BOSTON -- A large area of
downtown Boston remained cordoned off by police today as authorities
pursued an investigation into the two bombs that exploded at the finish
of the Boston Marathon Monday, killing three people and wounding more
than 100.
A stretch of Boylston Street and the blocks around it were closed to traffic as police searched for evidence of the identity of who placed the bombs packed with ball bearings to maximize casualties.
>> Photos from scene (Warning: graphic images)
The White House said the bombings would be treated as "an act of terror" and President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible would "feel the full weight of justice."
The attack was the worst on American soil since September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda militants flew hijacked airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people.
In Boston, dozens of police and national guard vehicles were parked around the cordoned-off area, which was empty of cars and pedestrians as authorities hunted for clues.
A banner that had marked the race's finish line still hung over the deserted street.
Local media reported that police searched an apartment in Revere, a city about six miles northeast of Boston. Katherine Gulotta, a spokeswoman for the FBI, which has taken over the lead in the investigation, declined to confirm or deny the reports. She said police planned to brief the media at 9:30 a.m.
Obama was updated on the investigation overnight by his homeland security and counterterrorism aide, Lisa Monaco, a White House official said.
"The president made clear that he expects to be kept up to date on any developments," the official said.
Obama is due to be briefed on the explosions later this morning by FBI Director Robert Mueller, Monaco, and other senior staff, the official said.
Search turns to the public
U.S. investigators led by the FBI are poring over video and photographs from the widely watched marathon for clues to determine who is responsible for the bombs.
Because the Boston Marathon is run by 27,000 people and some 500,000 come to watch every year, officials expect plenty of visual evidence into what happened before and after two devices exploded as hundreds of runners streamed to the finish line at Copley Plaza in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.
"I saw people who looked like they had their legs blown off. There was a lot of blood over their legs. Then people were being pushed in wheelchairs," said Joe Anderson, 33, a fisherman from Pembroke, Massachusetts, who had just run the race holding a large U.S. flag.
Some victims would require further surgery in the coming days, said Peter Fagenholz, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"We're seeing a lot of shrapnel injuries" from small metal debris, Fagenholz told reporters outside the hospital. Doctors treated 29 people, of whom eight were in a critical condition.
An 8-year-old boy was among the dead. A two-year-old was being treated at Boston Children's Hospital for a head wound, the hospital said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is heading the investigation with help from city, state and federal officials, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers said at an evening news conference.
"It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation," he said, while declining to elaborate on initial findings or where the probe was headed.
A stretch of Boylston Street and the blocks around it were closed to traffic as police searched for evidence of the identity of who placed the bombs packed with ball bearings to maximize casualties.
>> Photos from scene (Warning: graphic images)
The White House said the bombings would be treated as "an act of terror" and President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible would "feel the full weight of justice."
The attack was the worst on American soil since September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda militants flew hijacked airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people.
In Boston, dozens of police and national guard vehicles were parked around the cordoned-off area, which was empty of cars and pedestrians as authorities hunted for clues.
A banner that had marked the race's finish line still hung over the deserted street.
Local media reported that police searched an apartment in Revere, a city about six miles northeast of Boston. Katherine Gulotta, a spokeswoman for the FBI, which has taken over the lead in the investigation, declined to confirm or deny the reports. She said police planned to brief the media at 9:30 a.m.
Obama was updated on the investigation overnight by his homeland security and counterterrorism aide, Lisa Monaco, a White House official said.
"The president made clear that he expects to be kept up to date on any developments," the official said.
Obama is due to be briefed on the explosions later this morning by FBI Director Robert Mueller, Monaco, and other senior staff, the official said.
Search turns to the public
U.S. investigators led by the FBI are poring over video and photographs from the widely watched marathon for clues to determine who is responsible for the bombs.
Because the Boston Marathon is run by 27,000 people and some 500,000 come to watch every year, officials expect plenty of visual evidence into what happened before and after two devices exploded as hundreds of runners streamed to the finish line at Copley Plaza in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.
"I saw people who looked like they had their legs blown off. There was a lot of blood over their legs. Then people were being pushed in wheelchairs," said Joe Anderson, 33, a fisherman from Pembroke, Massachusetts, who had just run the race holding a large U.S. flag.
Some victims would require further surgery in the coming days, said Peter Fagenholz, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"We're seeing a lot of shrapnel injuries" from small metal debris, Fagenholz told reporters outside the hospital. Doctors treated 29 people, of whom eight were in a critical condition.
An 8-year-old boy was among the dead. A two-year-old was being treated at Boston Children's Hospital for a head wound, the hospital said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is heading the investigation with help from city, state and federal officials, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers said at an evening news conference.
"It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation," he said, while declining to elaborate on initial findings or where the probe was headed.
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