s website tonight looks like this:
UPDATE 8:54 p.m. At a press conference tonight, Boston Police commissioner Ed Davis stated that three people have now perished from the explosions today. He also explained that there is currently no suspect, but that there are “people we are talking to” in various places.
Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the Boston FBI field office, said that the FBI and the DOJ’s Joint Terrorism Task Force would be taking over the operation, and said it was being treated as a “potential terrorism investigation.” He declined to comment further on whether there is currently one “person of interest” or multiple individuals, saying that he wouldn’t get into the investigation’s specifics.
UPDATE 8:01 p.m. The Globe confirms that authorities are questioning “a person of interest” at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, located in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, about two miles west of the site of the explosion.
CNN now reports that there are 132 injured, with 17 critically so, and ten amputee victims. There are eight children among the injured, and one terrorism expert told the network that “pulling ball bearings out of people in the emergency room.” Ball bearings, small steel balls, are often used as shrapnel in terrorist bombs, including the weapons used in the July 7, 2005, London bombings.
UPDATE 7:18 p.m. CNN is now reporting the injury toll has reached 110.
UPDATE 7:02 p.m. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews speculating on the motivation behind the attack:
Chris Matthews on bombing: Tax day "does cause some emotions around the country, sometimes in the wrong parts of the brain.”
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) April 15, 2013
UPDATE 6:53 p.m. CBS News correspondent John Miller, who is also a former FBI assistant director, says a Saudi national is in fact in custody, is cooperating, and denies involvement.
ABC News is reporting that the devices may have been remotely detonated.
The New York Times reports there may have been as many as five devices:
The authorities also found a device at St. James and Trinity Streets that did not explode, the person said, and two other devices were found, including one in Newton, outside of Boston.
Below is a picture of a Boston police officer carrying an injured child in the aftermath of the explosions:
UPDATE 6:36 p.m. Multiple sources are reporting than an eight-year-old child is among the dead.
UPDATE 6:25 p.m. Talking Points Memo has called around to Boston-area hospitals. They report between 18 and 20 people being treated at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with two in critical condition; 22 being treated at Massachusetts General, with six in critical condition and five in serious condition; and nine being treated at Tufts.
UPDATE 6:14 p.m. In a briefing just now, President Obama referred to the “senseless loss” in Boston due to “explosions,” but did not characterize them as terrorism. “We don’t yet have all the answers but we do know that multiple people have been wounded — some gravely — in explosions at the Boston Marathon,” the president said. “We still do not know who did this or why and people should not jump to conclusions. . . . Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”
UPDATE 5:56 p.m. Injured tallies continue to climb into the 60s. A doctor from Brigham and Women’s Hospital confirmed that a three-year-old was among the injured. Here is a list of all the Level-1 trauma centers in Boston — perhaps one of the reason there aren’t more fatalities.
BPD commissioner Ed Davis says that reports of a suspect in custody are inaccurate — “no suspect in custody” — multiple people being questioned. This is not necessarily inconsistent with reports of a person of interest under guard at a hospital.
