Ten Years Later, Bostonians Reflect on the Deadly Marathon Bombing

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Ten years have passed after explosions at the end of the Boston Marathon race. This Saturday, as a way to remember those who were injured or killed by these bombs, people in the city will gather to show their resilience and strength. They will also offer their prayers for the victims and their families.

On Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will join people who lost a family member in the bombings of 2013 to honor them at memorial sites. Later in the day there’ll be a special ceremony near the finish line of the marathon where bells will ring and everyone will stay silent for a moment. This is all part of the 127th Boston Marathon.

Wu remembered how many people flooded into her campaign office that day, feeling really confused and scared. She told how Boston showed strength and determination in dealing with the situation, and it’s still remembered for this today.

Three people tragically died and over 260 were hurt when two exploding pressure-cooker bombs occurred at the marathon finish. Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old student from China studying at Boston University; Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Massachusetts; and 8-year-old Martin Richard who was watching the marathon with his family, were all killed in this attack.

For four days, everyone in the city was on edge as authorities hunted for someone who had shot and killed MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. On top of that, Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds died a year later from injuries he got during an encounter with those responsible for this crime.

The police managed to find and arrest Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was injured and bleeding, in Watertown. This happened after his older brother named Tamerlan had a shootout with the police officers and was hit by a car driven by his own brother while he was attempting to escape.

Bill Evans, the former Boston Police Commissioner shared his thought on this saying “I feel like we still haven’t moved past that tragedy from 10 years ago”.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been ordered to die as punishment for his actions and people are focused on whether he will really have to face this consequence.

A special court of three judges who work at the 1st U.S. Circuit Court in Boston listened to arguments about this case from Tsarnaev (who is now 29 years old) in January, but they still haven’t given an answer yet.

At first, the court said no to sentencing Tsarnaev to death in 2020 because they thought the judge who oversaw his trial did not do enough to check if any of the jurors were influenced. However, last year, the highest court in America (the Supreme Court) agreed that he should get the death sentence.

The 1st Circuit is trying to decide if there are other reasons for the death sentence to be dropped again. According to Tsarnaev, the court should have not allowed two jurors who lied during jury selection questioning.

The bombing sadly happened in Boston, but it brought the people of the city together with a special phrase – ‘Boston Strong’. This also motivated many runners to take part in the marathon, including those affected by the attack.

Jack Fleming, who is the President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, said that the bombing in 2013 helped us appreciate what the Boston Marathon stands for, which is freedom. It also showed us how resilient our sport was and made us want to do even better.

On Saturday, the theme of the day will be to honour the people who were hurt or killed by the bombing but also, as Wu said, “really paying attention to how our city and everyone in it are going to keep growing in the future.”

Every year, people come together to help honor victims, survivors and first responders of tragic events in Boston. This is called “One Boston Day” and it’s usually full of activities that help others like shoe drives, food drives, setting up blood donation opportunities and neighborhood cleanups. This year there are nearly twenty different projects where you can participate in!

This time of the year has a lot of special meaning for people all over the city, especially those who were affected by the tragedy 10 years ago. But it’s also a reminder that Boston is very strong and everybody comes together when there’s a need. Jacob Robinson, who works with West Roxbury Main Streets (a group which is hosting a shoe drive), said this in a statement.