It was as good a Patriots Day, as good a Marathon day, as any, dry and seasonably warm but not hot like last year. The buzz was great. While the runners climbed Heartbreak Hill, the Red Sox were locked in another white-knuckle duel with the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. The only thing missing was Lou Reed crooning “Perfect Day” in the background. 
 
 The winners and the elite runners had long ago finished, when in the Fens, at shortly after 2 p.m., Mike Napoli kissed a ball off The Green Monster in the bottom of the ninth, allowing Dustin Pedroia to scamper all the way home from first base, giving the Red Sox a walk-off win. 
 
 Many of those jubilant Sox fans had walked down through Kenmore Square toward the Back Bay to watch the Marathon. Some of them had just got to the finish line when the first bomb went off, shortly before 3 p.m. 
 
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 In an instant, a perfect day had morphed into something viscerally evil. 
 
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 The location and timing of the bombs was sinister beyond belief, done purposely to maximize death and destruction. Among those who watched in horror as a fireball belched out across the sidewalk on Boylston were the parents of the schoolkids murdered in Newtown, Conn. The Atlantic reported they were sitting in a VIP section at the finish line, across the street from the explosion. 
 
 This is how bad this is. One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy from Dorchester. His sister’s leg was blown off. His mother was badly injured. That’s just one family, one story. 
 
 It would be wrong and a cliche to say we lost our innocence on Monday afternoon as a plume of white smoke drifted high above Boylston Street, as blood pooled on the sidewalk across from the Boston Public Library, as severed limbs lay amid the bruised and the bloodied and the stunned, their ears ringing, their ears bleeding. 
 
 We lost our innocence on another perfect day, in September, 12 years ago. But we lost something Monday, too, and that is the idea that we will ever feel totally safe in this city again. 
 
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 The Marathon is the city’s signature event, a tangible link with the rest of the world. It is one of the few things that allows us to cling to that pretense of Boston being the Hub of the universe. Patriots Day is a celebration of our revolutionary history, but we share it with the world. It is the one day of the year when the city is its most diverse, with people from so many other countries here to run those 26 miles from Hopkinton to the Back Bay. 
 
 And so it was alternately poignant and horrifying to watch as first responders frantically pulled metal barriers and the flags of so many different countries down into Boylston Street in a desperate rush to get to the dead and the injured on the sidewalk. 
 
 Those flags looked like victims, splayed on Boylston Street as the acrid smoke hung in the air. 
 
 After the initial explosion, runners instinctively craned their necks toward the blast site. Then, 12 seconds later, a second explosion, further up Boylston. It was pandemonium. I saw an older runner wearing high rise pink socks, about to cross the finish line. He was knocked to the ground by a photographer running up Boylston Street toward the second explosion. 
 
 In an instant, so many lives changed. Some ended. The telephone lines burned. Everybody was trying to figure out who and why. The cops I talked to were shaking their heads. It could be anybody. Could be foreign. Could be domestic. Could be Al Qaeda. Could be home-grown nuts. 
 
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 It was Patriots Day. It was tax day. It was Israel’s independence day. Theories swirled like the smoke above Boylston Street. Friday marks the 20th anniversary of the FBI assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and the 18th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. 
 
 Before 3 p.m., the medical tent had seen nothing worse than a blister. Then, in an instant, it was transformed into a triage unit. 
 
 Then there was the story about the young Saudi guy who was being questioned by the FBI. Now, the FBI wouldn’t tell me if my pants were on fire, but my old pal John Miller from CBS News reported that the kid did a runner after the explosion and that somebody tackled him and held him for the police. Miller used to be an associate director at the FBI, and let’s just say his sources there are impeccable. Miller says the Saudi guy was cooperative and denied he had anything to do with the bombing. He says he took off because, like everybody else in the Back Bay, he was terrified. A law enforcement source later told me that Miller’s story is right on the money. 
 
 I saw Lisa Hughes from WBZ-TV trying to do her job, amid the blood and the body parts. And then I remembered that Lisa, who is as nice a person as you’ll find in this business, married a guy from Wellesley named Mike Casey who lost his wife Neilie on one of the planes out of Boston that crashed into the Twin Towers. And then I tried not to cry and just marveled at how professional Lisa was. 
 
 Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick began his day by visiting ailing Mayor Tom Menino of Boston in the hospital. Hours later, Patrick was on the phone with President Obama, and Menino signed himself out of the hospital. He couldn’t be cooped up while his city was being attacked. Like so many people in the Back Bay, the mayor needed a wheelchair to get around. 
 
 Dave McGillivray, the Marathon director, had just arrived in Hopkinton, and was about to run the 26-mile route, as he does every year hours after the last runner has departed. A state cop told McGillivray what had happened and McGillivray jumped in a cruiser and raced back to the finish line. 
 
 Before 3 p.m., the medical tent at the finish line had seen nothing worse than a blister. Then, in an instant, it was transformed into a battlefield triage unit. Doctors and nurses who had been running the race in turn raced to the medical tent and volunteered their services, still sweating, still wearing their running gear. People in the Back Bay opened their homes to runners who couldn’t get back to their hotels. 
 
 We will get through this, but we will never be the same. 
 
 Even as the smoke drifted away from Boylston, we are still in the fog, still in the dark, our ears still ringing from the bombs. 
 
 And we are left with this unnerving proposition: If it was home-grown, it was probably an aberration, the work of a lunatic. If it was foreign inspired or sponsored, we will never feel safe again in our own town. 
 
 President Obama asked the rest of the country to pray for Boston. But we need more than prayers. We need answers. We need peace of mind, and we’ll never have that again on Patriots Day. Ever. Because somebody came here on our Patriots Day and launched their own revolution. ||||| [Update, 11:05 a.m. ET Tuesday] This post is no longer being updated. For Tuesday's coverage, please read this story. 
 
 [Update, 11:41 p.m. ET] Stephen Segatore, a nurse who was at the medical tent near the finish line for the Boston Marathon, said emergency responders immediately went into mass-casualty mode. 
 
 "We had full trauma response at the scene," he told CNN. "We had physicians, nurses who are experienced in trauma care. We had EMTs and it was a full Level 1 trauma experience." 
 
 Segatore said he treated at least 25 people as those experienced in trauma care stepped forward while others treated people with minor injuries. 
 
 [Update, 11:35 p.m. ET] Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir condemned the bombings in Boston and offered his condolences to victims' families. 
 
 “What occurred today in Boston is a heinous crime which contradicts the values of humanity.” he said. 
 
 [Update, 10:52 p.m. ET] The total of injured has risen to 144 people, officials at Boston area hospitals said. That includes three additional patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 
 
 
 
 [Update, 10:41 p.m. ET] A law enforcement source in Boston tells CNN that investigators have a "number of active leads, and some good early progress in the forensics analysis." 
 
 [Update, 10:07 p.m. ET] Dr. Peter Fagenholz told reporters that there were 29 wounded people at Massachusetts General Hospital, eight of whom were in critical condition. Many of the people had shrapnel injuries to their lower extremites, he said. 
 
 "We have performed several amputations," he said. 
 
 There were no pediatric patients among the wounded, he said. 
 
 [Update, 9:38 p.m. ET] Dr. Allan Panter, who was near the finish line waiting for his wife who was running the race, told CNN he was standing about 20 to 25 feet from the first blast. He said he treated victims on the street after the explosion. 
 
 "I saw at least six to seven people down next to me," he said. "They protected me from the blast. One lady expired. One gentleman lost both his (lower) limbs. Most of the injuries were lower extremities. I could not figure out why the young lady had expired. I could not find any injury on her thorax." 
 
 [Update, 9:28 p.m. ET] Bill Iffrig, seen in video wearing an orange tank top and being blown over as he approached the finish line, told CNN's Piers Morgan that he was feeling OK after the blast. 
 
 "I got down to within about 15 feet of the finishing apron and heard just tremendous explosion, sounded like a bomb went off right next to me, and the shock waves just hit my whole body and my legs just started jittering around," he said. "I knew i was going down and so i ended up down on the blacktop." 
 
