OT: Boston Marathon Bombing - 10 Years Later

GordonHowe

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DJ Simmonds and Sean Collier should be Sergeants or higher in their respective police forces.

5 lives taken far too soon but they will never be forgotten

After watching Hulu's Murder Before The Marathon and the new Netflix documentary the more pissed I get knowing that this event could have been prevented

I would say this.

I am a fan of former Herald columnist Margery Egan (who drew the ire of Bruins fans by calling out Milan Lucic for bad behavior in the North End [sic] after winning the Cup).

I am not a fan of her WGBH Boston Public Radio co-host, the inimitably obnoxious Jim Braude.

I haven't listened to their program, or NPR, in years.

It must be said however that both were on the Waltham murder case from the beginning, asking uncomfortable questions and demanding hard answers.

They didn't get them at the time. But they never let go of the story.

The Murders Before the Marathon, a Hulu documentary


chronicles the grisly triple murder which occurred in Waltham on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 that, had it been taken seriously at the time, might have prevented the bombings.

Through the relentless work of Boston based journalist Susan Zalkind, a friend of one of the victims, the event and its implications finally came to light,


Unfortunately, predictably, there has been no explanation, no investigation, and no accountability relative to law enforcement action, inaction, repeated failures, and ultimate whitewash of the incident. None appears on the horizon.
 

Fenway

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1681582126142.png
 

GahdenRinkRat

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By the Dirty Watah
I was planning the Boston sports fan trifecta that day.(Sox, Marathon, Bruins) My husband had to work so I went the Sox game alone(a walk off win that was rightfully soon forgotten), was walking across the Fens toward Copley with plans to cheer on some friends and coworkers who run 5-6 hour pace. I had iPod radio in my earphones, I heard the report of the first explosion (when no one knew what was going on), kept walking until the radio reported the second bomb, literally turned directly around and back to Orange Line and home. Called @Ladyfan who was working and told her “I don’t think there’s going to be a hockey game tonight.” She and her coworkers were unaware and then got online. The following days of “shelter in place” remain vivid memories.
Was at that Bruins game (first pro sports event held after the bombings), the anthem still gives me goosebumps along with picture of Seids standing in the blue and yellow spotlight. I had friends and coworkers who questioned my decision to attend a large gathering, but would not have missed it for the world.
BOSTON STRONG:heart:
 

Fenway

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@Kate08

I have been friends for years with the woman who was with Krystle on Boylston St.

She lost her leg but she got married a year later and now lives in Maine.

What can never be forgotten is how many lives were saved simply because you had a portable emergency room at the finish line. If the brothers had chosen Kenmore Square it would have been much, much worse.
 

JRull86

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Jan 28, 2009
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I haven't talked about this to many people, but I was there.

I was working retail for a few years, and If my work schedule lined up for Marathon Monday, I'd typical head in and get a spot nearish to the finish line, because it was a good time.

I was near the Pour House (rip) , and while it was far enough away from the bombs, it was still horrifying and confusing.

I felt like a zombie trying to get home on the T that day.
 

sarge88

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Obviously Marathon day was memorable for the tragedy, but I will always remember the Friday when the bombers were caught.

At that time I was driving a limo as a second job and had a very early airport run that morning.

I left my house around 4 am and checked WBZ Radio as I always would prior to hitting the highway.

I forget the exact timing, but I don’t think the shootout happened much before I got in the car.

I took my 5:00 client to Logan and waited to pick up someone who was on a red eye, landing around 7:30.

They got in my car around 8:00 and the drive back to Andover was surreal….by that time people had got the message not to come to Boston, so the only cars on 93 seemed to be limos and police cars.

Obviously there was the odd civilian car…but they were few and far between.

Oddly….I don’t think Logan closed, because I remember doing a few more runs that day…but again, the highway was mostly limos and police.
 
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Kate08

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@Kate08

I have been friends for years with the woman who was with Krystle on Boylston St.

She lost her leg but she got married a year later and now lives in Maine.

What can never be forgotten is how many lives were saved simply because you had a portable emergency room at the finish line. If the brothers had chosen Kenmore Square it would have been much, much worse.

This took my breath away. I haven’t heard any accounts from people who were with Krystle, or anyone,that haven’t been reported.

Thank you for sharing.

Krystle is in the lower right side of this candid photo, that was taken at our friends wedding.

We had a really, REALLY, good time that day.

The rest of the world remembers the photo of her from Fenway that was on the news…this is how I remember her.
E2FB9826-C5CB-42E6-951C-48274BFE9463.jpeg
 

Smitty93

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I just watched the first hour, very well done

I finished it the other day. I thought Evans comes across very well, Davis not so much.

There wasn't anything particularly new, but it was a reminder of how crazy that week was. I was 1000 miles away at college, so there was this weird feeling of being detached from it all, and yet it was so personal that I was glued to the internet the entire week.

I believe that's when I first discovered Reddit, when there was that whole fiasco with wrongly identifying the bombers. I'm not sure I got any sleep that Thursday night when I spent hours listening to a police radio online and watching the insane video from the Watertown shootout.

I remember thinking when they released the bomber's photos that they had to be long gone by then. I don't want to say we're lucky they didn't have an escape plan, because it led to the tragic deaths of Sean Collier and Dennis Simmonds, but more organized perpetrators probably would have been out of town that Monday night and who knows what other death and destruction they would have caused.

