Named: Boy, 8, who was waiting to give his runner dad a hug at the finish line when the Boston Marathon bombings killed him and 'grievously injured' his mother and sister: Woman in her twenties also among three dead as another 144 are hurt with 17 critical

The little boy who died in Monday's Boston bombing has been named as eight-year-old Martin Richard from Dorchester in Massachusetts -  killed as he was standing in line waiting to give his marathon running father a hug.

Losing his life as two explosions tore through the crowd at the finishing post of the Boston Marathon, Martin was at the race to support his dad Bill Martin, along with his mother Denise Richard and two siblings.

Friends held a vigil on Monday night at the neighborhood Tavolo Restaurant in Dorchester for Martin and his mother and sister, who suffered 'grievous' injuries in the bombing on Monday afternoon.

According to the Boston Globe, Martin Richards had walked out to hug his father as he went to cross the finishing line.

Afterwards, his father walked on but the little boy went back to rejoin his mom and siblings - at which point the first bomb went off.

Reports suggest that his mother was terribly injured and his sisters leg was blown off in the devastating explosion.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT AND VIDEO BELOW

Police and federal officials exit an apartment complex at 364 Ocean Avenue with a possible connection to the earlier explosions that occurred during the Boston Marathon on Monday

Instagram photo of a parking garage that a Twitter user who identifies herself as Samara Neves @Samaraaa13 claims is her building as it is being searched by officials after the Boston Marathon bombing

364 Ocean Ave in Revere, - which police and Federal investigators searched this evening after they identified a 'person of interest' who was earlier driving erratically

'Person of Interest': Police investigators leave an apartment complex in Revere, Massachusetts, USA, on 16th April 2013

This news came after around 20 police and federal officials, including members of the bomb squad searched the apartment of a 'person of interest' in the Boston marathon bombings on Monday evening after witnessing an erratic driver circling past the State Police barracks a number of times.

Officers with the Revere police force, which is five miles from downtown Boston, pulled him over and a source told WBZ-TV that he displayed a 'nervous demeanor'.

Patriots Day, a Public Holiday and the Marathon - Today Should Have Marked the Revolutionary the 'shot heard 'round the world.'

• Today's attack took place on Patriots' Day, which marks the first battle of the Revolutionary War and the 'shot heard 'round the world.' It is a day held in reverence by right-wing domestic groups and others who oppose the federal government.
• The 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168, occurred the day after Patriots' Day. Bomber Timothy McVeigh was said believe the date was significant.
• The federal siege of the Branch Dravidian compound, which left 82 members of the cult dead, began on Patriots' Day in 1993.
• Today is also Tax Day, when federal income tax returns are due. In recent years, it has been seized on by members of the Tea Party as cause to protest federal government policies and tax rates.
• A Justice Department source tells MailOnline that authorities are looking into the possibility that the Boston attack, which killed three and injured 144 more at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, could have been planned to coincide with Patriots' Day.
• President Barack Obama himself acknowledged the significance of the holiday during his briefing this afternoon.
• 'Today is Patriots Day,' he said. 'A day that reflects the freedom Boston has celebrated throughout its history.'

The driver then led police, as well as the FBI, to a home in the area of Ocean Avenue and Beach Street - which was then descended upon by Boston Police K-9 units, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Homeland Security investigations.

A source confirmed that the large police presence at the home in Revere is related to the Boston Marathon bombings - which killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy and left 144 people injured - 17 critically.

Marcus Worthington, 24, a resident in the building said no one from the police or FBI has told him what is happening.

'I started noticing the cars, the Taurus there and that one about 5,' Worthington said. 'We were thankful we decide not to go down. It’s best not to jump to conclusions.'

Boston Police Crime Scene Response unit arrived and two members of that unit took several brown paper bags, normally used to store evidence taken from the scene, into the building and left with them full afterwards.

