Boston Marathon Bombing Case Study

Statistically, on average, there have been eleven thousand, seven hundred and ninety-seven acts of terrorism, the category which the Boston Marathon

When it comes to Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski, and Eric Rudolph they have many similarities. First, they were all survivalist in some way. McVeigh was looking for a lifestyle that was a survivalist type. Kaczynski lived in a small cabin that had no electricity or running water. His yearly cost of survival was around $400. Rudolph using his survivalist skills stayed on the run for five years before he was caught. These three bombers also shared anti-governmental views. These three terrorists also messed up in some way that got them eventually caught. After the explosion, the rear axle was found in the rumble and on it was an identification number. This identification number lead them to McVeigh who was already in jail for being pulled over

The bomb was set off by Timothy McVeigh, a Persian Gulf Veteran. He was a right wing radical linked to anti-government, white-supremacist, survivalist and militia groups. The events at Waco and Ruby Ridge influenced Timothy McVeigh, prompting him to take action against the United States government (“FBI”, The Oklahoma City Bombing: 20 Years After). Right wing ideology, as in the Turner Diaries, led him

McVeigh and Nichols saw an opportunity to destroy a building full of innocent people, because of their extremist mindset. They decided tp destroy a building full of innocent people who work because of their extremist ways. Something that was seemingly odd was that McVeigh was a Persian Gulf war veteran and Nichols was his military friend. A third man whose name was Michael Fortier also had information regarding the detonation of the bomb at the building, Fortier later plead guilty for harboring information of the explosion.

When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, it remained the largest terrorist attack to happen on American soil until the attack on 9/11. On April 19, 1995, a rental truck was loaded up with 4,800 pounds of explosives and detonated just after 9:00 am (Krung, Nixon, & Vincent, 1996). The attack was focused on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. This tragic event killed one hundred sixty-eight people and also injured hundreds more (Nacos, 2016). A dare care facility was also located within the building and nineteen children perished in the attack (Nacos, 2016). There were hundreds more victims which were treated by area hospitals and private doctor offices. This explosion was so large, a shockwave was sent across the city which damaged or destroyed an additional 300 buildings in the immediate area (History, 2009). Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nicholas were the two men responsible for this devastating attack.

In the end, there was just one Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Ted was a smart man, he skipped grades 6 and 11, and started attending Harvard University at the age of 16 (Ted 2 of 3). While at Harvard in 1958, he participated in a multi-year psychological study which was said to have had a negative impact on him. Ted was a professor at UC Berkeley for a few years, the youngest there at the time. He never had a significant relationship with a woman (Ottley 11 of 15). He was against “societal progress” and was against technology, hence why he isolated himself in the cabin in the woods of Montana (Ted 2 of 3). Ted Kaczynski was jobless and cutoff from the world, so he had to get the money to make and transport the bombs in some other way (Goldman 1 of 2). It turns out, his family was unknowingly supporting his bomb manufacturing by sending him checks. Investigators composed “detailed accounting of checks Kaczynski had received from his mother and brother from 1985 until 1995 and had established a correlation between when Kaczynski received checks and the dates of the bombings” (Goldman 1 of 2). Over the years Kaczynski’s family sent him about 17,000 dollars which was used to construct the bombs. Ted’s family has to live with the guilt and be haunted by the fact that unbeknownst to them, they funded their brilliant Ted’s bombing spree that killed and injured innocent people.

The terrorist responsible for this attack is Timothy McVeigh. Months before the bombing, McVeigh, along with his accomplice Terry Nichols, was believed to be involved in an “anti-government militia group” (Casey 3). McVeigh believed the government was devising a plan to deprive him and as well as the rest of his country of their rights as Americans to bear arms (Casey).

On April 15, 2013 during the Boston Marathon in Copley Square, two bombs exploded near the finish line killing at least three and injuring over 170 people. This bombing sent the nation in an uproar and it was immediately recognized as a terrorist attack. When the Federal Bureau of Investigation took over, a few days later a surveillance video and photographs of the two suspects were released.

The article of my choosing that express American spirit is the Boston Marathon Bombings and how the city of Boston came together after a terrible terrorist act. Boston Stronger is written by David Ortiz Boston Red Sox Designated hitter.The Boston Red sox and David ortiz had a major part in helping the city come together as one.The Red sox won the world series in october six months after the bombing. David expressed that something like this should never happen especially on a day that represents sports so well. David had trouble understanding why the terrorists choose this event where people run for such good causes like raising money for cancer . Ortiz came was born in the Dominican republic and came here for baseball so he didn't know to much

The day was absolutely beautiful, sunny with decent temps which made for perfect running condition for the runners during the 117th Boston Marathon, and event held on Patriot’s day to commemorate the battle of Lexington and Concord that had started the Revolutionary War in 1775. 23,000 runners lined up at the starting line in the city of Hopkinton, the first wave of runners started at 9:32. At approximately 2:49 p.m. is when 2 bombs went off, at least 5,600 people still racing towards the finish line at the time of the explosion (History).

At 9:02 a.m. CST, a rental truck filled with explosives is detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was all planned by two former US army soldiers Timothy McVeigh, and Terry Nichols. Approximately, 500 people were injured, 168 people were dead including 19 children who were in the daycare of the building. This bombing shook the whole country. Luckily, the Army veteran Timothy McVeigh is arrested in a traffic stop because he got caught driving a car without license plate.

On the covers of newspapers and on the screens of many, the story of the Boston marathon hits the ground. Twenty six thousand eight hundred thirty nine people from all over the world came to run in this awe-inspiring marathon. Until the tragedy strikes right in their faces. The explosions, injuring scores of people, effected the lives of innocent civilians. Cheers were replaced with screams, sirens, and the first responders providing aide to the citizens. This was a brutal event just like the one on September 11, 2001. Instead of using seclusion towards political and economical reasons for events, the mass medias perceptive towards incidents involving the religion Islam has created the stereotypical thought in society in which we live in today.

London had just convicted the second man that was connected to the bombing of the London subway. The two men who’s act of terrorism left dozens injured and raised Britain terrorism level to critical. The Islamic took responsibility for the bombing. The bomb went off on the morning rush train; although many people tried to escape they were trampled and burned. Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, announced on Sunday that Britain was now in a severe terrorist warning and advised everyone to be aware of their surroundings. Rudd also believes that they can’t know for sure if the Islamic state actually did the bombing because they had no proof. Britain is still investigating whether or not the Islamic State was responsible or if another country is responsible.

Watching video, I think the accident in Boston should play a role as an event that led to American Revolution. I think 5 civilians died could have enough tension to pop up a conflict between colonists and British soldiers. The reason for the bloody day in Boston was British soldiers let their guns went off when they were too panic about suffering the insults, snowball, rocks and other thing from colonists. In these days, if guards or soldiers killed civilians like in Boston, a riot would happen absolutely. It reminds me about Ferguson Riot 2 years ago, and it was too unsafe.

As stated on history.com “On April 15, 2013, two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and wounding more than 260 other people.” 16 people also lost legs that day. The youngest amputee was a 7-year-old girl. The bombings were organized by brothers, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev.