They were 'good enough' to evade bomb-sniffing dogs and pre-race bomb sweeps, either by type of device -- or knowledge of security measures in Boston, and the race itself. It may even turn out all the bomb ingredients are so common they can't be traced with accuracy. But they were stupid enough to choose a heavily photographed/videotaped area, with CCTV from surrounding stores.Originally Posted by Hazir
First of all, it doesn't matter from the perspective of irrational fear. Secondly, a high profile mass casualty event like 9/11 is certainly possible in the future, though obviously the modus operandi is likely to be somewhat different.
Possible versus certain; I know which one is the more dangerous. I've never seen a plane fly into a building with my own eyes, I have heard several smaller and lethal explosions with my own ears, both in Turkey and in Spain.
Yes, 9/11 was horrendous, but it's not near as easy to relate to as to a bombing with something as banale as a pressure cooker.
Congratulations America
I've seen a plane fly into a building...
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
http://www.fbi.gov/news/updates-on-i...-boston/photos
FBI has released images of the suspects
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
I'd hate to be a Muslim in the US right now...
Hope is the denial of reality
Shit quality CCTV pictures. Can't even clearly make out the race, suspect 2 looks white. Doesn't mean he's not Muslim but can't see clearly personally.
Just wait. Now that we know who to look for you can expect to see a lot of people start to go through their own smartphone and camera recordings. We will see better images soon. The hats have already been identified.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
One of them looks pretty Arab. The other has white skin, but that doesn't rule out being Arab.
Hope is the denial of reality
You were in NYC on 9/11? If not you missed to point of my post.
Congratulations America
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Tampa_plane_crash
i think you missed the point.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Are you serious? Yeah, it'd suck to be a dark-skinned male in the US right now, because of stereotypes like that.
Stereotypes? It's pretty damn clear that the guy in the white hat is an Arab, and it's not terribly likely that a Christian Arab would be carrying out this kind of an attack. Obviously that's no excuse for people to target Muslims in the US, but unfortunately, it will happen.
Hope is the denial of reality
Seems to me you're the one targeting Muslims and/or Arabs, based on a couple of photos. That man could just as easily be Greek or Italian. Religious affiliation and nationality can't be determined by skin color. Hell, not even race can be determined that way.
Don't shoot the messenger, Loki has hit it on the head - even if its not Muslims in the end right now I'd hate to be one in the US.
The suspects were initially described as "dark-skinned or black males". Only other stereotypes could possibly translate that into "Muslims or Arabs". Check your filter.
Yeah, I'm going to go with them not doing that sort of planning. They wanted to bomb something, the marathon was a high profile target, the bombs they could build (or place and expect to go off before being found) were limited. Did they want to maximize damage? Sure, that is pretty common. Did they want to simultaneously seek to maximize damage and limit the direct loss of life? Seems pretty unlikely.The bombers had to know all these things, and considered them in their plotting. I was speculating about the choices they made in place and time and method. But it's hard to get into the twisted mind of a terrorist, so what the hell.
Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"
We're all speculating, of course. If the JFK library incident is connected to the marathon bombs, that would suggest they wanted to divert -and conflict- emergency personnel and first responders. If it was a large and coordinated effort, they could have used multiple people with the same type of pressure-cooker bombs, placed at multiple sites along the marathon route. (Or even in multiple cities or states.)
The only thing that's clear is that a maximum amount of "damage" was achieved by the act itself. Shutting down a large city, its routine activities, businesses, airports, surrounding cities/states and shared airspace, causing several state and federal agencies to respond. A cardinal tactic of terrorism, and terrorists who crave the attention.
WTF, two bomb scares on campus in one week, now a shooter on the loose with an officer down.
"Copycats"?
Hope is the denial of reality
Nah, the bomb scares were probably just overvigilance wrt unattended bags. The shooting - who knows? Bleh, we know there's something up when everyone's phone buzzes/rings at the same time. It's becoming a daily occurrence.
The events in Waterton are a bit confusing now. One bomber dead and another on the run. But then who is the naked guy who got arrested?
Congratulations America
Unclear. Right now it's pretty much utter chaos; I'm a couple miles away from Watertown (and MIT, for that matter), and even here there are cops patrolling like crazy - the city is effectively locked down: no T service, large areas cordoned off, and a massive manhunt. I hope they catch the fucker soon.
Wow, this is something.
Really curious for a more detailed breakdown of events. What caused them to rob a 7-11 of all things? It seems likely that the publication of their photos triggered something, but was it to run? Because I would imagine they could have run better if they hadn't robbed a 7-11 or hung around Cambridge. Was it to cause random destruction/death? Because one would think they could have done a better job of that too.
If it turns out these guys went to MIT or Harvard that would be something. I was beginning to wonder about that because the photos seemed to indicate someone walking there on foot, and Cambridge is so close to the bomb sites. Had they come another way one would think there would be more security footage of them using public transit or something.