On Monday, the FBI, which has taken over the investigation into the outrage -  announced that they were searching for a man they described as having dark skin, wearing black clothes and a black back-pack who tried to gain entry into a restricted area during the marathon.

It was also reported that he may have had a foreign accent.

And with the victims reportedly ranging from two-years-old to 63-years-old, hospitals across Boston have said that they were removing ball bearings from a large number of the 144 injured in the co-ordinated and almost simultaneous bomb blasts.

Medical officials have said that at least 10 injured people had limbs amputated and several of the patients treated at Massachusetts General Hospital suffered injuries to lower limbs that will require 'serial operations' in the coming days, trauma surgeon Peter Fagenholz said on Monday night to CNN.

Initially counter-terrorism sources in the city believed that seven devices were planted across the city - but only two detonated.

However, a law-enforcement official said late on Monday evening that investigators now doubt those devices were bombs, but were in fact suspect packages - left behind as runners and pedestrians rushed away from the scene in the aftermath of the blasts.

Eventually law enforcement and city officials disputed published ­reports that investigators had discovered one or more bombs that had failed to explode.

A federal law enforcement official told CNN that both bombs which detonated at the Boston finish line were small, and initial tests showed no C-4 or other high-grade explosive was used - indicating they were crude devices.

And at an evening briefing, officials said the National Guard had cordoned off the area to preserve evidence.

'I am not prepared to say we are at ease at this point in time,' sad Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis according to NBC News. 

Boston Marathon bombing caught on video WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Runners continue to run towards the finish line of the Boston Marathon as an explosion erupts near the finish line of the race

Seventy-eight-year-old Bill Iffrig, of Lake Stevens - who fell to the ground in the seconds after the blasts has become one of the unfortunate icons of the Boston marathon bombings

Lucky Escape: Boston Marathon runner Bill Iffrig appears on Piers Morgan on CNN after the marathon explosions on April 15, 2013

Seventy-eight-year-old Bill Iffrig, of Lake Stevens - is helped from the floor as stewards run to help those affected by the blast - as the second explosion can be seen detonating in the distance

Injured people and debris lie on the sidewalk near the Boston Marathon finish line following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013

Members of the armed forces present at the Boston Marathon rush to help those stricken by the bomb attack today at the finish line

Exact Moment: People react as an explosion goes off near the finish at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured

Heroic Reaction:Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to rescue the injured

Police, members of the public and emergency workers rush to help those injured in the Boston Marathon bombings

Boston police initially issued an alert for a rental van that may have sought access to the marathon route, and then another alert for a man wearing dark clothing and a hood who was seen leaving the scene of the blasts.

CBS News reported earlier that authorities are also reviewing surveillance video that shows a man from behind carrying two backpacks near the site of the explosions. Authorities are not sure whether the subject in the video is linked to the blasts.

Boston police say no suspect has been taken into custody.  

The two bombs which exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people and injuring more than 140, raised the specter that terrorism has struck again in the U.S.

Indeed, a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.

In Washington, President Barack Obama vowed during an address to the nation just after 6 p.m. on Monday that, 'Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice.'

Boston 'is a tough and resilient town,' he said, adding that Americans will stand by Bostonians 'every single step of the way.'

A man comforts an injured woman on the sidewalk at the scene of the first explosion on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon

An injured person is helped on the sidewalk near the Boston Marathon finish line following Monday's two bomb blasts

Carnage: Injured people and debris lie on the sidewalk near the Boston Marathon finish line

After the twin detonations 12 seconds apart ripped through the cheering crowds 50-yards away lining Boston's streets at around 2.50 p.m - one witness told CNN that it 'felt like a huge cannon'.

Bill Iffrig, 78 and a veteran marathon runner, was almost at the finish when 'the shock waves just hit my whole body and my legs just started jittering around.' 

Iffrig, can be seen in video of the explosion wearing an orange tank top, and was helped to his feet by an event volunteer and had just a scratch from his fall, he told CNN.

Others were simply stunned by the carnage they witnessed.

