# Explosions at Boston Marathon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 15, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781 "2013-04-15T19:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/801 "2013-04-19T12:46:09Z")
According to the VK page (which I see no reason to believe isn’t real) he went to school in Makhachkala, which is about 100 miles east of Grozny, on the Caspian Sea. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/802 "2013-04-19T12:46:36Z")
Looks like CNN has latched onto the FOX feed. How _embarrassed_ they must be in Atlanta! Ted Turner must be spinning in his grave right about now. That is, if he were dead and all… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/803 "2013-04-19T12:49:42Z")
The older brother, Tamerlan, was the subject of a [photo essay](http://johanneshirn.photoshelter.com/gallery/Will-Box-For-Passport/G0000VQW7v6xWA7o/) called “Will Box for Passport”. His family fled Checnya for Kazakhstan and then America. He had a Mercedes and liked European clothes. > [@](#): > > Unless his native Chechnya becomes independent, Tamerlan says he would rather compete for the United States than for Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/804 "2013-04-19T12:51:57Z")
Countdown to the younger brother being killed or captured begins… ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/805 "2013-04-19T12:54:35Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > But nothing indicates to me that the VK page is fake. Anything significant about the different spelling of his first name? Now they are saying he was born in Kurdistan. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/806 "2013-04-19T12:58:55Z")
Fox is SPECULATING that the other guy is dead. Also, they are reporting that the hijacked car was found. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/807 "2013-04-19T12:59:07Z")
It’s still all an incredible story. If you tried to sell this as a movie script yesterday you would have been laughed at. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/808 "2013-04-19T12:59:22Z")
Here’s Tamerlan’s alleged [Amazon wishlist](http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=1PNVMAW2D4CT1), even. Crowdsourcing, eh? Edit: **Blank Slate** , a transliteration thing, I guess. The letter would be Х in Cyrillic, I imagine, which can be transliterated as kh or h. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/809 "2013-04-19T12:59:39Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Countdown to the younger brother being killed or captured begins… It’ll be difficult to escape in this sort of scenario. If he was still in the car he sped off in he’d be caught already, every police officer in Massachusetts and probably surrounding states knows the make/model of that car and color at a minimum, probably tag number too. So that means he’s either ditched it and is now driving another stolen car or he’s holed up in one of the houses in Watertown which police are sweeping house to house. If he’s holed up somewhere, it’s just a matter of time. If he got away in another stolen car that’s his only real chance of escaping, but it’ll be difficult as I imagine checkpoints are up everywhere and another stolen car is also capable of getting you pulled over/noticed. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/810 "2013-04-19T13:01:29Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Yes, this pic is doing the rounds on Twitter, as are rumours that it was a photoshop job. > > [Photo](https://twitter.com/Lamarche/status/325162530794246144/photo/1). > > Either way it’s a heartbreaking image, because it either shows this kid standing feet from his murderer, or because some sick person devoted time to creating it. I don’t think that is a photoshop…one of the pics the FBI released is from the same angle but the yellow behind his head is a little further away. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/811 "2013-04-19T13:05:39Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > It would make sense if you need supplies or traveling money to go on the lam, that makes the carjacking sensible as well if they didn’t have transportation. It’s really weird though, if they’ve really been here for at least a year you’d think if they were interested in escaping they’d already have money stored up and a vehicle somewhere for that purpose. Their getaway does not seem well planned. I mentioned up thread that I would have set the explosives off from the airport. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/812 "2013-04-19T13:09:25Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > It would make sense if you need supplies or traveling money to go on the lam, that makes the carjacking sensible as well if they didn’t have transportation. It’s really weird though, if they’ve really been here for at least a year you’d think if they were interested in escaping they’d already have money stored up and a vehicle somewhere for that purpose. > > Since there are reports the dead suspect was wearing a suicide bomb, maybe they were “supposed” to have blown themselves up the day of the bombing with their vests and for whatever reason decided not to (lost their nerve, decided conditions weren’t right etc.) That could explain a haphazard and confused escape plan that requires them to carjack and rob convenience stores, because if they had planned to die they would never have had a planned escape. > > Killing the MIT police officer only makes sense if he was somehow in their way for the robbery or carjacking, otherwise it just brings massive attention to the area they are in. It could be they just started a mini-crime spree to bring attention down on themselves so they could go out in a fire fight or something, too. These guys are (were) nuts. There’s no real rhyme or reason to this with including this as a factor. I think you’re right that they didn’t follow through their original plan, maybe to blow themselves up at the marathon, or more bombings in crowds or something. They don’t seem to have had any follow up plan otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/813 "2013-04-19T13:10:24Z")
[NECN – News, Local News, Weather, Traffic, Entertainment, Breaking News](http://www.necn.com/pages/necn_streampage) is currently interviewing someone over the phone claiming they’ve known suspect 2 since elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/814 "2013-04-19T13:14:36Z")
Just put up another no-fly zone over Watertown. Taxi service stopped. Don’t open your door unless you can tell it’s a cop. Dang, this is crazy. ETA: Police activity in Watertown just went crazy, they said on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/815 "2013-04-19T13:17:06Z")
whdh just played an interview with a mechanic that said he has worked on a number of their cars, that they hung out with guys that drove cars with NY plates, and he last saw him Tuesday, the day after the bombing. He seemed very nervous and was demanding his car even though it wasn’t ready. ---
**Author:** ![kwc27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kwc27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwc27)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/816 "2013-04-19T13:18:11Z")
I was following this story as it broke overnight while I was at work. The first two names mentioned were Sunil Tripathi and Mike Mulugeta. They were heard across police radio in the middle of the night. I know Sunil Tripathi is a missing Boston Student who looks similar in pictures to the one subject, but where did they get the Mike Mulugeta name from? ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/817 "2013-04-19T13:21:26Z")
> [@kwc27](#): > > I was following this story as it broke overnight while I was at work. The first two names mentioned were Sunil Tripathi and Mike Mulugeta. They were heard across police radio in the middle of the night. > > I know Sunil Tripathi is a missing Boston Student who looks similar in pictures to the one subject, but where did they get the Mike Mulugeta name from? I went to bed for a few hours with the same information…a lot has changed since then. Now I believe they’re looking for the singer from System of a Down. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/818 "2013-04-19T13:25:57Z")
In my humble opinion: Jeff Bauman is a hero. > **[Boston bombing victim in iconic photo helped identify suspects](https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/04/18/boston_bombing_victim_in_iconic_photo_helped_identify_suspects.html)** > > Minutes before the bombs blew up in Boston, Jeff Bauman looked into the eyes of the man who tried to kill him. Despite having BOTH LEGS BLOWN OFF he was able to describe the guy to the FBI, which is how they knew what to look for in the photos. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/819 "2013-04-19T13:26:51Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I went to bed for a few hours with the same information…a lot has changed since then. Now I believe they’re looking for the singer from System of a Down. I heard it was Queens of the Stoneage. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/820 "2013-04-19T13:29:59Z")
That may explain why they needed to do a car-jacking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781.md?page=42)