On April 20, 2013, there was an assault that took place at the Boston Marathon. During the attack, three individuals died and more than 250 others were hurt. The Boston Public Library was among the neighboring buildings that were impacted by the explosion. The two bombs were homemade and detonated in the crowd witnessing the race, according to the investigation. To cause the most fatalities, the bombs were pressure cooker bombs filled with nails. The main suspects in the attack have been named as Tamerlan and Tsarnaev.
Since it first began in 1897, the Boston Marathon has motivated over 30,000 runners annually. Over 500 000 spectators attend the yearly event. The event was an easy target for terrorism and Tarmelan and Dzhokhar decided to bomb the finish line of the race. Tarmelan Tsarnaev was a devout Muslim who got radicalize when he started going to the mosque (McPhee, 2017). He started expressing extremist views against the west, and in 2011 the FBI were informed of his extremist views.
In 2013, Tarmelan downloaded Abdullah Azzam publication which was advocating to terrorize Islam enemies (Williams, 2015). Tamerlan later on April 14, 2013, ordered electronic components over the internet to be used in the making of the IEDs an order which he received by mail. On April 15, 2013, vast crowds of spectators began to gather along the route to be used in the Boston Marathon. Tamerlan placed a bag which had a bomb inside it in between spectators. Dzhokhar on the other side placed another between the crowds in front of Forum Restaurant. The bombs exploded and killed three people and left many others injured (Bodden & Taylor, 2014). One victim of the tragedy informed the FBI about the man who placed the backpack that contained the bomb near him (Press, 2015). On 18th April 2013. FBI produced photos and a video of the two suspects and requested the public help in identifying them. Knowing they were being hunted, the Tsarnaev brothers started to look for more weapons to defend themselves.
The pursuit of the suspects went on in Watertown where the suspects fired gunshots to the police. The police answered the violence with gunshots, and later Tamerlan was pronounced dead. His brother drove away after the exchange of fire. Transit officer Richard Donohue Jr, a veteran of the force was wounded in the Watertown gunfire exchange. Later the authorities announced that they recovered a pressure-cooker bomb after the pursuit into the Watertown residence. Dzhokhar drove to Spruce Street in Watertown where he left the car and hid. The police surrounded the boat where Dzhokhar was hiding and asked him to come out willingly. On April 8, 2015, Dzokhar was found guilty of the Boston Marathon Attack and was sentenced to death. He was taken to the country’s most strict and secure prison in Florence, Colorado.
Although three people died, there were many victims who survived as a result of the proper care they were given in hospitals, ambulance services and primary care providers (Challen, 2016). Local networks, state and federal organizations also provided effective mental health care for the victims.
The victims of the attack had many needs that they are supposed to be offered. Some of them lost a lot of blood and needed to be donated blood to improve their health status. Others like Bauman who lost both his legs can never be able to do their daily jobs meaning victims of such kind of the attack needs to be funded on a continuous basis.
There were things which were supposed to be done before and after the attack. For instance, at the point where the FBI was informed of Tamerlan change to be a radical follower of radical Islam, they should have acted instantly and trace Tamerlan deeds. During the incidence, some police officers involved in tracking down the bombers lacked weapons during the firefight with the suspects. It was also reported that a police officer fired a shot at an unmarked police officer car which was mistakenly reported as stolen. The law enforcement officers should have acted professionally. In the first place, the unmarked car should not have been at the scene.
What worked well during the incidence was the response from different agencies private and public. Several health units helped in rescuing the victims from the scene. They made sure those affected got proper care to stabilize their health status as well as mental status. The ambulance service played a vital role in transferring the victims from the scene of the attack to hospitals where they could get proper care. Law enforcement agencies and political leader cooperated and worked together successfully to make key decisions in the days that followed after the attack.
The people of Boston faced trauma following the incidence. The crisis affected the children psychologically. Some of them have long-lasting responses to the attack. It is evident that children have higher rates of psychological problems than what is typically seen and this is among children with higher levels of exposure. The victims of the attack were also affected both psychologically and health wise. The families who lost their relatives were also affected indirectly by the tragedy. They were forced to arrange for burial ceremonies by the incidence at a time when they should be doing their jobs.
After the incidence preventive measures to end terrorism attack of such magnitude were discussed for implementation. It is clear that terrorism affects a nation’s economic stability and this was so during the attack (Johnson & Bloomberg News, 2013). Businesses along the streets of Boston were closed for several hours to give room for government agencies to do their investigation. Law enforcement agencies were sent to Boston to investigate the issue and in the long run, the suspects were identified. The professional social work was also impacted in different manners. Social planning in events like the Boston Marathon was also reviewed to make sure the well-being of the audience is upheld at whatever incidence.
The SW brought a lot of skills to the response of the Boston Marathon bombing. They helped in the care of the victims of the attack (Bauman, 2014). Those who underwent psychological stress were diagnosed and treated mentally by the direct-service social workers. Casualties were also given proper first aid before being rushed to the hospital by the clinical social workers. They also gave other forms of help including funding to those who were injured and to the bereaved as well. All these activities the social work professionals did to improve the welfare of the people who were the direct victims of the bombing.
The SW could learn many things from the tragedy. First, they should have learned the importance of having member representatives in every state. Another thing they could learn was to have every equipment required to deal with injury cases of terrorism magnitude. Another thing the social work professionals should learn is to do a follow-up activity that should aim at the welfare of those who are affected by the tragedy of this magnitude. The SW should, therefore, make sure they learn from the above issues and take the required measures to address such issues.
The SW was used to help in the attendance of the victims of the tragedy. Mostly they took care of the injured to help them to stabilize their health status. They made sure that the casualties were taken to the hospital where they would get further treatment. The social work professions also made sure that the people of Boston were able to come out of the tragedy strong. They gave counseling to those who were affected directly and indirectly. Their act was greatly appreciated by the people of Boston who came out of the tragedy stronger.
The Terrorist attack indeed was a crisis to all people of America as well as to the whole world. Many were affected psychologically, others were injured, and the worst was the death of the three America citizens. The government, local agencies, and citizens showed great response during and after the incidence an act that helped the victims of the bombing get back to their normal lives. The attack was indeed an act that should not and never tolerated not only in America but the whole world at large.
References
Bauman, J. W. B. (2014). Stronger: Fighting Back After the Boston Marathon Bombing. City of publication not identified: Grand Central Pub.
Bodden, V., & Taylor, M. (2014). The Boston Marathon bombing. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company.
Challen, P. C. (2016). Surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing. New York: Rosen Publishing.
Johnson, A., & Bloomberg News (Firm). (2013). What's the economic impact Boston bombing?New York: Bloomberg.
McPhee, M. (2017). Maximum harm: The Tsarnaev brothers, the FBI, and the road to the Marathon Bombing. Lebanon: University Press of New England.
Press, T. A. (2015). Boston Marathon Bombing. City of publication not identified: Mango Media.
United States. (2014). Lessons learned from the Boston Marathon bombings: Preparing for and responding to the attack: hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, first session, July 10, 2013. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
United States. (2015). Lessons learned from the Boston Marathon bombings: Improving intelligence and information sharing: hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, second session, April 30, 2014. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Williams, B. G. (2015). Inferno in Chechnya: Russian-Chechen wars, the Al Qaeda myth, and the Boston Marathon bombings. Lebanon: University Press of New England.
