Boston Marathon bombing

== Casualties and initial response ==
[[File:2013 Boston Marathon explosions aftermath emergency services.jpg|thumb|right|Emergency services at work after the bombing]]
[[File:Boston Marathon bombings news conference.jpg|thumb|right|[[Edward F. Davis]] ([[Boston Police Department#List of Boston Police Commissioners|Boston Police Commissioner]]) gives a [[news conference]] about the bombing on April 15. Massachusetts Governor [[Deval Patrick]] is second from right and Suffolk District Attorney [[Daniel F. Conley]] is at far left.]]


Rescue workers and medical personnel, on hand as usual for the marathon, gave aid as additional police, fire, and medical units were dispatched,<ref name="AutoLC-29" /><ref name="AutoLC-30" /> including from surrounding cities as well as private ambulances from all over the state. The explosions killed three civilians and injured 264 others.<ref name="globe-number-injured" /><ref name=":2">https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/us/politics/supreme-court-death-sentence-boston-marathon-bomber.html</ref>

Police, following emergency plans, diverted all remaining runners to [[Boston Common]] and [[Kenmore Square]]. The nearby [[The Lenox Hotel|Lenox Hotel]] and other buildings surrounding the scene were evacuated.<ref name="CNN_Levs" /> Immediately after the bombing occurred and medically injured people were transported, the police closed a 15-block area around the blast site; this was reduced to a 12-block crime scene the next day.<ref name="CNN_Levs" /><ref name="NYT-marathon-blasts" /><ref name="Reuters_McLaughlin" /> Boston police commissioner [[Edward F. Davis]] recommended that people stay off the streets.<ref name="NYT-marathon-blasts" />

Dropped bags and packages, abandoned as their owners fled from the blasts, increased uncertainty as to the possible presence of more bombs<ref name="globe_explosions_rock" /><ref name="AutoLC-31" /> and many false reports were received.<ref name="Clark Estes" /><ref name="CNN_Levs" /><ref name="AutoLC-32" /> Simultaneously an electrical fire at the [[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum|John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]] in nearby [[Dorchester, Boston|Dorchester]] was initially feared to be a bomb.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trotter |first=J. K. |date=2013-04-16 |title=What Happened at Boston's JFK Library? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/what-happened-boston-jfk-library/316236/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

The airspace over Boston was restricted, and departures halted from Boston's [[Logan International Airport]].<ref name="AutoLC-35" /> Some local transit service was halted as well.<ref name="NBCNews" />

The [[Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency]] suggested people trying to contact those in the vicinity use text messaging instead of voice calls because of crowded cell phone lines.<ref name="NBCNews" /> Cell phone service in Boston was congested but remained in operation, despite some media reports stating that cell service was shut down to prevent cell phones from being used as detonators.<ref name="Sullivan" />

The [[American Red Cross]] helped concerned friends and family receive information about runners and casualties.<ref name="AutoLC-37" /><ref name="ARC" /> The [[Boston Police Department]] also set up a call helpline for people concerned about relatives or acquaintances to contact and a line for people to provide information.<ref name="AutoLC-38" /> [[Google Person Finder]] activated their disaster service under ''Boston Marathon Explosions'' to log known information about missing people as a publicly viewable file.<ref name="AutoLC-39" />

Due to the closure of several hotels near the blast zone, a number of visitors were left with nowhere to stay; many Boston-area residents opened their homes to them.<ref name="AutoLC-40" />

{{multiple image
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 | align = left
 | image1 = 130415-G-VV362-801 (8660781824).jpg
 | caption1 = [[U.S. Coast Guard]] patroling [[Boston Harbor]] hours after the attack
 | alt1 =
 | image2 = Marathon bombing response (Image 1 of 5) (8654458227).jpg
 | caption2 = Soldiers and airmen of the [[Massachusetts National Guard]] muster on the [[Boston Common]] on April 16 awaiting orders to aid civilian authorities in the coordinated response
 | alt2 =
 | image3 = The-day-after-the-marathon-bombings 5614931599 o.jpg
 | caption3 = Governor Deval Patrick (left) holds a meeting on April 16 with Police Chief Ed Davis (second from left) and other officials of the [[Boston Police Department]]
 | alt3 =
|image4 = The-day-after-the-marathon-bombings 5615510836 o.jpg
 | caption4 =[[Elizabeth Warren]] (U.S. Senator from Massachusetts) views the bombing site from the adjacent [[Westin Copley Place]] on April 16
 | alt4 =

}}
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