Eight-year-old Martin Richard, one of the three victims of yesterday's bomb attack in Boston, loved peace and loved God.
A picture showed him holding a poster with a peace sign that read "No More Hurting People" that he had made after the Sandy Hook massacre. Another picture showed him, dressed in a white suit, holding a communion banner with a dove on it.
These pictures made headlines Tuesday. The lives of the bomb attack victims will never be the same.
According to CNN affiliate WHDH, as Bill Richard made his way to the finish line, his son walked out to hug his father. As soon as Martin turned back to rejoin his mother and sister, the explosion went out.
Martin Richard's body laid unresponsive, while his mother suffered a serious head injury and his 6-year-old sister, Jen, lost her leg, according to WHDH. Martin's brother, 12-year-old Henry, escaped injury, the Boston Globe reported.
“My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries,” Bill Richards said in a statement released Tuesday.
“We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you.”
The Richard families are well-known in the community and attend a nearby church. The tragedy brought neighbors and friends to their doorsteps and placed a candle overnight and flowers as a sign of respect for the Richard family.
(Jeremiah Robinson/MailOnline)
The family was a “typical, all-American, lovely family,” neighbor Margaret Admirand told NBC, choking back tears.
“It’s devastating. He was an adorable little boy,” Admirand said. “It’s very hard to talk about. He was a sweet little kid.”
Another neighbor Jane Sherman told WCVB, "There are no words to describe how we are feeling ... they are feeling." She also said the family is close-knit.
Martin Richard, right, is pictured with his family. His mother, Denise, has undergone brain surgery and his six-year-old sister Jane lost a leg in the blast, while his older brother, Henry, 12, escaped injury. They are also pictured with his father, Bill (Facebook)
This afternoon, a second victim killed in the blasts was identified as 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, from Arlington, Massachusetts. The third victim has not yet been named.
Among the 176 injured, seventeen of the injured remain in critical condition, the Daily Mail reported, and CNN reported that at least 10 victims have needed amputations. Nine of the wounded are thought to be children, including a two-year-old boy who suffered a head injury.
Until now, investigators have not found any suspect, and no groups have claimed responsibility for the attack. Authorities have pleaded the spectators of the Boston Marathon to submit photos and videos of the marathon and explosions.
The New York Times reported that a Saudi national had been arrested, who is being treated for burns and shrapnel wounds, after a civilian saw him acting suspiciously at the scene.
However, officials are regarding the man, Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi, 22, as a witness, rather than a suspect, the Washington Post reported. Last night, 20 police and federal officials raided his home and found nothing.
In a press conference on Tuesday morning, Obama reiterated authorities are still unaware of who was behind the attack - whether it was the work of an organization or a 'malevolent individual'.
For the first time he acknowledged it was an act of terrorism.
"We will bring them to justice," he vowed, recounting stories of kindness and heroism following the blasts.
"The American people refuse to be terrorized... If you want to know who we are, who America is, how we respond to evil, that's it: Selflessly, compassionately, not afraid."
