Boston Strong: Attacks Bring City and Nation Together
Participants in the 2013 Boston Marathon experienced quite a scare on Monday April 15, 2013 as two bombs were detonated near the finish line by two men. Later in the week, a police chase shut down the entire city as local authorities tracked down both suspects, leaving one dead and the other with serious wounds.
“It was a terrifying experience for all of America,” said senior Kaleigh Kelso. “I couldn’t even imagine the terror I would feel for my family and loved ones if something like this happened in Saint Louis. My family and four younger siblings are my world and I would be nothing if they were taken away from me.”
Even though this attack was carried out hundreds of miles from Saint Louis, its impact resonates in the minds of students at North and the entire community here.
“It’s tough to think about what would happen if this happened to Saint Louis,” said senior Mark Finkelstein. “You just hope the FBI and local authorities snuff out these kind of plots before they happen. Hopefully, anyone thinking about doing something like the marathon bombings saw how quickly they were caught and don’t try to do anything.”
News coverage throughout the nation provided citizens with surreal footage of the chase that ensued last Friday and of the bombings that were shown on national television.
“I was in disbelief when I first saw the news that there had been explosions near the finish line,” Finkelstein explained. “I really hoped that the explosions would just have been accident explosions and not bombs because that means there would likely be more acts of violence.”
Both suspects remained in a suburb of Boston, called Watertown, in the days following the marathon. Only after the Federal Bureau of Investigation unveiled photos of the two suspects were the men spotted.
“I thought it was a horrible thing and I pray for all the families affected by the bombing,” said senior Ryan Tierney.
In light of this tragedy, the sports teams that play professionally for the city of Boston cancelled games throughout the week to ease police operations and then pulled together to hold special ceremonies while reflecting and appreciating the efforts of those who caught the suspects before more fatalities occurred.
“I thought it was really cool how the sports teams reacted to the bombing,” Tierney explained. “If it would have happened to Saint Louis, I would feel just as bad because innocent civilians would still be getting injured.”
Receiving a police order to remain indoors put the entire city on hold for a day, instilling distress into the minds of citizens across every borough.
“Why [do people commit to] random acts of violence? It is horrible. I would be afraid,” said sophomore secretary Judy Reynolds. “That would be fear inducing when they lock you down.”
Situations such as this leave our country searching for answers to why an individual would set out with these brutal motives.
“We are going to be losing our freedoms the more this stuff happens, and I just wonder if that is the plan of the terrorists: to undermine our freedom,” Reynolds declared.
by Kevin Graeler