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Two bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon this afternoon on Boylston Street, Copley Square. 2 confirmed dead, almost 2 dozen injured, at least one undetonated device found

Live news feed:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/live-video/ (http://boston.cbslocal.com/live-video/)

I lived in Back Bay for almost 4 years, Boston area a few more, watched the marathon in person several years...something like this is hard to process. We walked that street so many times without thinking about the possibility of something like this, to see it on the news this afternoon is unbelievable. Just horrible.

Sending thoughts and prayers to Boston and everyone affected by this.

This is horrible, America is going downhill..... :(

Crazy. We're living in a sick world

My thoughts and prayers go out to them. This is one of these moments where I wonder what is wrong with some people in this world.

Here's hoping they find (and dispose of painfully) the people behind this meaninglessness.

Been following the news since it happened. Thoughts are with the people of Boston and those in the Marathon today.

Just shameless bastards, very very sad

My cousin was running at the Boston Marathon, shes home safe thank god, thoughts and prayers are with those in Boston

Who in the name of God bombs a charity marathon? This is horrible.

Good to hear she's ok

The numbers have obviously changed since yesterday afternoon, the current totals are 3 dead, at least 170 injured, and of those 17 are in critical condition.

Of course I'm not the only one here who had ever lived in that area, but I thought some context would be important for those who have never experienced the marathon, so some of the times and locations might make better sense.

The bombs themselves were detonated well after the competitive or what some call the elite runners had finished the race. This fact is and could be important in determining the planning, as some may have thought yesterday why explode the bombs hours after the main runners had finished.

First, the day itself is a holiday in Boston, Patriots Day: Schools are not in session, many workplaces close or have shortened days if possible, and the day itself is a party day of sorts, capping off a long weekend. The marathon route is a neat place to be, specifically as it gets closer to the finish, several blocks beyond Boston University, coming up Commonwealth Avenue, and eventually ending up on Boylston Street. It ends near Copley Square, at the library, as seen in the horrible videos and photos from yesterday.

It's a chance to walk around those streets with a lot of other people in a great mood, whether you're a race fan or not. There is a lot of noise, a lot of the party atmosphere, and people generally being nice to each other in a shared experience...often accompanied by nice spring weather as it was yesterday.

It definitely does not stop with the race. The scene at night, in the bars, clubs, and restaurants around the Back Bay area, was packed with runners and their families along with the regular party-goers and people who had watched the race. We'd walk down Boylston at night after the race, and you'd see hundreds of people wearing their silver foil capes that they had gotten after finishing the race walking the streets and in the bars and restaurants. Many of these clubs were packed to overflowing, with people waiting outside to get in or just hanging out as the bar itself was too crowded to fit all of them. It was one of the busier nights, at least from my experience, and all the bars around Newbury and Boylston were hopping. It was a very neat scene.

The key point to consider is this: The Marathon itself is a mix of professional, competitive runners, weekend warriors and hobbyists, and those who are running for charity or for the sense of accomplishment or history...the family element. After the professionals finish, and the semi-pros finish, there is a parade of regular guys and girls running for a cause or for their families, sometimes pushing baby carriages or wheelchairs, and wearing various shirts or signs for the charities they're supporting. It can take them several hours more to finish the race, for obvious reasons.

As those runners at the end of the pack are finishing, the Back Bay area fills up with their families and friends (and others), specifically the stretch of Boylston Street where the attacks happened yesterday. The sidewalks fill up and foot traffic increases, and much of that along that final stretch is families of the runners, including children and those who may not have been in that finishing area earlier as the professionals crossed the line.

And that is the key, from what I and others seem to be thinking: The timing of the bombs will be a crucial point. Rather than being a mistake or somehow being poor timing, it feels like they planned it for maximum impact, where the audience was more the families and friends waiting to see a loved one cross the finish line as it was the true racing fans who were there for the competition. The sidewalks would be full in that area at that exact time of the day, even though outsiders may thing it was several hours after the race had finished, people would not be there...not true. A different kind of people are and were in fact there at that time, in fact the sidewalks are full of people.

One of the confirmed fatalities was an 8 year old boy from Dorchester named Martin, who was there to watch his father finish the race.

Which makes the possible planning, motive, and execution of a f***ed up thing like this even more insidious and horrific, whoever may be responsible.

The whole thing is terrible and senseless but this is the part that leaves me with a queazy feeling.