Zim Eye
By Audrey Charowa
16 April 2013
Zimbabwe has condemned the horrific bombing in Boston during the international marathon yesterday.
Boston has a large community of Zimbabweans residing there.
In a statement Zimbabwe’s education and sport minister, Senator David Coltart described the bombings as bastardly.
Below was Senator Coltart’s statement:
“I am very sorry to hear of the Boston Marathon bombing. On behalf of the Zimbabwean Government and all Zimbabwean sportspeople we offer our profound condolences to the people of Boston and the United States of America and especially to all the sportspeople affected by this tragedy. We condemn unreservedly those responsible for this bastardly act. Every bombing is horrific but the bombing of a sporting event is particularly callous. People participate in and watch sporting events to go beyond and above politics and all the other issues which cause so much division of the world; and so the targeting of a sporting event in this manner is particularly grotesque.â€
Meanwhile it was revealed on Tuesday afternoon that an 8 year old boy was among the 3 confirmed dead.
The boy who has been named as Martin Richard was among the over 100,000 strong crowd that attended the event. Martin, together with his mother and sister went to support his father who was one of the 25,000 athletes. Martin’s mother and sister are among the injured. Seconds before his death 8year old Martin Richard hugged his father who had completed the race.
The Marathon commenced with a 26 second moment of silence for the victims of the tragic Sandy Hook, Newtown shootings. The last mile marker was decorated with the seal of Newtown, Connecticut, and dedicated to the memory of the 20 children and six adults killed on December 14.
Prior to the race the Boston Joanne Flaminio, Athletic Association president said the event had “special significance†as there were 26miles to be run – one for each of the Newtown victims.
Boston College had 100 students taking part in the Marathon to raise funds for their college. They wanted to dedicate the last mile to the families of the Newtown massacre shootings some of whom were in the VIP area when the bombs went off. Luckily they got off with no physical injury.
The US House of Representatives held a moment of silence 2hours after the explosions on the House floor.
Sources close to the investigation have revealed that the bombs were ‘packed with ball bearings’ to cause maximum carnage while ripping through the bodies of victims. Over 150 people were injured when the devices were detonated on a beautiful sunny Monday afternoon. Most of the injured suffered shrapnel wounds.
The death toll rose, overnight to three. A Rhode Island state trooper and a former Marine, Roupen Bastajian, 35, was quoted by the New York Times as saying “These runners just finished and they don’t have legs now,—So many of them. There are so many people without legs. It’s all blood. There’s blood everywhere. You got bones, fragments. It’s disgusting. We put tourniquets on. I tied at least five, six legs with tourniquets.†Athletes were also observed lying prone on the ground as the impact tore through the finish line, sending smoke and shrapnel soaring high into the air.
Former head of Boston police, Bill Bratton said “Unfortunately in my country there are no shortage of potential suspects, if you will.The guilty will feel the full weight of justice – Barrack Obama
Addressing the nation President Obama said “We don’t yet have some of the answers. We still don’t know who did this or why…but make no mistake we will get to the bottom of this and we will find who did this and we will find out why they did this… †He went on to say the guilty “will feel the full weight of justiceâ€.
Al Qaeda representatives in Pakistan were quick to distance themselves from the bombings.
A Saudi man who was injured very close to one of the devices in the bombing had his Boston home searched by police. Police investigating took bags of evidence from the Boston Property. Authorities are not stating whether they think he is involved. He could be a key witness or “a person of interestâ€.
A senior Pentagon official was quoted by CNN as saying that “…there is no immediate indication that the Boston terror attack has any foreign connection.†However, CNN reporter Barbara Starr said that information could change. She also said there is a possiblity that the bombing could have been done by “home-grown terrorists†or a “lone wolf†(domestic terrorist).
The Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI is taking the lead in the investigation.
They have asked for members of the public to assist by giving them their footage of the marathon. Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force is comprised of Local police, State police, national guard, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other Federal agencies.
Forensic Investigators have a lot of forensic evidence to go on. Three undetonated bombs were found in the area. Their job now is to study the devices and come up with a “unique signature†which narrows the identification of the bomber by looking at origins of the ingredients and.
Investigators described the explosive devices as “rudimentary†and lacking in sophistication. The bombs are reported to have no signature markers of those that are made by bomb makers trained in the middle East.
The Tuesday morning after Monday afternoon bombing saw Bostonians going about their normal everyday business. The Boston community has chosen to defy those who sought to cause alarm and despondency by their cowardly and dastardly acts. Aside from a road cordoned off for investigations, its “Business as usual†in Boston.