As investigators continued to piece together clues to figure out who is responsible for Monday’s blasts at the Boston Marathon, attention on Tuesday shifted—at least for the moment—to the innocent, to those who were killed and injured by the blasts. Each has his or her own story, many of which are slowly trickling out in local newspapers and on television as reporters do their best to put a human face on a story that seems so very inhuman. The sad fact is that many of those names and faces will quickly be pushed off the front pages if and when we know the name of the person or group responsible for Monday’s blasts.
Below you’ll find an incomplete snapshot of the victims. If there’s one thing that immediately jumps out from an admittedly small sample size, it is that many of those injured—and all three who were killed—weren’t running in the race, but instead had turned up to cheer on friends, family and others as they crossed the finish line.
We’ll continue to update this post occasionally, although the sheer size of the attack and scope of the emergency response that followed will no doubt keep this list incomplete forever. Feel free to use Twitter to flag suggestions that you think should be included (@JoshVoorhees).
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The Dead: Three people were killed by the blasts: an 8-year-old boy who was watching the race with his sister and mother; a 28-year-old woman who showed up to watch her friend finish the race; and a Boston University grad student from China.
- Martin Richard, 8: Dorchester Reporter: “A beloved Dorchester family watching the Boston Marathon near the finish line in Copley Square was caught in one of two bomb blasts that exploded on Monday afternoon. Martin Richard, 8, was killed in the explosion, while his sister Jane, 7, suffered a grievous injury to her leg. Their mom, Denise, was also badly hurt in the blast and underwent emergency surgery yesterday to save her life. In a statement issued through a spokesman [Tuesda], Martin’s father Bill Richard said … ‘We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin.’” Read more.
- Krystle Campbell, 29: ABC News: “Campbell’s parents William Campbell Jr. and Patty Campbell at first thought their daughter’s friend was injured, but later learned that it was their daughter who was the victim … ‘My daughter was the most lovable girl. She helped everybody and I’m just so shocked right now. We’re just devastated,’ William Campbell Jr. told Yahoo News. ‘She was a wonderful, wonderful girl. Always willing to lend a hand.’ The parents are struggling to comprehend their loss. … Campbell told WCVB that her daughter worked 16-hour days in the food service industry.” Read more.
- Lingzi Lu: Boston Globe: “The third victim in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings has been formally identified by Boston University as Lingzi Lu, a BU graduate student who was from China’s northeastern city of Shenyang. According to BU Today, Lu was a graduate student in mathematics and statistics, was one of three friends who watched the race near the finish line.”
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The Injured: The most up-to-date estimate we have from local officials is that at least 183 people were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries related to the bombing. Given the nature of the blasts, doctors have suggested that they’ve already performed a number of amputations.
- Brothers: Boston Globe: “Liz Norden, a mother of five, … pieced together the horrific truth that will forever change her two sons’ lives — and her own. Each of the brothers lost a leg, from the knee down. ... ‘I’d never imagined in my wildest dreams this would ever happen,’ Norden said, sitting on a bench outside the Beth Israel Deaconess emergency room Monday night. As she looked at her feet, with socks mismatched because she had dressed so quickly to leave the house, tears fell to the sidewalk. … Both are graduates of Stoneham High School and had been laid off recently from their jobs as roofers. The oldest, age 33, still lives in Stoneham, the younger in Wakefield. Both are avid fishermen. Norden didn’t want to release their names without talking to them.” Read more.
- Mother Watching Daughter: Highland Community News: “Beth and Ken Roche of Highland sat in the VIP bleachers Monday at the Boston Marathon finish line, cheering for daughter Becky Roche as she completed the race. Less than a minute later, two bomb blasts near those bleachers seriously injured Beth, herself an avid runner, and changed the family’s lives. Ken, who was already using crutches for a broken foot, wasn’t injured. Beth suffered a compound fracture of the tibia, also called the shin bone, in her left leg and her left knee cap was shattered.” Read more.
- Daughters Cheering Mother: Charlotte Observer: “Nicole Gross, a high-profile Charlotte fitness expert maimed in the Boston Marathon explosion, underwent surgery Tuesday at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital for treatment of leg wounds. Her sister [Erika Brannock, 29,] lies in intensive care seven blocks away at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Both women were in the crowd at the end of the famed marathon to cheer on their mother, Carol Downing, who was still running the 26-mile course when two blasts ripped through the throngs. With the sisters was Nicole Gross’ husband, Michael, who suffered burns.” Read more.
- Families: Lowell Sun: “[O]n Monday, shrapnel from one of the bombs that exploded during the Boston Marathon shredded both of Sydney Corcoran’s legs, leaving her with deep arterial injuries, said her older brother, Tyler Corcoran, during an interview Tuesday morning …. Sydney, with her mother, Celeste, and father Kevin, were in Boston to watch her aunt, Carmen Accabo, of Westford, finish the storied event. Celeste, too, was struck by shrapnel and overnight had both legs amputated below the knee, Tyler said.”
- College Students: Boston Globe: “Several college students from around the region were among those injured in the Boston Marathon explosions, administrators said Tuesday, as schools and students began to organize memorials to show solidarity. Three Tufts University students, seven Emerson College students, three Northeastern University students, one Berklee College of Music student and one Boston University student were among those injured, according to the schools. Earlier Monday, Boston University’s president reported that a BU student was critically injured. According to a report late Tuesday morning, the student is now in stable condition.” Read more.
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