Update (April 21, 4:30 pm) By Harris LaTeef
After the death of one of the bombing suspects and the capture of the other, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Langley alum Andrew Havasy, who was injured in the attacks last Monday, reacted to his capture and the end of the manhunt that paralysed the city:
“I am so proud of all the hard work that the Boston PD along with the multi faced efforts across all law enforcement agencies that were put into catching this guy,” said Havasy. “It is such a relief that this person who has caused so much pain and suffering can now be be out to justice and stopped from causing any more terror in this great city.”
Mackenzie Boedicker, who also was in the area of the attack, was also grateful to Boston Law Enforcement for their role in the capture of Tsarnaev. “This has been a horrifying week for the City of Boston. Now that the final suspect has been caught we can finally begin the healing process,” said Boedicker.
“All with thanks to the immense amount of law enforcement working on the case. It’s nice to see the city come together as one after what had happened.”
Update (April 18, 7:00 pm) By Lizzy Weingast
Mackenzie Boedicker was a few blocks away from the finish line of the Boston Marathon having a nice lunch with a friend, when all of the sudden she heard word of a bombing.
Boedicker and her friend immediately left the restaurant and returned to their dorms in Northeastern University where they turned on and news.
“I always felt safe on campus even though we were a couple blocks away from Boylston Street”, where the bombings occurred claims Boedicker.
Many colleges located in Boston went to numerous precautions to ensure that their students were safe. After the bombing all of the students at Northeastern received many emails regarding their safety.
Northeastern also locked the residential buildings to specific residents.
In this time of shock many Bostonians are uniting together; “The school and city have really come together to help each other out, so that’s a nice thing to see” states Boedicker.
Like Boedicker and her friends, many others in Boston wanted to find a way to help. One of the most common ways was donating blood, the hospitals received so many volunteer blood donors that they eventually began turning away citizens who wanted to give blood.
Like so many other college students, citizens, and families in Boston, Boedicker plans on finding any way possible to help her city in this time of need.
Update (6:29 pm)
President Obama says in his address that “we will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this, we’ll find out why they did this.”
Update (6:02 pm)
President Obama to address nation at 6:10 pm from the White House. Live stream on the White House website.
Update (5:25 pm)
According to MSNBC, out of an abundance of caution, Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House has been closed to foot traffic. It is already closed to vehicle traffic.
Update (4:53 pm)
Former Saxon Scope staff member and current freshman at Northeastern University, Andrew Havasy, was in the area of the Boston Marathon when two explosions rocked the area.
Havasy’s leg was injured but he has been treated and is doing fine.
“I was at mile marker 26, close to Boylston Street, watching the marathon for a bit” said Havasy.
Havasy was on his way to get his glasses fixed when the blasts struck.
“When I came out I was close to the stands and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and a sudden pain in my leg. Then the panic ensued and I knew I needed to get away and then the second bang went off,” said Havasy.
According to CNN, authorities in the area dismantled another explosive device that was found in the area of the finish line.
Police in Boston, New York, and Washington are on heightened alert out of an abundance of caution according to CNN.
“I talked to an EMS and they said they know of three confirmed deaths and many more in critical condition,” added Havasy.
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Photos courtesy of Andrew Havasy