More than 15 Berkshire residents attend Boston Marathon

BOSTON – Two bombs struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, causing an awful end to the annual celebration.

The blast killed three and injured more than 100 people.

Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathons.

One of Boston’s biggest annual events, the race winds up near Copley Square, not far from the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library. It is held on Patriots Day, which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution, at Concord and Lexington in 1775.

More than 15 Berkshire County residents had been running in the race, and The Berkshire Beacon was able to quickly confirm that all local residents and their families were safe following the attacks.

James Loring, owner of the Morgan House in Lee, was running the race and was only six-tenths of a mile from the explosion, but is safe and went to his son’s apartment in Boston.

Christina Barrett, director of marketing for Berkshire Community College, has been confirmed to be safe and was near the 22-mile mark at the time of the explosion.

Josephine Ellis, John Bosse and David Milligan, all of Pittsfield, had been running near Barrett.

Matt Kinnaman of Lee, Cara Reilly and Sharon Kennedy of Lenox have all been confirmed to be safe and finished near each other before the explosion.

Tammy Charbonneau, of Peru, has been confirmed on Twitter to also be safe.

Henry Art of Williamstown was near the 25-mile marker during the explosions.

Susan Shook of Lee was near the 22-mile marker when the race was stopped, as was Mark Kinney of Stockbridge.

David Wilson of Lanesborough and Elizabeth and Steve St. Clair of Williamstown had all crossed the finish line before the explosion.

Pittsfield city councilors Jonathan Lothrop and Barry Clairmont were also in Boston for the Red Sox game and to watch the marathon. They were on their way to the finish line when they were told of the explosions and were safe.

National response

President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will “feel the full weight of justice.”

A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.

Authorities shed no light on a motive or who may have carried out the attack, and police said they had no suspects in custody. Authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on April 15, 2013. Filed under Featured,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry