Reported explosion near the finish line of Boston Marathon

[High Exposure 5,664]

I'm calling semtex

 

I am not a bomb tech but I have played with a lot of explosives while learning to build explosive breaching charges with some high speed guys.

 

A few observations:

 

Most victims seem to have suffered lower extremity injuries and amputations leading me to believe the explosives were ground placed static IEDs and not a PBIED.

 

Going on the assumption that they were ground based, I see no craters in any of the photos of the aftermath which you should see if it was a high explosive like Semtex. This indicates to me that it was a low explosive/heaving charge. (However, they could have been HBIED stashed in the storefronts so the craters would not be seen)

 

There was a boom, not a crack, when the IEDs went off so the primary pressure wave was subsonic also indicating deflagration of a low explosive vice the supersonic detonation you would expect from a high explosive.

 

I am guessing something much less "sexy" then Semtex - a high explosive requiring a blasting cap or other form of primary explosive to detonate.

 

My guess is it is most likely smokeless powder or something home brewed like TNT+PETN.

[WVisHome 0]

Thoughtless insensitive statements like this are just what I was talking about. Way to show your true colors.

 

Grow some skin man.

 

Is it a horrible tragedy? Yes.

 

Do my thoughts go out to all those involved? Absolutely.

 

Is there anything I can say on a message board that will turn back time and make it all better? No.

 

 

Just look at how quickly Newton was used as a political football...parading those parents and kids in front of the nation to push a gun control agenda.

 

Drawing comparisons and discussing possible outcomes isn't thoughtless and insensitive....difference is, we're not pushing an agenda, just showing how fruitless trying to push an agenda after a tragedy is.

 

 

 

My biggest fear is that this turns out to be some "NRA" guy trying to prove a point....

[BleedingOrange36 0]

 

 

My guess is it is most likely smokeless powder or something home brewed like TNT+PETN.

 

I just learned a few things from your post.... Sounds like you have had some fun in the past

But the part I quoted scared me the most....

What would that do to us if they banned the private possession of smokeless powder...

Bad bad news

[JrzyGuy30 0]

I'm watching the press conference right now. A reporter just asked if this was another false flag attack to give DHS the power to stick their hands down our pants in the streets.... The looks he got was priceless.

 

my wife and I were watching and her face was like: what did he say? and I was like ....

 

This is what our country has come down to with so many lies leading it, no one trusts anybody anymore... sad.

[mipafox 438]

I am guessing something much less "sexy" then Semtex - a high explosive requiring a blasting cap or other form of primary explosive to detonate.

 

My guess is it is most likely smokeless powder or something home brewed like TNT+PETN.

 

Semtex was essentially PETN in a binder. "TNT+PETN" is not a typical home brew, but it is a variation of Comp B (normally TNT and RDX), and actually has brisance exceeding Semtex. Not remotely comparable to smokeless powder, does require a detonator to detonate, and I'd like to see you do anything like that with smokeless powder.

[Wojo 98]

Many of us who have lived / worked through interesting life experiences have a 'dark or gallows' sense of humor. It is what we do and what gets us thru things.

 

Hang out with some EMS guys and gals or ER Trauma Center folks...their dinner talk would make you hurl or blow liquids out your nose from laughter depending on who they are. Are they evil people? I think not. Oddly, people in NJ have it more then any other place. Sarcasm and off color humor is our gift to the rest of the nation. And you if you can't handle it, sit at the kidde table.

 

 

Lighten up Francis.

[BleedingOrange36 0]

 

my wife and I were watching and her face was like: what did he say? and I was like ....

 

This is what our country has come down to with so many lies leading it, no one trusts anybody anymore... sad.

I think everyone's faced showed the same reaction

[Wojo 98]

I meet with both state and US Congress People with about 2000 of my closest armed friends.Would that be a security flaw as well? Come see on April 23.

 

Guess a little professional critcism is too close to the bone here.

 

Not targeting you...but a security lapse can happen with 10 times the amount of resources you mention. Not sure what you met about, I'm not privy to what you do. I used to 'meet' with lots of people too. Doesn't mean the meetings are productive or perfect. 2,000 'closest' armed friends...okay, what division or department? I really don't care about these numbers other then the fact someone dropped the ball here. I feel this was preventable. If it wasn't, its time to review SOP's and have a real thorough hot-wash after an event like this.

 

Crap, we had to go nuts to clear a brand new shopping mall in Michigan because the very aged former President Ford was coming for a visit. We had to remove boxes, planters, and on and on. Even in the back halls behind the food court where he would never visit. And the mall wasn't even open to the public yet. He wasn't a high profile target any longer for sure. A major event like this is IMHO is. It was either an insider or weak policy.

 

What's April 23? The start of confiscation?

[Arbelest 29]

Many of us who have lived / worked through interesting life experiences have a 'dark or gallows' sense of humor. It is what we do and what gets us thru things.

 

Hang out with some EMS guys and gals or ER Trauma Center folks...their dinner talk would make you hurl or blow liquids out your nose from laughter depending on who they are. Are they evil people? I think not. Oddly, people in NJ have it more then any other place. Sarcasm and off color humor is our gift to the rest of the nation. And you if you can't handle it, sit at the kidde table.

 

 

Lighten up Francis.

 

Agreed its a way to deal with stress/anger everyone has their outlets.

[JrzyGuy30 0]

Many of us who have lived / worked through interesting life experiences have a 'dark or gallows' sense of humor. It is what we do and what gets us thru things.

 

Hang out with some EMS guys and gals or ER Trauma Center folks...their dinner talk would make you hurl or blow liquids out your nose from laughter depending on who they are. Are they evil people? I think not. Oddly, people in NJ have it more then any other place. Sarcasm and off color humor is our gift to the rest of the nation. And you if you can't handle it, sit at the kidde table.

 

 

Lighten up Francis.

 

I'll second that - I know some EMS folk and this definitely describes them... All GOOD people.

[EX Carnival man 223]

Hillary Clinton and the President think maybe the Arabs saw a movie on YouTube and got angry.

[WVisHome 0]

Disclaimer: I have no source to back this up...saw it on another forum, so take it with a grain of salt...just wondering if anyone else had seen this too.

 

 

"University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.

 

“They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about,” Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”

 

Also this:

 

"Boston Bomb squad was running "controlled explosion" on the same day

 

What's not yet being reported by the mainstream media is that a "controlled explosion" was under way on the same day as the marathon explosion."

[H.M. Murdock 0]

What's April 23? The start of confiscation?

 

I think he's referring to the thousands of armed citizens that will be rallying at the PA capital rotunda (Harrisburg) on the 23rd

[Arbelest 29]

Insert tin foil hat comments here....

[Wojo 98]

I think he's talking about thousands of armed citizens demonstrating peacefully at the PA capital (Harrisburg) on the 23rd

 

Thanks for getting me in the know.

 

So I wonder, what side his 2,000 armed closest friends are on and if they are planning any surprises to help make the political process lean towards confiscation? Probably not, but certainly worthy of a discussion in light of what the AG is doing there.

 

I am feeling like a teenager again that I trust no one over the age of 21, or gets a paycheck from any government agency.

 

Sorry guys. But sadly, to many things are making me form this opinion. I was Coast Guard doing LE for 2 and SAR work in AK for 2 years, 6 years as a Special with Passaic County, FBI Citizens Academy and did enough contractor work for OGA and protected foreign dignitaries state-side that my trust in policy makers is NOTHING now. Out of uniform is one thing, but when your superiors are taking orders from politicians, it taints the man.

[WVisHome 0]

Here's a link to the story about the dogs and "unusual security presence".

 

http://www.local15tv...N8z6eSDJEA.cspx

 

University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.

　

"They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15.

 

Stevenson said he saw law enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago, D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan areas but has never seen that level of security before.

　

"Evidently, I don't believe they were just having a training exercise," Stevenson said. "I think they must have had some sort of threat or suspicion called in."

 

 

So...if there's any truth to this, what could possibly explain such a security failure if there truly were bomb sniffing dogs right there?