'In 28 years, this is definitely the worst I've seen,' said District Fire Chief Ron Harrington of the Boston Fire Department's District 3 to NBC News.

'Bodies and body parts. Blood all over. A little boy lying in the street. A young woman in her twenties. Both dead. It was mayhem. I saw two people with arms hanging loose, and one without a leg. A shoe with flesh still in it.'

Right after the blasts, police officers could be seen carrying bloody spectators to medical tents intended for exhausted runners in desperate attempts to save lives.

Obama on Boston bombings

The fiery twin blasts took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the route. Blood stained the pavement, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories.

'They just started bringing people in with no limbs,' said runner Tim Davey of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to shield their children's eyes from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but 'they saw a lot.'

'They just kept filling up with more and more casualties,' Lisa Davey said. 'Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed.'

Dr. Ron Walls, chair of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told ABC News that he had not identified any shrapnel, such as ball bearings, but saw a lot of 'street stuff' that had injured their patients.

'Rocks, bits of metal, soda cans, anything that is really close to a blast like that can be fragmented,' he said. 'Everything we saw was ordinary material that could have been propelled by the device.'

Boston Children’s Hospital received eight patients injured at the explosion at the Boston Marathon. Patients’ conditions ranged from good to serious. There were no patient deaths among the patients brought to Boston Children’s from the scene.

Their patients included a 2 year-old-boy with a head injury who has been admitted to the Medical/Surgical ICU, a a 9-year-old girl with leg trauma who was sent to the operating room and a 12-year-old boy with a femur fracture.

The condition of these children currently is not known.

Witnesses reported scenes of utter 'pandemonium' in the seconds after the devices exploded on Boston's Boylston Street sending thousands of runners and spectators running for cover as emergency workers rushed to aid those hurt. 

In this image from video provided by Ryan Hoyme, the second explosion can be seen in the distance as smoke from the first explosion surrounds spectators exiting the stands during the Boston Marathon in Boston

Horrific Injuries: Medical workers aid an injured man at the 2013 Boston Marathon who screams out in pain

Emergency personnel respond to the scene as they attempt to tend to the seriously injured at the scene

Passersby help an injured man on the sidewalk near Marathon Sports after two explosions almost simultaneously went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon today

An official with the marathon rushed an injured girl away from the scene of the explosions at the Boston Marathon today

Video grabs show victims of one of the blasts at the finish line of the Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts on April, 15, 2013

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that a potential suspect in the attacks was being guarded by police in an undisclosed Boston hospital.

One initial report said he was a Saudi Arabian national.

CBS News senior correspondent John Miller confirmed that a Saudi national was indeed being questioned by authorities. 

He was seen 'acting suspiciously' running from the explosion.

He was turned over to Boston police and was questioned by the FBI. He is being cooperative and denies any involvement.

'This could mean a lot, or this could mean very little,' Miller said at the time. 'It's too soon to call him a suspect.' ***

Moment of explosion caught on camera at Boston Marathon

It was later revealed that the Saudi national in question was report­edly tackled and held by a ­bystander after he was seen running from near the scene of the explosion, said a law enforce­ment source.

The Saudi man, believed to be a university student in Boston with a valid visa, is cooperating with the FBI and told agents that he was not involved in the explosions, and that he ran only because he was frightened. Investigators do not believe the man is a suspect.

Speaking to the nation just after 6.p.m this evening President Barack Obama reiterated that many people were injured, 'some gravely' and remarked that on days like today, 'there are no Republicans or Democrats,' emphasizing that it is crucial not to categorize the bombings as terrorist attacks.'