 Iffrig, 78, said he was assisted by one of the event volunteers, who helped him up so he could finish the race. After that, the worker looked for aid for Iffrig, who had just a scratch from his fall. 
 
 "He insisted on getting a wheelchair over there so we started to do that, but then before that was rounded up, i said my hotel's about six blocks away so I think I can make it okay. So they let me get out of there and I went on home to my wife." 
 
 [Update, 8:55 p.m. ET] A Saudi national with a leg wound was under guard at a Boston hospital in connection with the bombings at the Boston Marathon, but investigators cannot say he is involved at this time and he is not in custody, a law enforcement official said Monday evening. 
 
 
 
 [Update, 8:54 p.m. ET] Three people were killed in the bombings, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told reporters Monday night, raising the toll by one. 
 
 [Update, 8:52 p.m. ET] The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation, Rick DesLauriers, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office, told reporters. 
 
 [Update, 8:44 p.m.ET ] The Boston Celtics home game against the Indiana Pacers, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was canceled, the NBA announced. With the regular season almost at its end, the contest will not be made up. 
 
 [Update, 8:36 p.m. ET] Investigators have warned law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon, according to a law enforcement advisory obtained by CNN. 
 
 The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states. 
 
 [Update, 8:35 p.m.] Hospital workers have treated 141 people after the Boston Marathon bombings, officials at those facilities said Monday night. Two people died in the terror attack, including an 8-year-old boy, a state law enforcement source said. 
 
 
 
 [Update, 8:32 p.m.] A statement has been issued by the race organizers: "The Boston Athletic Association extends its deepest sympathies to all those who were affected in any way by todays events. 
 
 "Today is a sad day for the City of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. What was intended to be a day of joy ...and celebration quickly became a day in which running a marathon was of little importance. 
 
 "We can confirm that all of the remaining runners who were out on the course when the tragic events unfolded have been returned to a community meeting area. 
 
 "At this time, runners bags in Boston which remain unclaimed may be picked up by runners presenting their bib number or proof of race participation at the Castle, at 101 Arlington Street, in Boston. 
 
 "At this time, we are cooperating with the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all federal law enforcement officials. 
 
 "We would like to thank the countless people from around the world who have reached out to support us today." 
 
 [Update, 7:57 p.m. ET] Doctors are "pulling ball bearings out of people in the emergency room," a terrorism expert briefed on the investigation told CNN's Deborah Feyerick. 
 
 The same source said the blasts resulted in at least 10 lost limbs. 
 
 [Update, 7:43 p.m. ET] An 8-year-old boy was among those killed, a state law enforcement source said, according to CNN's John King. 
 
 [Update, 7:38 p.m. ET] At least 132 people - including eight children - have been injured in the bombings, according to Boston-area hospitals. Boston police earlier said that two people were killed. 
 
 At least 17 of the injured are in critical condition, and at least 25 are in serious condition, area hospitals said. 
 
 [Update, 7:08 p.m. ET] A witness, Marilyn Miller, told CNN that she was about 30 feet away from the first bomb when it went off. The second bomb came about 12 seconds after and about 50 to 100 yards away from the first, according to authorities and an analysis of video from the site. 
 
 Miller was waiting for a runner who, it turns out, was probably about 10 minutes away from the finish line. 
 
 "We saw injuries all around us," Miller said. Someone was putting pressure on a woman's neck. "A little boy, his leg was torn up. A woman, (people) were (shouting), 'Critical, critical, get out of out way!'" 
 
 [Update, 6:51 p.m. ET] At least 110 people have been injured in the bombings, according to Boston-area hospitals. 
 
 [Update, 6:49 p.m. ET] Boston cell phone services were overloaded in the wake of the blast, slowing the city's network dramatically and hampering the investigation in the early going, federal law enforcement officials told CNN. 
 
 Unconfirmed rumors began circulating on social media and elsewhere that law enforcement had shut down cell service to prevent more explosives from being detonated remotely. But mobile companies were saying that was never the case, CNN's Doug Gross reports. 
 
 "Verizon Wireless has not been asked by any government agency to turn down its wireless service," a spokesman for that company told CNN. "Any reports to that effect are inaccurate." 
 
 In other media reports, Sprint similarly denied being asked to shut down service. 
 
 Online, Bostonians were being encouraged to stay off of their mobile phones except for emergencies and even open up their wireless connections to help take the load off of the cellular data network. 
 
 "If you live or run a business in #Boston near bombsite (please) open your wifi for people to use," tweeted Disaster Tech Lab, an Irish nonprofit dedicated to providing technology to assist in emergency situations. 
 
 [Update, 6:47 p.m. ET] Initial tests indicate that the two bombs were small and possibly crude, with the tests not indicating any high-grade explosive material was used, a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN national security contributor and former homeland security adviser Fran Townsend. 
 
 The source said the FBI considers the incident a terrorist attack, "but they've made clear to me they do not know at this time whether those responsible for the attack were a foreign or domestic group," Townsend said. 
 
 [Update, 6:35 p.m. ET] U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, D-Massachusetts, said an unexploded device was found at a hotel on Boylston Street, and another unexploded device was found at an undisclosed location. 
 
 Keating, who is a member of the House Homeland Security committee and has spoken to law enforcement sources, tells CNN's Dierdre Walsh that the incidents were a "sophisticated, coordinated, planned attack." 
 
 [Update, 6:14 p.m. ET] More from President Obama, who just wrapped up his brief statement at the White House: "We still do not know who did this or why ... but make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of (this). We will find out who did this. We will find out why they did this. ... Any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice." 
 
 [Update, 6:11 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama is speaking about the bombings now: “The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight, and Michelle and I send out deepest thoughts and prayers to the victims," Obama said at the White House. 
 
 [Update, 5:59 p.m. ET] John Manis, an eyewitness in his 50s, was about 200 feet away from the finish line near the Prudential building when the bombings occurred. He felt the blast to the point that it made him and others around him jump in the air, and some others around him fell down on the ground, he said, according to CNN's Eden Pontz. 
 
 Manis said he heard two blasts about five seconds apart. He said there was confusion all around him, and he was hustled into the nearby Mandarin Hotel. Officials wouldn’t let them leave the hotel for a bit, and he says all who were there were all frisked by police. He said that when he left, he saw broken storefronts and lots of blood. 
 
 [Update, 5:51 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama is expected to deliver a statement at about 6:10 p.m. ET from the White House. 
 
 [Update, 5:35 p.m. ET] Google has established a person-finder related to the Boston bombings. People who are looking for someone or have information about someone can make reports there. 
 
 [Update, 5:31 p.m. ET] Boston police now appear to be backing away from their commissioner's earlier statement that a third incident - at the JFK Library 5 miles from the finish line - might have been related to the Boston Marathon blasts. 
 
 On Twitter, Boston police say: "Update JFK incident appears to be fire related." 
 
 Update JFK incident appears to be fire related #tweetfromthebeat via @CherylFiandaca — Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 15, 2013 
 
 [Update, 5:21 p.m. ET] Precautions are being taken at the White House because of the Boston explosions, CNN’s Jessica Yellin reports. See that in the video below, as well as Vice President Joe Biden's reaction to the incident: 
 
 [Update, 5:17 p.m. ET] In the video below, a man describes the initial blast, saying the impact was so strong it “almost blew my head off.” He was not injured, but saw many people sustain horrific injuries. 
 
 [Update, 5:15 p.m. ET] The Boston Globe is reporting a much higher injury count. They report that more than 100 people are being treated for injuries, citing local hospitals. 
 
 https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe 
 
 [Update, 5:10 p.m. ET] Hospitals now say they are treating as many as 51 wounded after the bombings. Two people have been killed, according to Boston police. 
 
 [Update, 5:09 p.m. ET] It will take a long time to clear the area, because lots of people dropped bags and whatever else they had when the finish-line blasts happened. Authorities have to check all of those bags, and bomb squads "may be blowing things up over the next few hours" out of precaution, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said. 
 
