The Boston Marathon Nightmare: Has Terror returned for an encore?

 

 It was a hot Monday afternoon. I just left my bedroom for the sitting room, when I saw a live news feed from CNN of a bombing that had just occurred at a Boston Marathon. I asked myself, who did this? Why? For what purposes?; Has terror returned to the US for an encore?.

The Boston Bombing has left 3 families in great pain and anguish, leaving about 183 people brutally injured and scarred for life. It has put all security agencies in the nation on high alert, and on a manhunt for the ‘Boston Bomber’.

The attacks has brought sad memories of the September 11 attacks, the biggest and most deadly event in the history of America, but the attack that occurred on the 15^th of April, 2013, felt more homegrown as it has closely resembles the 1996 Olympic bombing that killed two and injured many others.

While intense investigation is ongoing into those responsible for the attacks, it has got people wondering if the so-called ‘war on terror’ will ever end; how the perpetuator of this heinous crime will sleep soundly at night, knowing that he has drowned the families of the victims in a sea of endless sorrow, and once again left Americans troubled by the acts of terror in days past.

Martin Richard did not deserve to be robbed of life at a tender age of 8!. He and his family only gathered close to the finish line to watch the Boston Marathon when two bombs went off in succession just off Copley Square. He died instantly.

Krystle Campbell did not deserve to die so horribly. Her grandmother, Lillian Campbell described that late graduate of the 2001 graduating class from Medford High School, Massachusetts as a ‘fun and outgoing person, who was always there to help somebody’.

Although, the third victim has yet to be identified, some passengers on a flight from Boston to Chicago on Tuesday were quick to express their concerns over two Arabic-speaking passengers, who were removed from the plane. Perhaps, they are being security conscious, or it is just another case of Islamophobia very much present.

According to sources inside the investigation unit, the bombs were small, crude in design (tests showed that there were no traces of C-4 or any other high-grade explosive) and apparently placed in a metal pressure cooker hidden inside a backpack. It was likely (not certain) that the bombs were timed, not remotely detonated.

Furthermore, doctors at the Boston Brigham and Women Hospital retrieved objects identical to nails and perfectly round objects slightly larger than ball bearings from victims. This most likely speculates that these objects were planted in the device in order to rapidly disperse them when the bomb went off.

The American public wants answers. The world wants answers. The Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual marathon (dating to 1897) which draws more than 20,000 participants will never be the same again. It may have endured world wars and many other historical events, but as a tradition that marks the Patriots Day (the day of the opening battle of the Revolutionary War), it will forever be scarred with the events of April the 15^th.

Has terror finally returned for an encore?