Three Dead and over 140 injured: How the Tragic Events of the Boston Marathon Bombing Unfolded Today

9 A.M. - The 2013 Boston Marathon begins.
11:58 A.M. - Rita Jeptoo of Kenya becomes the women's winner, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:26:25.
12:10 P.M. - Men's winner Lelisa Desisa, of Ethiopia, finishes with a time of 2:10:22.
2:50 P.M.  - Two blasts go off only seconds apart at the finish line, less than 100 yards from each other on the north side of Boylston Street.
3 P.M. - A fire breaks out in the mechanical room at the JFK Presidential Library, but is reportedly not related to the explosions at the marathon.
3:34 P.M. - The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announces that multiple sections of the Green Line will be suspended due to police activity.
4:02 P.M. - The first official reports from the Boston Police Department list two dead and 23 injured.
4:30 P.M. - A third blast goes off near the JFK Library though no one is injured. Authorities say the explosion is being treated as an 'ongoing event.'
4:30 P.M. - Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis holds a press conference urging people to remain indoors and not congregate in large groups.
5:23 P.M. - The fire in the JFK Library is put out.
6:10 P.M. - President Barack Obama addresses the nation, vowing: 'We'll find out who did this. We'll find out why they did this.'
6:30 P.M. - One of the dead is reported to be an 8-year-old boy.

The president made clear that 'We will find out who did this and hold them accountable.'

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis had said at an afternoon press conference that there was a third, uncontrolled explosion at the JFK Library which was believed to be an electrical fire.

However, any link to the earlier bombs at the marathon finish line has been ruled out.

Eyewitnesses at the finishing line on Boylston Street said there were two loud explosions about ten seconds apart, and emergency vehicles crowded the scene. 

Witness Dave Weigel said via Twitter minutes after the explosion: ‘I saw people’s legs blown off. Horrific. Two explosions. Runners were coming in and saw unspeakable horror.'

One doctor, Allan Panter, a doctor stood near to the finish line said he was 25-feet away from the first blast when it detonated.

'I saw at least six to seven people down next to me,' he said. 'They protected me from the blast. One lady expired. One gentleman lost both his (lower) limbs. Most of the injuries were lower extremities.'

An aerial graphic that show how the tragic events of today unfolded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon

Fear: Two race officials react seconds after the explosions went off - as hundreds of brave volunteers rushed to the aid of the injured

The explosions ripped into an idyllic afternoon finish for the marathon. The first men had passed the finish line 2 hours and 10 minutes after the staggered start, and the first women crossed just 16 minutes later. 

It appears the bombs were left for the slower, charity runners grappling with a four-hour run time who were converging on the race’s end at 2:50 p.m

Police were keen to underline there had been no arrests but they did say they were talking to suspects. 

There was another individual pictured in handcuffs near to the scene but it wasn't clear whether it was an unrelated arrest or not. 

The first blast sent a quick plume of smoke two stories high. Runners nearby stopped in their tracks, confused and unsure. After a few seconds later, a second explosion happened a half-block away, with a deep boom caught on television cameras.

Emergency personnel rushed to the area, and the street was quickly sealed off.

'I saw it go off and smoke billowed up. Everyone just stopped and hunched down,' said Pam Ledtke, 51, from Indianapolis, who was about 75 yards from the finish line when the explosions went off.

'They didn’t know what to do,' Ledtke said.

'All of a sudden, people were screaming,' Ledtke added.

Anguish: Medical workers aid an injured woman at the finish line of the Boston Marathon following two almost simultaneous detonations today

Nickilynn Estologa, a nursing student who was volunteering in a block-long medical tent designed to treat fatigued runners, said five to six victims immediately staggered inside. Several were children; one was in his 60s.

'Some were bleeding from the head, they had glass shards in their skin,’ she said. 

'One person had the flesh gone from his leg; it was just hanging there.’ Another woman, she added, was lying on a gurney as emergency personnel raced through the tent, giving her CPR.

'I just can’t believe anyone would do something like this,’ Estologa said.

'I saw two explosions,' reported Boston Herald journalist Chris Cassidy, who was running in the marathon. 

'The first one was beyond the finish line. I heard a loud bang and I saw smoke rising.' 