 In the words of Boston Globe political reporter Cynthia Needham, on Twitter: 
 
 Side problem, according to commissioner: People running from scene dropped bags, and personal belongings in the street. All must be checked. — Cynthia Needham (@CynthiaNeedham) April 15, 2013 
 
 Thousands of runners still had yet to finish the race when the bombs exploded in a spectator area along Boylston Street near the finish line, CNN executive producer Matt Frucci at the scene. 
 
 [Update, 4:58 p.m. ET] New details from Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis: 
 
 - A third explosion happened at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library "about a half-hour ago." The library is about 5 miles southeast of the Boston Marathon finish line. 
 
 - Police don't immediately know whether that explosion is related to the two near the Boston Marathon finish line. 
 
 - The two blasts near the finish line - along Boylston Street near Copley Square - "happened 50 to 100 yards apart." 
 
 - "We're recommending to people that they stay home ... and that they don't go anyplace and congregate in large crowds." 
 
 - Relatives of people who may be missing in the area can call the mayor's hotline at 617-635-4500. 
 
 - Anyone who has information about the bombings or saw anything suspicious can call 1-800-494-TIPS. 
 
 BPD asking people not to congregate in large crowds #tweetfromthebeat via @CherylFiandaca — Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 15, 2013 
 
 [Update, 4:46 p.m. ET] Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says “this is a horrific day in Boston." 
 
 "My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured," Patrick said in a statement released this afternoon. "I have been in touch with the president, Mayor Menino and our public safety leaders. Our focus is on making sure that the area around Copley Square is safe and secured. I am asking everyone to stay away from Copley Square and let the first responders do their jobs.” 
 
 [Update, 4:45 p.m. ET] It appears that so many people are using cell phones in the center of Boston, consistent service is hard to get - and the overload is hampering the investigation, two federal law enforcement sources tell CNN. 
 
 [Update, 4:40 p.m. ET] Another journalist says she saw victims who lost limbs. This account is from Boston Globe political reporter Cynthia Needham: 
 
 Outside MGH: Head of emergency medicine says 19 have been brought to MGH, six critically injured, some with amputations. — Cynthia Needham (@CynthiaNeedham) April 15, 2013 
 
 "Outside MGH: Head of emergency medicine says 19 have been brought to MGH, six critically injured, some with amputations," she posted to Twitter. 
 
 Earlier, we noted that Boston.com sports producer Steve Silva reported that he "saw dismemberment" and "blood everywhere." 
 
 [Update, 4:37 p.m. ET] Organizers with the London Marathon, scheduled for this coming Sunday, have taken notice. 
 
 "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the news from Boston," London Marathon officials said Monday. "Our immediate thoughts are with the people there and their families. It is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends and colleagues in marathon running. Our security plan is developed jointly with the Metropolitan Police and we were in contact with them as soon as we heard the news." 
 
 [Update, 4:30 p.m. ET] Boston firefighters have found what they believe is an unexploded device after the blasts, a government official said, according to CNN's Joe Johns. 
 
 [Update, 4:27 p.m. ET] "I saw blood everywhere," Boston.com sports producer Steve Silva told Boston.com. 
 
 Silva told the news outlet that he was near the finish line when the explosions happened. He said he saw a number of injuries in the area where spectators were. He saw "someone lost their leg," and he said "people are crying, people are confused." 
 
 "It was just an explosion, it came out of nowhere," he said. "There are multiple injuries. I saw dismemberment, I saw blood everywhere. People are badly injured." 
 
 [Update, 4:19 p.m. ET] We have a new injury count: According to hospital officials, at least 28 people are being treated for injuries connected to this afternoon's blasts near the Boston Marathon finish line. 
 
 Nineteen were being treated at Massachusetts General and nine at Tufts Medical Center, officials at those facilities said. Boston police earlier put the number of victims at two dead and 22 hurt. 
 
 [Update, 4:16 p.m. ET] "People started scrambling, pushing, shoving" when the explosions happened in a sidewalk area along Boylston Street, near the finish line in the Copley Square area, says CNN executive producer Matt Frucci at the scene. 
 
