Those responsible will ‘feel full weight of justice’-Obama

(TWT)

President Obama denounced the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon and vowed to find out who is responsible and bring them to justice.
“We still do not know who did this and why,” he said in a prime-time statement from the White House Brady Press Briefing Room on Monday evening. “But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this. We will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this.”
SEE RELATED: Obama pledges support to Boston in wake of explosions
Any individuals or groups responsible for the “senseless” bombing, will “feel the full weight of justice,” he added.
Mr. Obama did not say whether the two explosions that abruptly ended the marathon and killed at least two people are terrorism-related, but Washington, D.C., and New York City were on high alert in the wake of the dual deadly bombs.
Security outside the White House was stepped up.
Secret Service personnel pushed members of the public across the street from the White House into Lafayette Park, and shut down Pennsylvania Avenue during the peak of spring tourism season.
Earlier Monday a White House official said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano briefed Mr. Obama on the investigation and response to the explosions, including ongoing coordination between federal agencies and state and local officials.
Mr. Obama directed his administration to provide “the full resources” of the federal government to aid in the investigation and response.
SEE RELATED: Study: Americans fear terrorism attacks more than violent crime
“The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight,” he said.
Earlier Monday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden also offered prayers, acknowledging the explosions during a conference call with reporters on gun control. “Our prayers are with those people in Boston who have suffered injuries. I don’t know how many there are,” he said.
Nearly 500,000 tourists were in Boston for the annual marathon.
The Senate observed a moment of silence for the victims just before an evening vote, and Speaker John A. Boehner was scheduled to lead a moment of silence during a scheduled House vote later Monday.
“Words cannot begin to express our sorrow for the families who are grieving so suddenly right now,” Mr. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said in a statement that also thanked law enforcement, other professionals and “good Samaritans” who prevented further loss of life.
“This is a terrible day for all Americans, but we will carry on in the American spirit, and come together with grace and strength,” he said.

Twin bombings at Boston marathon kill three, more than 100 injured

(ZeeNews)

Washington/Boston: At least three people were killed and at least 141 others were injured as two powerful explosions rocked the Boston Marathon finish line in a potential terrorist attack Monday afternoon.

When the smoke cleared after the blasts in Boston's Back Bay section, dozens of victims lay in the street, some unconscious, some grievously injured, including some whose limbs had been torn off by the blast, Boston Globe reported.

The dead included an 8-year-old boy, the newspaper said citing two law enforcement sources. Boston Children's Hospital reported that those treated there included a 9-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, a 12-year-old, and a 2-year-old.

Chaos erupted as near-simultaneous blasts struck about 90 metres apart, the first on Boylston Street near the photo bridge that marks the finish line, CTV News said. The explosion knocked some spectators and runners off their feet.

Paramedics and National Guard members who were working the race rushed to tear down fencing that cordoned off the spectator area from the course in order to reach and treat the injured.



The blasts threw people to the ground. Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said Monday night that the death toll had risen to three. Scores were injured at the scene.

Hospitals reported at least 141 people are being treated, with at least 17 of them in critical condition and 25 in serious condition, CNN said. At least eight of the patients are children.

Investigators warned police to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with the attack, the channel said citing a law enforcement advisory obtained by it.

The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states.

Also, a Saudi national with a leg wound was under guard at a Boston hospital in connection with the bombings, but investigators cannot say he is involved at this time and he is not in custody, a law enforcement official said Monday evening, it said.

Authorities in Boston found at least one other explosive device that they were dismantling, Davis said.

In a television address President Barack Obama pledged the full resources of the federal government in helping Boston and in investigating the bombings and said those responsible would feel the "full weight of justice."

"The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight," he said. The president cautioned that authorities were still investigating and that people should not jump to any conclusions before all of the facts are learned.

"But make no mistake," Obama said. "We will get to the bottom of this and we will find out who did this. We'll find out why they did this and we will hold them accountable."

The blast came on Patriots Day, Obama noted, which is a state holiday in Massachusetts that celebrates the beginning of the American Revolution. Obama stopped short of calling the incident an act of terrorism. Federal authorities are classifying the bombings as a terrorist attack, CNN reported citing a federal law enforcement official.

But it's not clear whether the origin was domestic or foreign, the official said.

A federal law enforcement official told CNN that both bombs were small, and initial tests showed no C-4 or other high-grade explosive material, suggesting that the packages used in the attack were crude explosive devices.

IANS