The Boston Marathon Tragedy

H ow shocking and sad! Patriots Day—April 15, 2013— Boston blasted into the US history books as terrorists strike the Boston Marathon! An event that celebrates the physical training and conditioning of thousands of dedicated athletes, young and old, attacked by those intending to harm Americans and American life. Several dead, including an 8-year-old boy who just wanted to see his dad run the marathon, a foreign graduate student, and a young mom. Many more were maimed by flying shrapnel from pressure-cooker bombs. What a horrific scene: celebration turned into tragedy and carnage. Boston emergency rooms were turned into warzone trauma units as the injured were triaged and mangled limbs were amputated. Imagine going to Boston to run a marathon and coming home without your leg! A devastating and difficult experience to accept. How could this happen? A great celebration turned into a nightmare. I won't soon forget that round-the-clock news coverage of the FBI, ATF, and police as they zeroed in on the perpetrators. Several intense sobering days were spent wondering who could have done this. The last scene played out from Friday to Saturday, when the murderous car chase began and shackled the entire Boston area in lockdown. The great pride of the people of Boston showed through as suspect number 2 was taken into custody after a hail of gunfire around a stored boat in a backyard. The sigh of relief was visible on the face of Boston that night, as many hoped and prayed that the tragedy was truly over. We'd like to believe it is over, but many questions remain unanswered. No doubt law enforcement interrogation units will gain insight into the how and why. Unfortunately, the answers to these possibilities may force many changes in the American sports scene as our vulnerability as a free society leaves us exposed. Thankfully, most sporting events at arenas and stadiums offer better options for screening the public because these venues are enclosed. Nobody likes the purse checks, the restriction on beverage containers, or the pat-downs. We can now expect more of this, and hopefully the added security will be worth every inconvenience. Unfortunately, open events like marathons are a much more difficult challenge for security personnel because of the open access to these events and the difficulty of monitoring such large areas and routes. No doubt the role of video monitoring and police dogs will grow in …