# 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:** 49
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/961 "2013-04-19T20:16:38Z")
This has probably been discussed and is probably in one of the stories, but does anyone know why they shot that campus officer? Did the officer try and arrest them or something? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/962 "2013-04-19T20:18:14Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > CBS reported that one of the explosive devices detonated in last night’s firefight with the Tsarnaev brothers was another pressure cooker bomb. The report said the cover came off the pressure cooker just before it detonated resulting in a much smaller explosion. They said pieces of the pressure cooker were embedded in the side of a police car. Isn’t it a bizarre coincidence that XKCD’s “What If?” column last week dealt with what kind of dangers a pressure cooker poses? [Here](http://what-if.xkcd.com/40/) I was seriously wondering if I had mis-remembered that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/963 "2013-04-19T20:22:06Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > None of this makes sense. Why rob a 7-11 and call immediate police attention to themselves. That’s not that big a mystery, is it? They decided they had to make themselves scarce and they needed money and a car (or a new car). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/964 "2013-04-19T20:23:13Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I am confused by this also. I just do not get why they let the carjack guy go. I mean, I’m glad they did, but whuh? The current CNN story, for what it’s worth, says the carjacking victim escaped, rather than was let go. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/965 "2013-04-19T20:24:00Z")
I’m far from a master criminal but it seems to me that if one is to commit a crime like this that the smart thing to do would be to already have money, transportation, and a hiding place in place before you commit the crime. They should have left Boston immediately after placing the bombs. The fact that they didn’t indicates to me that they didn’t expect to get caught. I imagine yesterday when they saw their pictures blasted across the news and felt the noose tighten around their necks that they panicked, realized they had no money and no means of escape so they tried to rob the 7/11 to get some quick cash and tried to do the car jacking to get away. As for why they didn’t kill the driver, this is just a guess but all of their other killings were at a distance so they didn’t have to look their victims in the face - I imagine this guy got lucky because they still had a trace of humanity in them. That and they were probably in full on panic mode and prone to lots of mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/966 "2013-04-19T20:24:55Z")
Has anyone heard an explanation for how White Hat escaped after the shootout which killed his brother? My understanding was there was a prolonged shootout, Black Hat charged the police on foot and was shot multiple times, then White Hat drove the carjacked SUV at the police. What happened at that point that allowed him to escape? Did they not have a helicopter tracking him? They couldn’t follow him? Why wasn’t he riddled with bullets as he drove at police? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/967 "2013-04-19T20:27:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > None of this makes sense. Why rob a 7-11 and call immediate police attention to themselves. WCVB reported that the suspects stopped at the 7/11 to get gas, but did not rob it. (info taken from Reddit update thread) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/968 "2013-04-19T20:28:38Z")
> [@XT](#): > > This has probably been discussed and is probably in one of the stories, but does anyone know why they shot that campus officer? Did the officer try and arrest them or something? I doubt that. It appears he was ambushed while sitting in his vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/969 "2013-04-19T20:32:44Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s not that big a mystery, is it? They decided they had to make themselves scarce and they needed money and a car (or a new car). The first thing I wondered why was not hit the 7-11 before the bombing? Yes, the police would be after you, but people rob 7-11s all the time, and the Feds aren’t usually involved. Doing it after, when law enforcement is swarming all over the city waiting for the bombers to make a wrong move, makes no sense at all. Yes, I know it’s crazy to wonder why most criminals do the things they do. If they were that into making sense, they wouldn’t have done what they did. Has anyone been able to suss out when in the timeline law enforcement knew that the people who hijacked the car and the people who set the bombs were the same? Oh, another question. Did any of the “suspicious people” pointed out in photos on Reddit etc. end up being the actual bombers? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/970 "2013-04-19T20:34:39Z")
