The police caught the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing!
Things were getting tense Friday night. The police had searched all of Watertown and concluded that the suspect might have escaped. The MBTA opened with limited service, and people sheltering at work were encouraged to go home, so I decided to head into Boston.
Right before I left, though, my friends started a message on Facebook:
Somehow, we all ended up listening to the police scanner. It was obvious something was happening. My friends and I were almost expecting another explosion. The police kept telling other officers to get out of the line of fire, calling officers over to a certain area…
And then: radio silence.
If you’ve seen the news, you know that the rest is history: the police cornered the suspect and captured him alive. The suspect is now in the hospital being treated for his wounds. Boston and its surrounding towns could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
So we did.
Boy, did we.
Shortly after I met up with my buddies at Northeastern, we received a message from one of our friends.
We complied, walking across campus to see what was going on.
Well, as The Sun managed to document…
This many.
Northeastern kids were packing Hemenway Street, despite NUPD’s best efforts to break up the crowd. Well, they weren’t trying that hard. After all, we were celebrating their efforts.
My friends quickly joined the chanting and cheering.
Yup. I admit, I went there.
The residents of Hemenway were hanging out their windows, waving flags and blasting music.
People ran around dressed in patriotic attire.
A random kid managed to climb up a tree, wave his flag, and lead the crowd in some traditional American songs.
Some policemen actually drove their motorcycles straight through the crowd. Everyone clapped, cheered, and high-fived them as they drove by.
My favorite moment was when my friends and I managed to start the whole crowd singing the national anthem. It was a crazy moment– as soon as we started, people joined in, and soon the guy in the tree was conducting the crowd.
What really surprised me, though, is how non-destructive this rally was. We didn’t flip any cars, start any fights, or break any windows. In fact, the crowd dispersed rather peacefully after concluding that the police didn’t need any more trouble for the night. Though there was a lot of beer, and beer cans, thrown around the crowd.
I’m no zealous patriot, but I felt pretty proud of my city. Northeastern wasn’t the only place to celebrate. Watertown took to the street as well. Hundreds of Bostonians paraded down Commonwealth Ave, police stopping traffic to allow them to march. In a tamer form of remembrance, flowers, notes, and gifts have been left at the bombing site.
I’m sure that, as the suspect recovers, more details will start to emerge. We don’t know if anyone else was involved. We’re not sure of the brothers’ motives behind the bombing. Investigations will be done, I’m sure, as there are still so many questions still unanswered.
But for now, Boston can feel a bit of relief. I know I do.
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Edit: Cool, there’s video! Below is a video of the Northeastern students cheering on the police:
And here’s the national anthem:
Good to see the police captured the man alive. Also good to see that you did not lead anyone in flipping cars or breaking windows. It was great to see how much the students celebrated with their songs of America and cheering of police cars. And how you joined in their singing and fist-pumping. We are definitely The Confident Country. LONG LIVE AMERICA!!!
We are such a patriotic country, it’s ridiculous. I heard that in other areas of Boston (specifically Mission Hill, a known party area where tons of college kids live) there were so many cans and bottles left on the streets that the next day, NU kids tried to clean it up with snow shovels and huge trash bags. AMERICA! 😀
That last picture really reminded me of 9/11. Actually, the whole event in the first place did. Have you ever seen Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? I fricken love that movie.
Under normal circumstances, the USA chant would bug me, but in this case I felt ‘as well they should’. Everyone’s entitled to their own patriotism, even if I feel like most of the time America’s patriotism is at such a level that every other country feels like they have to strap on a jet pack just to keep up.
But in this case, I’m proud for America. Moreso because I figure it’ll piss off the bombers even more, to which I say, ‘ha ha!’ I’m part American, anyway, even if I’ve only been there once in my life.
PS Today I was talking to someone I know, Paul, about terrorism, and he said something I agree with: “If they’re really just angry with the government, what’s the point of killing innocent people and innocent children? It’s just pointless. I don’t think I’ll ever understand terrorists.” Because most terrorists are angry at those people aren’t they? And yet they kill innocents. What does that solve?
That was in response to a story on the radio that somewhere in Canada had also been attacked, though the radio said they were unconnected. “Why do they always have to be connected?” said Paul. This was in the middle of a rant how there’s nothing ever happy in the news; it’s just a list of bad things happening in the world.
I agree! Why do terrorists feel the need to kill innocent people, who have nothing to do with whatever cause they’re advocating? Sure, they get their names out in the world and demonstrate their power, but there are far better ways to resolve problems. Destruction will only lead to more destruction, you know?
Haha yeah, and now that everything’s settled down around here the internet has started to throw around conspiracy theories. (Glenn Beck, anyone?) Soon enough American politicians will use the bombing to push their own agendas. But I agree with your friend: Not everything is connected. Sometimes, bad things just happen, in close succession, and that’s how it goes.
I suppose one good thing I have seen from the bombings is… positive news reports! The local news nowadays is full of stories like celebrities visiting the victims, college students fundraising for the One Fund, and the mayor allowing free parking around Boylston Street (where the bombings took place) in order to help the businesses that had to close after the attack.
Yay for positive news! That’s new!
There is a new HBO TV show by Guillermo del Toro, and it is based on Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. Guillermo del Toro? Monster? HBO? Sounds like this could really be something.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER
Like, I never watch TV but I would go out of my way to watch that. Monster is such a great manga, so I hope it works out!
The new Fall Out Boy album is SOOOOO GOOD!! My favs are The Phoenix and My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up). FOB is so great! Almost as great as AWOLNATION!! I still really love that band!
DUDE, RIGHT? I can’t get enough of Patrick Stump and his beautiful voice. I’m super happy their album is doing so well!