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis speaks as Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick listens, (second from left), at a news conference in Boston on Monday

Walking Wounded: A man staggers away from the scene of the explosions at the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston, today

S.W.A.T. team members stand guard on the campus of Massachusetts General Hospital following the marathon bomb blasts

A Metro SWAT armoured vehicle arrives at the Boston Common near the scene of multiple bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts April 15, 2013

Investigators shine flashlights at one of the blast sites on Boylston Street near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon in the wake of two blasts in Boston Monday, April 15, 2013

Boston remains on high alert into the night after multiple explosions hit the Boston Marathon finish line area on Patriots Day. At least 140 people were injured and 3 confirmed dead in the explosions.

The blast 'looked like it was in a trash can or something,' he said. 'There are at least a dozen that seem to be injured in some way.'

Police established a crime scene around the Prudential Center, which is near the finish line. The blast apparently occurred about 300 yards from the finish line.

Close to Another Tragedy: Families of Sandy Hook Victims were Sitting Near to the Explosions

• Families of some of the victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre were seated near the site of one of the deadly explosions at the Boston Marathon Monday.
• The families, along with a team of runners honoring the shooting victims, were all reported safe after the twin blasts, which killed three people and injured at least 141. 
• The families were seated in a VIP section near the marathon finish line, where the first of two twin explosions occurred.

A White House official called the explosions an 'act of terror,' saying authorities have much to learn about who was behind it.

'Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror,' the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

'However, we don’t yet know who carried out this attack, and a thorough investigation will have to determine whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist group, foreign or domestic.'

Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the immediate aftermath of the blasts.

Paul Cummings, a 44-year-old runner from Portland, Oregon, was in the medical tent near the finish line getting a leg massage when the explosions occurred.

'It didn’t sound like a water main blowing or anything else — it sounded like a bomb,' Cummings said. 

'Maybe I watch too much TV or something, but as soon as I heard it, I knew it was a bomb. It was just a loud explosion, and then another. You can’t hear a noise like that and think anything good happened.'

Authorities in New York and Washington tightened security precautions in the wake of the blasts. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent all of its bomb technicians, explosives officers, explosives specialists and canine officers from their Boston and New York field divisions to the scene, as well as some investigators from Washington.

Hours after twin explosions rang out near the city's Copley Square, President Obama appeared
before the nation to tell them, 'We still don't know who did this or why they did this,' vowing that Americans stand by those affected.

Stay home: Boston officials react to Marathon bombings

Terror: An injured individual near the finish line of the Boston Marathon is rushed away from the scene on a stretcher today

As police started bringing wounded people into the tent, Cummings quickly got up and left. “I just thought, ‘I’m out of here.’ ”

He stepped out into Copley Square to wailing sirens, people shouting and crying and police imploring the crowds to leave the area. 

Jay Hartford, 46, a nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, was about 800 yards from the finish when he heard the explosions. He thought they were electrical and kept running. 

Then he saw smoke billowing across Boylston Street. Runners started to panic, he said.

'Some people hit the ground, in shock'” he said. 'A woman [runner] was on her knees screaming' in fear, not injury.

Police along the route started pushing barriers across Boylston, to keep runners from approaching the finish line, he said.

'Stop, turn back!' the police shouted to oncoming runners, Hartford said.

Passersby help an injured man on the sidewalk near Marathon Sports after two explosions almost simultaneously went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon today

Horrific Scene: The aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday evening in the city

A handcuffed suspect is surrounded by police officers following a search of the Boston Common area located about a mile from the Boston Marathon finish line

Hartford became choked up at the enormity of this calamity befalling one of Boston’s most beloved traditions. 'It was going to be my best marathon, but I feel I’ve got to get to work' at the hospital, Hartford said. 

Boston.com sports producer Steve Silva also was near the finish line when the explosions occurred.

'It was just immediately [evident] there were injuries, right in the middle of the spectator crowds,' Silva said. 

'There was blood everywhere, there were victims being carried out on stretchers. I saw someone lose their leg. People are crying. People are confused.'