> [@XT](#): > > This has probably been discussed and is probably in one of the stories, but does anyone know why they shot that campus officer? Did the officer try and arrest them or something? I think they wanted to use his vehicle to carjack the other guy. But that raises the question of why they didn’t just shoot a random passerby and take their vehicle, instead of going through the rigamarole of shooting the cop, stealing his vehicle, using it to pull over another car, stealing it, etc. Edit: I swear to god, it feels like I’m discussing the plot of a badly-written movie instead of actual real-life events. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/971 "2013-04-19T20:37:03Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > How long can they lockdown a neighborhood(s)? I get that they’re trying to keep everyone safe, especially with the bomb threat, but these people have been commanded to stay in their homes now for 14+ hours. What if this goes into tonight or tomorrow? > > And do we know if they know where this guy is? They cleared out the Watertown and Cambridge areas, right? Are they still locked down? My best friend lives in Watertown and another friend lives in Cambridge. They both say they are on lockdown. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/972 "2013-04-19T20:37:18Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I doubt that. It appears he was ambushed while sitting in his vehicle. That is what I had heard too. That they shot him in the head while he was sitting in his car. But I can’t verify it - my husband told me that that’s what HE heard - I was working and wasn’t watching the news at the time. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/973 "2013-04-19T20:38:16Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > The first thing I wondered why was not hit the 7-11 before the bombing? Yes, the police would be after you, but people rob 7-11s all the time, and the Feds aren’t usually involved. Doing it after, when law enforcement is swarming all over the city waiting for the bombers to make a wrong move, makes no sense at all. As posted upthread a little bit, local news is now saying that they’d stopped at a Shell station for gas and did not rob a 7-11. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/974 "2013-04-19T20:39:35Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I think they wanted to use his vehicle to carjack the other guy. But that raises the question of why they didn’t just shoot a random passerby and take their vehicle, instead of going through the rigamarole of shooting the cop, stealing his vehicle, using it to pull over another car, stealing it, etc. > > Edit: I swear to god, it feels like I’m discussing the plot of a badly-written movie instead of actual real-life events. Yeah, this whole thing just gets weirder and weirder as it evolves. I guess they didn’t expect to be identified so quickly (though even a moments thought would show that if you do something like this at a huge event like the Boston Marathon, there are going to be literally hundreds of people taking pictures or video, let alone new reporters and vendor camera systems), and had to make some stuff up as they went along. But it’s almost like this is a bad Hollywood movie. Were I watching a movie with this plot I’d be shaking my head and muttering about how stupid this was, and that no one would or could be this dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/975 "2013-04-19T20:42:40Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Oh, another question. Did any of the “suspicious people” pointed out in photos on Reddit etc. end up being the actual bombers? Not so far as I know. I went through the Reddit stuff two nights ago, and didn’t see any of them at all, just Bathrobe Guy and the High School Track Guy and some others. After the FBI released the photos, some people on Reddit did do a good job finding them in previous photos and did some photo sharpening. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/976 "2013-04-19T20:43:05Z")
[Confirmation for my 7-11 posts above.](https://twitter.com/ABC7/status/325347029826019329) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/977 "2013-04-19T20:53:13Z")
Chris Hayes devoted the first segment of [his new MSNBC show](http://tv.msnbc.com/shows/all-in/) last night to [discussing “falling down the rabbit hole” of reading those Reddit threads,](http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/51590519#51590561) although he reserved his greatest disdain for the Post’s misidentifying the wrong two guys. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/978 "2013-04-19T20:53:32Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > The first thing I wondered why was not hit the 7-11 before the bombing? I assumed they robbed the place because they were desperate for money as part of a getaway, and robbing a 7-11 could fill that need- but getting the cops on your tail that way would not make the bombing easier to carry off. Since that didn’t happen, nevermind. > [@](#): > > Yes, I know it’s crazy to wonder why most criminals do the things they do. If they were that into making sense, they wouldn’t have done what they did. There have to be elements of their plan that went wrong here. Maybe they thought they could get out of the country quietly some time after the bombing, when people weren’t watching the borders or airports as closely. Or maybe they really thought nobody would ever figure it out. I don’t know. But I thought there were reports they didn’t have access to their getaway car, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/979 "2013-04-19T20:53:34Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > As posted upthread a little bit, local news is now saying that they’d stopped at a Shell station for gas and did not rob a 7-11. Thanks for the clarification! ---
**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, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781/980 "2013-04-19T20:54:06Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I’m far from a master criminal but it seems to me that if one is to commit a crime like this that the smart thing to do would be to already have money, transportation, and a hiding place in place before you commit the crime. They should have left Boston immediately after placing the bombs. Perhaps someone assisted them and didn’t show up with getaway transportation and just drove to the airport. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781.md?page=48) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-boston-marathon/655781.md?page=50)