Incident Summary:

04/15/2013: An explosive device consisting of a pressure cooker, nails, BBs, and a detonator fashioned from the remote control of a toy car detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. This was one of two similar bombs that detonated approximately 12 seconds and 100 yards apart. The detonation of the first device, which was located near Marathon Sports, killed spectator Krystle Campbell. Approximately 264 others were wounded in the two attacks. The alleged assailants of the blasts were later identified as Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, brothers who immigrated to the United States from Russia in 2002 and 2003. On April 19, 2013, as part of an attempt to flee the Boston area, the assailants were involved in a shootout with police that resulted in the death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested later that evening after he was discovered hiding in a boat that was parked in a Watertown, Massachusetts resident's backyard. Tsarnaev had written a claim of responsibility on the side of the boat. On July 10, 2013, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to 30 federal counts related to the attack, including one for the use of a weapon of mass destruction. Tsarnaev was ultimately found guilty on all counts, and sentenced to the death penalty on June 24, 2015.

GTD ID:
201304150001

When:
2013-04-15

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Massachusetts

City:
Boston

Location Details:
The incident occurred on Boylston Street in the Back Bay area of the city.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Bombing/Explosion
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Not Applicable
Specific Description Boston Marathon
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Remote Trigger
Weapon Details
A remote-controlled pressure-cooker bomb containing nails and BBs was used in the attack
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Casualty numbers for this incident conflict across sources.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Muslim extremists Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 2
Number of Captured Perpetrators 1
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 1 Fatalities / 132 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 1
Number of U.S. Fatalities 1
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 132
Number of U.S. Injured Unknown
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Boston Marathon Terror Attack Fast Facts," CNN Wire, July 11, 2013.
"Timeline: The Boston Marathon bombing, manhunt and investigation," CNN Wire, May 2, 2013.
"Image of Krystle Campbell will stay with Tsarnaev jurors," The Boston Globe, March 26, 2015.