The two explosions were about 50 to 100 yards (meters) apart as runners crossed the finish line with a timer showing 4 hours and 9 minutes, some 9 minutes faster than the average finish time, as reported by Runner's World magazine.

A Boston police officer wheels in injured boy down Boylston Street as medical workers carry an injured runner

Medical workers wheel the injured across the finish line as they rush to help those in need

Of the 23,326 runners who started the race on Monday, 17,584 finished before the blast, marathon officials said. The runners were diverted before officials brought the marathon to a halt.

Mike Mitchell of Vancouver, Canada, a runner who had finished the race, said he was looking back at the finish line and saw a 'massive explosion.'

Smoke rose 50 feet in the air, Mitchell said. People began running and screaming after hearing the noise, Mitchell said.

'Everybody freaked out,' Mitchell said.

'Every asset of the Commonwealth (state) of Massachusetts and the federal government is either here or coming here,' Governor Deval Patrick told reporters.

President Barack Obama spoke around 6pm Monday evening, saying that the American people stand by those in Boston affected by today's bombing

Emotional: US President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the Boston Marathon explosions on April 15, 2013 at the White House in Washington, DC

President Obama talks on the phone in the Oval Office today with FBI Director Robert Mueller and was seated with Lisa Monaco, head of Homeland Security, and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and was briefed on the attack

The American flag on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol is lowered to half-staff on Capitol Hill, Monday, April 15, 2013, in Washington, to honor the victims of the explosions at the Boston Marathon

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Department, Homeland Security Department and other agencies were all lending assistance to the investigation, authorities said.

Obama directed his administration to provide whatever assistance was necessary, the White House said. Obama was being briefed by Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco and other staff, the White House said.

Spectators typically line the 26.2 mile race course, with the heaviest crowds near the finish line.

The transit agency shut down all service to the area, citing police activity, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration temporarily restricted airspace over the scene, a spokesman said.

The Boston Marathon has been held on Patriot's Day, the third Monday of April, since 1897. The event, which starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and ends in Boston's Copley Square, attracts an estimated half-million spectators and some 20,000 participants every year.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra cancelled Monday night's concert and the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins canceled their home game against the Ottawa Senators.

CBS News reports that police are now looking at surveillance video showing someone carrying multiple backpacks into the area about 20 minutes before explosions. Additionally, a shadowy figure was captured on CCTV around 20 minutes before the two blasts.

One witness said 'there was blood everywhere.'

CNN revealed that families from last December's Newtown tragedy were at the scene, though none of them were reported injured.

Boston’s Lenox Hotel that serves as the headquarters for the Boston Marathon was locked down on Monday after a security incident near the finish line. Two blasts were heard by reporters in the media center.

Love: People comfort each other after explosions went off at the 117th Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts April 15, 2013

Map of the bomb sites in relation to the city and the marathon which was run today

A Twitter user posted this picture of JFK Library after an explosive device detonated; the police commissioner said that no injuries had been reported

Authorities closed off the finish line and urged anyone in the area to stay away from trash bins.

In response to the attacks, both the White House and New York's Times Square were given extra security measures. The White House released in a statement that President Obama received a briefing from Homeland Security advisor Lisa Monaco and other members of his staff in the Oval Office.

'The president called Boston Mayor Tom Menino and expressed his concern for those who were injured and to make clear that his administration is ready to provide needed support as they respond to this incident.'

Andrea Storer, who witnessed the blast, told the Boston Globe: 'It was huge. There had to be people killed. There had to be'

NECN reporter Jackie Bruno posted on Twitter: 'I saw people's legs blown off. Horrific. Two explosions. Runners were coming in and saw unspeakable horror.

Cherie Falgoust was waiting for her husband, who was running the race.

Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following the two explosions

Initial devastation: Two explosions went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon today

Emergency workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston

'I was expecting my husband any minute," she said. "I don't know what this building is ... it just blew. Just a big bomb, a loud boom, and then glass everywhere. Something hit my head. I don't know what it was. I just ducked."