 Frucci said he heard the blasts. 
 
 "After the dust settled, (I saw) six or seven people strewn about the area where the second (explosion) was. 
 
 [Update, 4:11 p.m. ET] A Red Cross website has been established to help people find loved ones in the area. 
 
 "Individuals can register themselves as safe or search for loved ones," Massachusetts' emergency management agency says. 
 
 [Update, 4:08 p.m. ET] At least two people have been killed and 22 are injured in the apparent bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Boston police say. 
 
 [Update, 4:02 p.m. ET] A Massachusetts General Hospital spokeswoman tells CNN 19 victims have been brought in. 
 
 [Update,3:57 p.m. ET] On their Twitter page, Boston marathon officials made this announcement: "There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today's Boston Marathon. We are working with law enforcement to understand what exactly has happened." 
 
 
 
 [Update, 3:53 p.m. ET] New York is taking precautions as a result of the explosions at the Boston Marathon. 
 
 In a written statement, New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said: "We're stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations in the city through deployment of the NYPD's critical response vehicles until more about the explosion is learned. 
 
 
 
 [Update, 3:45 p.m. ET] Paramedics were treating several victims at the scene, and police ordered onlookers to back away from the area. Troops from the Massachusetts National Guard were assisting police as well. 
 
 Onlooker Josh Matthews said he heard the blast, then saw police running toward the scene. 
 
 "We just heard a lot of sirens, and people were kind of frantic, and it was a bad situation, so we got out of there," he said. 
 
 [Update, 3:37 p.m.] Four victims of explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line are at the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN. She had no information about the victims' conditions. 
 
 [Posted at 3:25 p.m. ET] A pair of explosions rocked the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, injuring at least a half-dozen people, a CNN producer at the scene said. 
 
 The blasts occurred a few seconds apart, shrouding downtown Boston's Copley Square in smoke. Paramedics were treating several victims at the scene, and police ordered onlookers to back away from the area, CNN Producer Matt Frucci reported. 
 
 The explosions occurred about 2:45 p.m., about an hour after the first runners had crossed the finish line, Frucci said. ||||| Two bomb blasts, 12 seconds apart, rocked the finish line of the 117th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people, including an 8-year-old Dorchester boy, wounding more than 130, and leaving the sidewalks of Boylston Street covered in blood. 
 
 Medical professionals on hand to care for blisters and sore knees in Copley Square suddenly found themselves treating life-threatening lacerations and lost limbs, as a high holiday in Boston — Patriots Day — turned to an epic tragedy. Emergency workers rushed to the scene, despite the very real possibility of more blasts. 
 
 The explosions blew out windows, sent plumes of smoke into the sky, and left victims piled on each other in a scene far more reminiscent of a battlefield than a celebrated day in Boston’s Back Bay. The blasts occurred at 2:50 p.m., several hours after the elite runners had finished the race. 
 
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 About 30 people were transferred to hospitals under a Code Red, meaning life threatening injuries, which may point to a rising death toll, according to a law enforcement official. 
 
 Flags were lowered to half-staff in Washington, D.C., and around the nation, as the country mourned with Boston. 
 
 “We will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this,” pledged President Obama, in remarks from the White House. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.” 
 
 A massive investigation was underway Monday night under the direction of the FBI, as much of the Back Bay was locked down to protect the sprawling crime scene. Officials last night called the investigation “very active and fluid.” Authorities were talking to at least one person at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, according to sources familiar with the questioning. Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said no one was in custody. 
 
 “Any event with multiple explosive devices, as this appears to be, is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror,” a White House official said. “We don’t yet know who carried out this attack, and a thorough investigation will have to determine whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist group, foreign or domestic.” 
 
 The person questioned in the hospital was a Saudi national, who was reportedly tackled and held by a bystander after he was seen running from near the scene of the explosion, said a law enforcement source who spoke with someone involved in the FBI’s investigation. The Saudi man, believed to be a university student in Boston, is cooperating with the FBI and told agents that he was not involved in the explosions, and that he ran only because he was frightened. Investigators did not characterize the man as a suspect. No one had been arrested or charged as of late Monday night. 
 