As much as it was a week of tragedies, it was also a week of miracles. The fact that you have a mass casualty event like that, and yet the only deaths were killed instantly in the blast, and they were able to save everyone else, is incredible. The Danny Meng miracle, without which they probably slip out of town.

As sad of a week as it was, I've never been so proud to call myself a Bostonian. It's a shame feelings like that are most often a result of tragedy.
 
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Fenway

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I finished it the other day. I thought Evans comes across very well, Davis not so much.

Bill Evans is as honorable a person as you will ever meet. Ed Davis...........................

SOMEBODY leaked the photos to then Murdoch owned Channel 25

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FOX 25 airs the photos at 4:30 PM on Thursday and an hour later the FBI releases them. The 2 brothers are watching on Norfolk St in Cambridge and finally 5 hours later make their move. I honestly thought the bombers had blown town 3 days earlier and was shocked they lived 2 blocks from me.

Thursday night into Friday became a blur and Ground Zero was EAST WATERTOWN!!!!

I just can't believe it was 10 years ago..................
 

GabeTravels

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It was still my first year in Minnesota after living in Maine my whole life.

I worked at 2:30 so I got up early and watched the Sox. Then started listening to 98.5 on the way to work. Just as I was getting off the bus at my office they broke in with the news. I sprinted in and threw on the TV. Couldn't believe what I was seeing. I still had many friends in college and I knew many of them were heading into the city for the day, thankfully all safe.

The Anthem a couple days later is one of my favorite Boston memories after all these years. Rene knew exactly what to do.
 
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Fenway

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I finally finished the Netflix documentary...............

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a loose cannon that the Russians warned the FBI about and they decided he was harmless. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was well-liked growing up in Cambridge and it seems that in the end, he worshipped his older brother.

In any event, Dzhokhar left his backpack bomb next to the Richard family children........and for that I hope he lives a long life at SuperMax in Colorado

I am happy that 10 years later Boston will have a spectacular Marathon Monday - Cheer the runners, cheer the Sawx and then get one win closer to the Cup.
 

Bruinswillwin77

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I finally finished the Netflix documentary...............

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a loose cannon that the Russians warned the FBI about and they decided he was harmless. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was well-liked growing up in Cambridge and it seems that in the end, he worshipped his older brother.

In any event, Dzhokhar left his backpack bomb next to the Richard family children........and for that I hope he lives a long life at SuperMax in Colorado

I am happy that 10 years later Boston will have a spectacular Marathon Monday - Cheer the runners, cheer the Sawx and then get one win closer to the Cup.
Meant the love emoji at first- not the laugh. Fat tired fingers.
 

Aussie Bruin

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Bill Evans is as honorable a person as you will ever meet. Ed Davis...........................

SOMEBODY leaked the photos to then Murdoch owned Channel 25

View attachment 689238



FOX 25 airs the photos at 4:30 PM on Thursday and an hour later the FBI releases them. The 2 brothers are watching on Norfolk St in Cambridge and finally 5 hours later make their move. I honestly thought the bombers had blown town 3 days earlier and was shocked they lived 2 blocks from me.

Thursday night into Friday became a blur and Ground Zero was EAST WATERTOWN!!!!

I just can't believe it was 10 years ago..................


Is Davis not respected in Boston? He's well-regarded in the wider law enforcement community, but locals of course can see these things differently.
 

Alicat

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Is Davis not respected in Boston? He's well-regarded in the wider law enforcement community, but locals of course can see these things differently.
I’ve always thought Ed Davis was decent and then after the bombing and international attention he forgot where he came from. Ed Davis also covered up a shitload of crimes like overtime fraud, excessive force and worst of all sexual abuse in the department.

Seeing him all over the news when something happens now irritates me because he acts like he was the only person in the Boston police who responded.

Billy Evans is as humble as they get. He’s a true blue collar Bostonian. He was on the front lines with his men the whole week.

I’ll never forget a very sick Mayor Menino basically telling the hospital I’m out so he could be visible to the city he lead for decades. Menino is from my part of the city and I had the honor of meeting him a number of times growing up. He cared deeply and I do wish the documentary talked a little about him.

I never gave a thought as to just how close my office was to the first bomb until a friend from out of state texted me back a map. I worked on the corner of Clarendon street and there’s a block between us and the site which was on the other side of the church that’s on the corner of Dartmouth and Boylston.

Took me a few years to even walk up Boylston Street let alone eat at one of the restaurants and to stop seeing the image of the youngest making that turn down I believe Fairfield St in front of the old Anthropologie.

What a lot of people never accounted for is how traumatizing it was for those of us who worked on Boylston Street to have media, cameras and gawkers everywhere for weeks after and how out daily work lives were impacted because these people flooded the cafe’s and lunch spots to file their stories. Work from home was just not a thing back then. I’m not proud of it but I unloaded on more than one media outlet after tripping over their cable wires. 2 years post ankle surgery and I was not about to have a 4th surgery bc of these people.

It took me a few years in therapy to get over the anger I had over how colleagues criticized those of us in the office that day handled things and how my own mother dismissed my feelings in the days after. Turns out my mom was terrified since my sister was a few blocks away on Comm Ave and Fairfield.
 

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