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Boston Bombings: FBI Takes Over

Brianna Sacks |
April 15, 2013 | 11:30 p.m. PDT

Editor-at-Large

(Front page of Tuesday's paper/CNN screen shot, Brianna Sacks)
(Front page of Tuesday's paper/CNN screen shot, Brianna Sacks)
The FBI is taking the lead in investigating the twin bombings that wrought death, destruction and chaos upon Boston Marathon runners and spectators Monday afternoon, but authorities still have not narrowed down a suspect or motive.

Multiple agencies have been painstakingly searching for any clues to find out who carried out the attack and why.

"This will be a combined federal, state and local effort," Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said at a news briefing by law enforcement officials on Monday evening.

The FBI declared federal jurisdiction over the event through the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force, calling the attack "a potential terrorist investigation."

ALSO: Bombings Rock Boston Marathon

The twin bombs went off a little before 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, about two hours after the elite runners finished. The explosions occurred within 100 yards of one another, about 12 seconds apart. The explosions killed three people, including an 8-year-old boy and injured about 144 others. The Boston Marathon is a historical event that falls on Patriot's Day, a state holiday, every year. This year more than 27,000 runners from over 90 countries swarmed the city to participate in the 117th run of the 26.2 mile race.

The Boston Marathon explosion was the second largest bombing on U.S. soil since 9/11 and prevented about 10,000 runners from finishing the race.

ALSO: Boston Bombings: Timeline

Authorities still do not know if the attack was domestic or foreign, and President Obama hesitated to call the bombings an act of terror in his address earlier this evening, though a White House Official did later call the event a terror attack.

A law enforcement official in Boston said investigators "have a number of active leads and some good early progress in the forensics analysis" but are yet to identify any suspects.

The Boston Herald reported that investigators blocked off an apartment building on Ocean Avenue in Revere, Massachusetts, a few miles northeast of Boston. Witnesses told the station that "state police had been there for a few hours checking out a lead."

CNN also said authorities followed a driver behaving erratically, driving through several road blocks, and followed that vehicle to that apartment building.

Boston authorities found at least one other explosive advice that they were dismantling and combing for finger prints, according to Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

Investigators say the white smoke that blanketed the finish line and surrounding sidewalks points to black powder as the explosive material. The minor damage to surrounding buildings also suggests that a smaller device, possibly homemade, was used.

"The bomb has to be sophisticated because it went off on demand, however the construction of the bomb could be crude or simplistic because they didn't have the components necessary," Nicholas Casale, a counterterrorism expert, told ABC News.

Though small and possibly homemade, the explosive was able to travel 3,300 feet per second and propel shrapnel a great distance, causing grisly injuries, many serious, to hundreds of surrounding spectators.

ALSO:Boston Bombings: 3 Dead, 144 Injured

Boston authorities say they are looking into all surveillance, marathon and cellphone footage found at and nearby the scene, as well as looking into all cellphone calls made during that time to try and triangulate an area.

While the investigation is still ongoing, Boston Police do not expect to find any other unexploded ordinates.

With no defined motive, suspect or anyone in custody, investigators  warned police to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with the attack, according to a law enforcement advisory obtained by CNN.

The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states.

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on the Boston Marathon bombings.



 

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