 Hospital officials late last night said tests showed no radiation or biological agents on the victims, and although many people were wounded by flying shrapnel, it did not appear the bombs had been packed with nails or other fragments to increase the injuries. 
 
 Twitter and the Internet overflowed with rumors in the aftermath of the blast, some of which were later debunked. Law enforcement and city officials disputed published reports that investigators had discovered one or more bombs that had failed to explode. 
 
 Law enforcement officials also late Monday descended on an apartment building on Revere Beach Parkway, and conducted a search related to the investigation, according to an official with knowledge of the search. 
 
 A city touched 11 years ago by terrorism, when 9/11 hijackers took off from Logan Airport, was touched again, in a plot to inflict untold casualties at the city’s annual Marathon celebration, the one day each spring when the attention of the sporting world is on Boston. 
 
 The grief resonated sharply in Dorchester, where locals gathered Monday night at Tavolo Restaurant in memory of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the attack, and his mother and sister, who suffered grievous injuries. Martin’s father, Bill, is a community leader in the Ashmont section of Dorchester. A third child was reportedly uninjured. 
 
 “They are beloved by this community. They contribute in many ways. That’s why you see this outpouring,” said City Councilor at Large Ayanna Pressley, who was among the mourners. “It’s surreal, it’s tragic, it’s incomprehensible. Everyone here tonight is trying to comfort one another and be prayerful.” 
 
 The attack truncated the world’s most prestigious road race, which draws runners from across the globe, and will forever mar what is annually the most uplifting day of the year in Boston: Marathon Monday. 
 
 “It puts a cloud over the event for everyone,” said runner Maureen Tighe of Boston’s North End. “The people who finished. The people who didn’t. And the spectators. I don’t know if it will ever be the same.” 
 
 Marathon officials and police immediately ended the race after the explosions, turning runners away from Copley Square. Officials told television viewers to stay out of the city and asked runners and spectators to go home or back to their hotels and avoid gathering in crowds. 
 
 Police with megaphones shouted instructions to the crowds at the corner of Massachusetts and Commonwealth avenues: “There have been some explosions. Please evacuate the area. We’re looking for secondary devices.” 
 
 Investigators faced an overwhelming crime scene, littered with bags dropped by people fleeing the blasts. Police had to treat every backpack and gym bag as a potential deadly threat. Authorities blocked cell hone service to the area to prevent any other device from being detonated by phone, leaving thousands of athletes and spectators unable to call loved ones to make sure they were okay. 
 
 Police locked down a 15-block area around the scene of the attack, in the heart of the Back Bay neighborhood. State Police sent units to every hospital in the city and to South Station to provide security and swept the State House for bombs, as a precaution. 
 
 The aftermath of the tragedy is expected to be felt throughout the city on Tuesday. Governor Deval Patrick, who provided periodic updates through the afternoon and evening, said the blast area is expected to be closed Tuesday. He said Boston “will not be business as usual,” in the wake of the terror attack and that police presence will be heavy in the city. MBTA riders can expect random bag searches. 
 
 The closed-off area spans the length of Boylston between Berkeley Street and Massachusetts Avenue, and on either side of Boylston from Newbury Street to Huntington Avenue, a section nearly a mile long and three blocks across, he said. 
 
 Eyewitnesses to the blasts reported a sudden shock, followed by unreal scenes of human carnage. 
 
 “I saw white smoke and at first I thought it might be a firecracker but it was really loud,” said Megan Raftery, who was standing near the finish in front of the Mandarin hotel with her two young sons, waiting to cheer on her Marathon- 
 
 running husband. 
 
 Seconds later, a second explosion directly across Boylston Street, near the Apple store, shot debris high in the air. And when Raftery looked down she saw that the explosion had blown a man’s leg off, just below the knee. “You could see stuff just flying,” she said. “I looked across the street and I could see a man on the sidewalk. There was blood and part of his leg was just gone.” 
 
