Boston Marathon Ruined by Bomb Scandal

Unnamed man arrested for leaving a suspicious backpack near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Memorial.

The Boston Marathon Memorial remains abandoned as authorities search the scene for suspicious objects.

Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon tragedy, where two impromptu bomb devices were detonated near the finish line of the race, killing three and permanently maiming many others. The marathon scene was recreated on Boylston Street for the memorial, with many people, including Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama, in attendance of what was expected to be a sacred gathering.

This changed after a few hours, when a man, whose name has not yet been released to the public, was discovered walking through the street, with no shoes, in heavy rain, with a suspicious bag, and chanting “Boston Strong”. When the man was approached by a police officer, he dropped the bag and attempted to flee the scene.

This immediately set off red flags among the policemen in the area; after the man was detained for questioning, another suspicious looking bag was found in the vicinity, and both of the bags were detonated by the New York Bomb Squad for safe measures. The remains of one bag showed pieces of what appeared to be a rice cooker, but authorities have yet to share what they believe the second bag contained. The man is likely to be charged for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and possession of a hoax device for aggravating the already thin nerves of citizens nationwide.

Brian Kates, senior Senate member and Public Policy major at the University of Mississippi, took strong offense to the event. “This memorial was the first of many steps to moving past a national tragedy, and it has been sullied by the actions of a man who was inconsiderate enough to revive traumatic memories of a still sensitive event.” 

Chikira Brown, an ROTC member and student at the University of Mississippi echoed much of what Kates stated. “It almost makes you lose faith in humanity when you hear of someone being so insensitive and crude.  Instead of Americans taking those first steps towards moving on, everyone is now sidetracked with this guy’s sick idea of a joke.”

Both Kates and Brown’s comments represent the views of many Americans after hearing of the event. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were ringing with posts expressing both shock and outrage at the time of this publication’s writing.

The actual marathon is still on schedule to occur on April 21^st. If you would like to contribute with fundraising, many groups such as Crowdrise have online fundraisers to assist those effected by last year's bombing.