Tag: boston strong
MIT Cop Slain In Manhunt For Boston Marathon Bombers Is Memorialized

MIT Cop Slain In Manhunt For Boston Marathon Bombers Is Memorialized

By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times

In just a dozen seconds, two pressure-cooker bombs exploded at the finish line area of the Boston Marathon last year, creating a tailspin that lasted for days. On Friday, the police officer killed during the manhunt for the bombers was memorialized as the region continued to mark the anniversary of the tragic events.

Three people died in the explosions and more than 260 people were injured.

The fourth death took place a year ago Friday when MIT Police Officer Sean Collier was shot, allegedly by the fleeing suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Tamerlan died after a later shootout with police in Watertown, Massachusetts Dzhokhar was apprehended on the night of April 19, 2013 and is awaiting trial on charges that could bring the death penalty if he is convicted.

On Friday, the MIT community mourned Collier’s death at a ceremony at the school in Cambridge. With Collier’s family attending, Sara E. Ferry, a friend and graduate student, described his death as “moment of extreme evil.”

“Sean embodied the spirit of MIT and the students,” said Ferry, according to local media reports. “He was always learning. … We are so grateful that he was part of lives at MIT. … When Sean left us, love rushed in. … Love will be Sean’s legacy at MIT.”

U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, both Democrats from Massachusetts, also praised Collier. Cambridge Mayor David P. Maher said the intersection near where Collier was sitting in his police cruiser when he was shot would be named Sean Collier Square as a memorial.

Friday morning’s ceremony was also a fundraiser for the Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, which has raised more than $500,000 to pay for scholarships at MIT and the Massachusetts Police Academy.

Team Collier Strong, a group of about 25 friends and relatives, will be running in Monday’s Boston Marathon to raise scholarship money for the fund.

The bombs went off on April 15, 2013 and the Boston region has been commemorating events with moments of silence, prayers and ceremonies this week as the area works through the healing process. Those killed in the blasts — Krystle Campbell, 29, Lu Lingzi, 23, and Martin Richard, 8 — have all been remembered and mourned.

Collier was the fifth of six children. He studied criminal justice at Salem State University, working for a time as a civilian at the Somerville Police Department. He was a fan of the Boston Celtics, taught young people to box and helped out at a homeless shelter. When the MIT Outing Club headed to Newfoundland for a weekend of hiking, Collier joined them.

Collier’s sister, Nicole Lynch, told reporters this week that the family was relieved when her brother was hired for a relatively quiet police post at MIT.

“Then he called me after his first week and said, ‘I made my first traffic stop and they pulled a knife on me,’’’ she told the Associated Press. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, maybe this is not as safe as I thought.’’’

Tucked within the solemn moments this week has also been the occasional moment of joy.

On Thursday night, Marc Fucarile and Jen Regan finally married. They had been planning their ceremony last year, but the bombing cost Fucarile his leg and the nuptials were put on hold.

During his recuperation, Regan entered a contest offering a free wedding to a couple who was affected by the bombings. She wrote an essay and won.

The wedding took place Thursday night at the EMC Club at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

The wedding’s colors were blue and yellow — to match the logo of Boston Strong, the city’s mantra.

AFP Photo/Spencer Platt

Victims, Residents Reflect On Boston Marathon Tragedy

Victims, Residents Reflect On Boston Marathon Tragedy

By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times

BOSTON — One year after two pressure-cooker bombs tore through the crowd at the finish line at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others, people throughout the city are pausing to reflect on the day with tributes, prayers, speeches and music.

At a private ceremony Tuesday morning, families of the victims placed wreaths at the two bombing sites — in front of the Forum restaurant on Boston’s Boylston Street, and near Marathon Sports a block away. Police honor guards will stand sentry around the wreaths all day.

The marathon will be held this year on Monday. It is expected to be the second most crowded field ever, after the marathon’s centennial in 1996.

The city is holding a tribute Tuesday at the Hynes Convention Center close to the bombing sites, beginning at noon. Both families and public figures will attend the event, including the family of victim Lu Lingzi, who came from China to attend the ceremony. Vice President Joe Biden is also expected to speak, as is former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who announced last month that he is battling cancer.

According to an official program, the Boston Pops and the Boston Children’s Chorus will participate in the event, which will include a flag-raising ceremony and a moment of silence scheduled at the marathon finish line at 2:50 p.m., the time when the first bomb exploded.

A year after the marathon, many victims who previously had not spoken to the media have been featured in local Boston papers and TV stations. The family of Martin Richard, 8, who was killed in the bombing, appeared in a lengthy two-part Boston Globe story about recovering from the bombing. Jane Richard, Martin’s sister, who is now 8, lost a leg in the bombing.

Signs along the Boylston Street finish line area remind residents to be “Boston Strong,” but no formal memorial has been erected at the bombing sites. Still, those who were near the finish line a year ago say they think about it every day.

Gerardo DeFabritiis is a manager at the Tannery, an upscale shoe and clothing store across from the site where the first bomb went off. His daughter and son-in-law were visiting the store on marathon day last year and were about to leave when he called them back in to see a new line of T-shirts. The bomb went off soon after.

“They would have been right there,” he said, remembering, pointing to the spot where the bomb went off. He remembers walking outside after the bombing and seeing a woman on the ground, bleeding. He thinks about the bombing whenever he passes over that little piece of sidewalk.

He learned something from that day, he said: “When your time comes, your time comes.”

AFP Photo/Spencer Platt