 Ron M. Walls, chief of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women’s, said the hospital had received 26 of the wounded. The youngest was 3 years old and was sent to Children’s Hospital; the oldest was 62. 
 
 The injuries included eardrum damage, serious limb and head injuries, but no amputations, he said. Some victims had burns, including one with very significant burns. “I haven’t seen anything like this anywhere before,” he said. “These types of events are things we drill for and practice for and get ready for, but you don’t expect you’re going to see it.” 
 
 A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was among those who sustained less than life-threatening injuries from the explosion, said a federal law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the information. The officer was off duty and was watching the race with the rest of the spectators. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. 
 
 The Patriots Day holiday is steeped in Boston sports tradition, when the Red Sox play a rare morning game at Fenway Park, and the best runners on the planet race from Hopkinton to Copley Square, on a 26.2-mile course lined by millions of cheering, celebrating fans. As part of the prerace security stepped up since the 9/11 terrorists attacks, Boston police had swept the streets for explosives, according to State Police. 
 
 Relatives of those killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre were guests at the finish line tent, near where the bombing occurred; a theme of this year’s marathon was “26 Miles for 26 Victims,” referring to those killed in the Newtown, Conn., shooting. 
 
 Jay O’Brien, of Cambridge, a race spectator who was about 100 yards from the explosions, said rescuers who ran toward the blast “were clearly putting themselves in harm’s way.” O’Brien went to Brigham and Women’s Hospital after the explosions to see if he could be of any help. 
 
 Hours after the blasts, on the outer edge of the Boston Common, across from the Public Garden, Royal Courtain was with his wife, Cindy, as heavily armed police and swat officers with automatic weapons entered the Common. 
 
 Courtain was about 100 yards from the finish line when the explosions occurred. Cindy had just finished her first Boston Marathon. 
 
 “I crossed the finish line and saw the bodies. People were on the course rolling around, probably from the noise,” he said. “I saw injuries.” He paused and covered his face. “Some missing legs.” After the worst 30 minutes of his life, Courtain got a call from his wife saying she was unhurt. 
 
 The Boston Athletic Association called Monday “a sad day for the city of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon,” in a statement. “What was intended to be a day of joy and celebration quickly became a day in which running a marathon was of little importance.” ||||| Add a location to your Tweets 
 
 When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| DORCHESTER, Mass. (WHDH) -- An 8-year-old boy from Dorchester was killed in the blast at the Boston Marathon. His mother and sister were also critically injured. 
 
 The family is very active in their community. Eight-year-old Martin Richard was at the marathon to watch his father race. There was no word on if his father had finished the race. 
 
 Richard’s mother and sister were recovering in the hospital. Richard’s mother had surgery Monday night after getting a brain injury from the blast. It was reported to be a grave, serious injury. His 6-year-old sister lost her leg in the blast. There was also word that the family had a son in the fifth grade. 
 
 A single candle was lit in front of their house and a single word was written on the sidewalk: Peace. 
 
 Two other people have died from the Boston Marathon bombing, dozens of others were injured, many critically. 
 
 (Copyright (c) 2013 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
– The death toll in yesterday's Boston Marathon bombing stands at three, and officials are confirming that one of those killed was an 8-year-old boy, CNN reports. The Boston Globe reports that residents of Dorchester came together last night to honor young Martin Richard. His mother suffered a serious brain injury in the blast and his 6-year-old sister lost a leg, reports WHDH, which notes that a single candle sat outside the family's home last night, with the word "peace" written on the sidewalk. The three were waiting for Martin's father to finish the race, reports the AP. Globe columnist Kevin Cullen spoke with firefighters, and paints an even more wrenching story: He writes that Martin "had gone out to hug his dad after he crossed the finish line. The dad walked on; the boy went back to the sidewalk to join his mom and his little sister. And then the bomb went off." Boston-area hospitals have received at least 144 patients, 17 with critical injuries. At least eight children were being treated at hospitals, and outside of Tufts Medical Center's Children's Wing, a flag flew at half-mast last night. Hospital officials have confirmed that no patients tested positive for radiation or biological agents, but experts explain that the injuries suffered are some of the most difficult to treat.