Boston Bombing Suspect Killed in Shootout
By EVAN PEREZ And JENNIFER SMITH
WATERTOWN, Mass—A Boston Marathon bombing suspect was killed in a confrontation with police and a manhunt was on for the second suspect—both of whom were believed to be involved in the fatal shooting of an MIT campus police officer during a chaotic series of events Thursday night.
Authorities said the bombing suspect who had been shown wearing a black baseball cap in photographs released Thursday was killed when confronted by police in Watertown, Mass. The second suspect, a light-skinned man with long curly hair and wearing a hoodie who police said was the bombing suspect identified wearing a white hat, was still at large Friday morning. Neither man was identified. Police warned residents that the at-large suspect was armed and dangerous.
Authorities said the injured suspect was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Richard Wolfe, the hospital's chief of emergency medicine, said the man had multiple injuries from what appeared to be both an explosive device and gunshot wounds.
Federal investigators have identities that they believe to be the two suspects and are working to verify their backgrounds.
"We believe this to be a terrorist," said Boston Police Chief Ed Davis. "We believe this to be a man who's come here to kill people. We need to get him in custody."
The manhunt brought much of the Boston area to a halt on Friday. Gov. Deval Patrick ordered the city's subway and bus system to be shut down. Authorities told commuters to stay home and stay indoors. As police conducted a sprawling search for the suspect in the Boston suburb of Watertown, authorities prohibited street traffic, told businesses there and in other surrounding areas to remain closed, and asked residents to remain inside.
The websites of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Boston University and Boston College said classes were canceled Friday.
"We do not want people congregating or waiting," said Kurt Schwartz, the Massachusetts director of emergency management. The situation, said State Police Col. Timothy Alben, "is grave."
The violence began around 10:30 p.m., with the robbery of a 7-11 in nearby Cambridge, authorities said. The two men then fatally shot an MIT campus police officer and carjacked a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle at gunpoint, keeping the vehicle's owner hostage for about a half-hour, police said. The owner was released at a gas station in Cambridge, authorities said. He wasn't injured.
As police pursued the vehicle, explosive devices were thrown from the car, authorities said. "There was an exchange of gunfire" between police and the suspects," Mr. Alben said.
A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer was wounded during the exchange.
"Our immediate concern is for those people in that neighborhood up there," Mr. Alben said.
The marathon bombings on Monday killed three people and injured more than 170. Authorities said on Thursday that they were searching for two men and released video and photographs of them. On Thursday night, federal authorities released a new photograph of the white-capped suspect, wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt, from a 7-11 in Cambridge.
Hundreds of police officers descended on the Cambridge and Watertown areas as the violence unfolded Thursday night, authorities said. Residents said they heard loud explosions and gunfire.
Katie Blouin, 24 years old, of Watertown, said Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and local police entered her house, searching before telling her boyfriend to lock the house's doors.
"I'm shaking," she said. "It just makes you so nervous."
Adonis Karageorgis, a 35-year-old dental student who lives in Watertown, said he heard a loud explosion from his apartment balcony
"I looked up and saw the sky light up," he said. "You could smell the smoke."
The MIT campus police officer wasn't identified. The officer had multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement on the Middlesex County District Attorney's website.
Shortly before midnight Thursday, police were gathered in Watertown, and a stretch of the campus near Vassar Street and Main Street in Cambridge was cordoned off. Police were searching through woods with dogs and flashlights.
Dozens of police officers gathered at Massachusetts General Hospital where the injured officer was reportedly taken. Officers directing traffic asked those who arrived in a panic: "friend or family?" A few officers wept openly as they hurried into the emergency room.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...609754740.html
NPR said they were a pair of Chechnian brothers.
They are not in the MIT directory. I didn't see them at Harvard either. They live in Cambridge and went to high school there (and at least one went to the end of grade school there as well). I don't think they have any connection to MIT or Harvard other than the fact that they live nearby.
I suspect that they're politically motivated but unaffiliated with any organization; this whole thing smacks of amateurish planning. The 7-11 thing might have been a simple need for cash to facilitate their escape once it became clear that the cops were closing in on their identities and whereabouts.
The entire city is being asked to stay inside, now - not just the suburbs around Watertown. Going to be a long day.
Well they are Chechen Muslims. Moved to USA as refugees in 2001 but said recently "I don't have a single American friend"
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/20...an_friend.html
see. love is the answer
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Were they Muslims (cause their parents were) or Muslims (that actually bought into the whole silly concept, like any other religious fundie)?
Brevior saltare cum deformibus viris est vita
There's a youtube account that appears to be from the older brother which has some islamist and chechnyan propaganda on it - at least it looks like it. My guess? They're Chechen Muslims who were radicalized at some point.
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