The bombs that ripped through the crowd at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and wounding more than 170, were fashioned out of pressure cookers and packed with metal shards, nails and ball bearings to inflict maximum carnage, a person briefed on the investigation said Tuesday.
The details on the apparently crude but deadly explosives emerged as investigators appealed to the public for amateur video and photos that might yield clues to who carried out the attack. The chief FBI agent in Boston vowed “we will go to the ends of the Earth” to find those responsible.
A person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still going on said the explosives were put in 6-liter kitchen pressure cookers, hidden in black duffel bags and left on the ground. They were packed with shrapnel, the person said.
The person said law enforcement officials have some of the bomb components but do not yet know what was used to set off the explosives.
Earlier, a doctor treating the wounded appeared to corroborate the person’s account, saying one of the victims was maimed by what looked like ball bearings or BBs.
“We’ve removed BBs and we’ve removed nails from kids. One of the sickest things for me was just to see nails sticking out of a little girl’s body,” said Dr. David Mooney, director of the trauma center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Two children remain in critical condition at the hospital with serious leg injuries. Mooney said that tourniquets applied by emergency responders at the race saved the children’s lives.
Eight-year-old Martin Richard was among the dead, said U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a family friend. The boy’s mother, Denise, and 6-year-old sister, Jane, were badly injured. His brother and father, Bill, were also watching the race but were not hurt.
“My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries. We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers,” Bill Richard said in a statement released Tuesday. “I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you.”
A candle burned on the stoop of the family’s single-family home in the city’s Dorchester section Tuesday, and the word “Peace” was written in chalk on the front walk.
Read more: ESPN.