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

Here's the Boston Globe's twitter post about there being a planned "controlled explosion" across from the library. Posted at 12:53pm today.

 

https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/323886879453892609

[matty 810]

I have been in those bleachers, about that time for a couple years in a row waiting for people I know to finish. The last 2 years, not. There's usually a bunch of cops all over the area, and dogs. So not unusual there, saw them in 07-11. The bombs appear to have gone off across from the bleachers, on the side where the finish announcers and viewing platform are. You cannot cross the street at that point, so the bombers probably came from somewhere past the N side of Boylston St. The T station at Copley Sq is shut down & boarded up the day before. You need a pass, a badge type to get into the bleacher area. Not sure about the space across the street. AT that time (4:10ET), the crowds around the finish area have thinned out considerably, and the people finishing then are average runners, most often people running as a fund raiser for a charity. I hope they catch whoever did this, soon, and find out why--

[Arbelest 29]

Specific target maybe? Used this method to divert attention from a specific victim.

[Arbelest 29]

In the rare chance that is the case, a hell of a lot of planning went behind this then, more so then a normal bombing. I sure would like to get some factual details about this.

[Wojo 98]

I think they waited for the resources to clear. After-all, the main event of the best finishers had past by some two hours. So, I speculate that some EMS / SWAT / BPD / Mass State Police let their guard down, thinking things were winding down (human nature) and maybe left their assigned posts or got complacent (had a smoke, took a leak, grabbed some chow) and that provided the opportunity to place the charges and set the timers.

[BleedingOrange36 0]

Wasn't this pretty much at the beginning of rush hour traffic? What if the perp expected gridlock traffic to slow the ambulances down enough to build the body count up?

 

[WVisHome 0]

The question I have is why was the timing what it was.....???

 

Why not do.it earlier when the area was busier....higher profile...etc....

 

IS there a correlation to.time day date.... location....

 

What could have been on the ground in that area.......there was no crater so.it couldn't be underground...

 

Is the image.of.the Guy on the roof from the still just internet BS or is it valid?

 

I too question the timing...one would think it would have been earlier.

 

Supposedly they were in trash cans.

 

What's this about a guy on a roof? Haven't heard about that yet...

 

Also...is there any truth to the early reports that this was near the VIP section where supposedly Newton parents were sitting?

[BleedingOrange36 0]

Seems to be just good seats, maybe a maintenance guy watching the marathon.

Or maybe something more...

[Wojo 98]

He could've been anybody and heard the noise and was getting the eff off the roof.

[BleedingOrange36 0]

Idk, the more I look at it... The more I wonder. If that building overlooks that area where one of the blasts took place, what better place.

It looks to be an apartment building, most likely has easy access to the roof.

I think it should be investigated at a minimum. Maybe look at the building surveillance system and see if he goes up and acts suspiciously.

[WVisHome 0]

NBC news talking about increased security and how "we're just going to have to get used to it".

 

One positive about this new digital age....EVERYONE has cameras...someone has a picture or video somewhere that shows the perp(s).

[High Exposure 5,664]

The question I have is why was the timing what it was.....???

 

Why not do.it earlier when the area was busier....higher profile...etc....

 

IS there a correlation to.time day date.... location....

 

According to the video the first explosion occurred at 4 hours and 9 minutes into the race.

 

According to this website: http://www.runtri.com/2012/01/boston-marathon-average-finish-times-by.html

 

The 2012 Boston Marathon had an average finish time of 3 hours 50 minutes for men and 4 hours and 18 minutes for women.

 

My guess on the timing is simply that statistically there should be the most runners at or near the finishing line between 3:50 and 4:18.

[RS1200XL 4]

NBC news talking about increased security and how "we're just going to have to get used to it".

 

Coaxing the public into accepting a police state?

[BleedingOrange36 0]

Get ready to be utterly appalled....

http://www.policymic.com/mobile/articles/35451/westboro-baptist-church-plans-to-picket-boston-marathon-funerals

[H.M. Murdock 0]

Get ready to be utterly appalled....

http://www.policymic...rathon-funerals

 

How have they not been bombed themselves yet?