President Barack Obama was notified immediately about the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Vice President Joe Biden was on a conference call with gun control activists when staffers turned on televisions in his office Monday to view coverage of the explosions. Biden said during the call that his prayers were with those who suffered injuries.

Vice President Joe Biden has released a statement regarding the Boston Marathon bombings.

Embrace: A couple move to hug each other near the finish line area

A person who was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon is taken away from the scene on a stretcher

Action plan: Runners who had not finished the race were stopped before the Massachusetts Avenue overpass

'Our prayers are with those people in Boston who have suffered injuries. I don’t know how many there are.'

A woman on the ground is covered in dirt and blood and looks on in shock as she is surrounded by a scene of carnage

State and local officials told CNN's John King that there was no known credible threat prior to the explosions.

The marathon said in a statement: 'There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today's Boston Marathon. We are working with law enforcement to understand what exactly has happened.'

Competitors and race organizers were crying as they fled the chaos. Bloody spectators were being carried to the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners. A man was pictured with his lower leg blown off with his tibia and fibula exposed.

As people wailed in agony, bloody spectators were carried to a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners.

'They just started bringing people in with no limbs,' said Tim Davey, of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children's eyes shielded from the gruesome scene, but 'they saw a lot.'

'They just kept filling up with more and more casualties,' Lisa Davey said. 'Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed.'

In the hour after the explosions one senior U.S. intelligence official said the two other explosive devices found nearby were being dismantled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the findings publicly. 

'There are a lot of people down,' said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina. 

He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. 

A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.

Boston police examine the damage following the massive twin detonations today at the Boston marathon

Some 23,000 runners took part in the 26.2-mile race, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons. One of Boston's biggest annual events, the race winds up near Copley Square, not far from the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library.

In the aftermath Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis asked people to stay indoors or go back to their hotel rooms and avoid crowds as bomb squads checked parcels and bags left along the race route.

The Federal Aviation Administration barred low-flying aircraft from within 3.5 miles of the site.

'There are people who are really, really bloody,' said Laura McLean, a runner from Toronto, who was in the medical tent being treated for dehydration when she was pulled out to make room for victims.

A man is loaded into an ambulance after he was injured by one of two bombs exploded during the 117th Boston Marathon near Copley Square on April 15, 2013

A person who was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon is taken away from the scene in a wheelchair

An unidentified Boston Marathon runner leaves the course crying near Copley Square

About three hours after the winners crossed the line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another thunderous explosion could be heard a few seconds later.

Runner Laura McLean of Toronto told the Associated Press that she heard two explosions outside the medical tent.

'There are people who are really, really bloody,' McLean said. 'They were pulling them into the medical tent.'

An explosion rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon where dozens of people have been reported seriously injured

Steven Saurbier, who saw the explosion’s aftermath from his window, told The New York Observer: ‘It shook my building, we’re about 100 yards down the street. I figured it was a cannon, or some giant confetti blast, or something planned for the Marathon. 

'Then a second blast went off–much larger–and it rattled the whole building.

‘There was a large cloud of white smoke and people were running from the blast site. Police swarmed immediately, they removed one or two people after patting them down. There were a lot of injured people … I estimate 20 people were medically transported. … I saw a woman being carried by two men and I am almost positive her left leg was blown off at the knee.'

All off-duty Boston police officers have been called in to work following the blasts.

A spokesman for the Boston Marathon said that the race's headquarters are on lock down.

Train service on the green line between Kenmore and Park suspended, according to the MBTA.

Windows of Marathon sports store blown out by the force of the two blasts.

Have a friend running the marathon? Check out this site to find their most recent checkpoint. Additionally, families looking for loved ones should call 617-635-4500. Anyone with info about explosions should call 1800-494-TIPS

Additional reporting by Sara Nathan.

Fonte: MAIL ONLINE
Informação: Telenoticias Mundial