# Likely Suspects in Boston Marathon Bombing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946 "2013-04-17T16:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/41 "2013-04-17T21:06:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That could not be planned, and without that photo, he would just be another nameless hero. So…you’re thinking conspiracy, then? One guy just happens to be in the right place, another just happens to be standing by with a camera. 😃 We know it wasn’t North Korea because Lil Kim hasn’t declared a devastating victory, the explosions were much to big, and only half the bombs planted were duds. I’m going with random schmuck with no relevant political affilliation. Maybe a group of 15-17 year-olds who’ve played too much MW3. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/42 "2013-04-17T21:28:35Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Name another first responder who has been recognized by name in the media. There were many heroes Monday, yet he was the only one who has been named, solely because he was in that horrific picture. That could not be planned, and without that photo, he would just be another nameless hero. 1LT Stephen Fiora Mass National Guard ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/43 "2013-04-17T21:36:06Z")
Whoever did it has to be pretty stupid. To think they could get away with planting two bombs in the heart of a major city during an iconic race, when there are surveillance cameras all over, every TV station in the city plus ESPN recording video, dozens of professional photographers, and about 100,000 amateur photographers as well, mostly congregated around the finish line. This is why I am all but certain it isn’t any organized terror group. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/44 "2013-04-17T22:12:40Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Whoever did it has to be pretty stupid. To think they could get away with planting two bombs in the heart of a major city during an iconic race, when there are surveillance cameras all over, every TV station in the city plus ESPN recording video, dozens of professional photographers, and about 100,000 amateur photographers as well, mostly congregated around the finish line. > > This is why I am all but certain it isn’t any organized terror group. I also doubt it was an organized terror group, but I don’t understand your objection. Organized terror groups commit attacks in areas filled with cameras all the time (9/11, 7/7 London bombings, Mumbai, etc.) They also tend to use people who don’t care about dying, so not getting caught would be even lower down on their list of priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/45 "2013-04-17T22:35:47Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > I also doubt it was an organized terror group, but I don’t understand your objection. Organized terror groups commit attacks in areas filled with cameras all the time (9/11, 7/7 London bombings, Mumbai, etc.) They also tend to use people who don’t care about dying, so not getting caught would be even lower down on their list of priorities. 9/11 and Mumbai were essentially suicide missions - the perpetrators knew they weren’t getting away. This is different in that the bombs were planted then detonated remotely. Whoever did it did wasn’t prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/46 "2013-04-17T22:37:08Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Heading down the Richard Jewell train of thought, there’s Carlos Arredondo. > > He lost a son in the Iraq war, and went a little nuts afterwards, setting himself on fire in his grief. In 2007 he was beaten at an anti-war protest by several right-wing nutters. In 2011 his second son committed suicide, apparently unable to deal with the loss of his brother. > > With all the anguish in his life, what if he thought that, if he could be a hero, he could have something else to focus on? It’s no longer Carlos Arredondo, the anti-war activist who set himself on fire. Now it’s Carlos Arredondo, the hero of the Boston Marathon. When the bombs went off he was right there in the thick of it, tending to the wounded. He’s in the papers and on TV being called a hero and what a wonderful person he is. > > It’s a horrible thought, but I wonder if the FBI’s considered it. > [@Leaffan](#): > > I know you won’t believe me, but that’s what I was thinking yesterday. I was afraid to suggest it because I thought I’d come across as a lunatic. So, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one thinking it. And not the only lunatic. 😉 Apparently someone else was thinking it as well. [Marathon Bombing ‘Hero’ Questioned By FBI, Police At Boston Home](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/04/17/marathon-bombing-hero-questioned-by-fbi-police-at-boston-home/) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/47 "2013-04-17T22:49:06Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Apparently someone else was thinking it as well. They’re probably asking him what he saw, as they’re presumably doing with dozens of people. No other theory makes any sense. This wasn’t a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/48 "2013-04-17T23:15:23Z")
And who gives a crap WHY he actually did it? I seriously hope nobody even asks. Don’t give his irrational sadistic thoughts the faintest hint of attention. And why am I assuming it’s a _he_? I hope I’m wrong but I think it’s going to end up being a guy with PTSD…and that would be damn shame. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/49 "2013-04-17T23:17:29Z")
I thought domestic too at first, one or two working in concert. The pictures just released though look decidedly foreign, two 20 something slender young males, probably Middle Eastern / North African for lack of a better descriptor. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/50 "2013-04-17T23:57:47Z")
What pictures? So far there’s a million pictures on 4chan of people with backpacks, and no claims that an arrest has been made. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/51 "2013-04-18T00:02:42Z")
Checking ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/52 "2013-04-18T00:51:24Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > What pictures? So far there’s a million pictures on 4chan of people with backpacks, and no claims that an arrest has been made. I’m curious too. So far the police claim to have a suspect on video, but I’m not seeing any images released. On the good news front, [there’s been an arrest in the ricin letters case](http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/politics/tainted-letter-intercepted/index.html?hpt=hp_t1). Interestingly, the suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis, signed the letters, “I am KC and I approve this message,” which means he signed them using his initials. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/53 "2013-04-18T01:04:16Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > What pictures? So far there’s a million pictures on 4chan of people with backpacks[…] Yes, and some of those are helpfully annotated as to what people find suspicious about the subjects. (eg; apparently without irony: “1) Black backpack. 2) Alone. 3) Brown.”) ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/54 "2013-04-18T01:17:02Z")
Yeah I found them, uninspiring to say the least. “Individual with backpack. Individual without backpack” No shit, he’s turned around in the second shot. You can still see the straps! Man, internet detectives. You’re not all Anonymous, guys! ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/55 "2013-04-18T01:30:11Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Yeah I found them, uninspiring to say the least. > > “Individual with backpack. Individual without backpack” > No shit, he’s turned around in the second shot. You can still see the straps! > > Man, internet detectives. You’re not all Anonymous, guys! Hey now. They didn’t spend all those years watching _CSI: Insert City Here_ without learning a few things about police work. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/56 "2013-04-18T01:51:47Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Yeah I found them, uninspiring to say the least. > > “Individual with backpack. Individual without backpack” > No shit, he’s turned around in the second shot. You can still see the straps! > > Man, internet detectives. You’re not all Anonymous, guys! You found them? Hidden so expertly in post #8? you’re an interweb gumshoe yourself. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/57 "2013-04-18T02:12:12Z")
The comma was in the wrong place. I found them uninspiring, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/58 "2013-04-18T02:37:02Z")
> [@wmulax93](#): > > The Spanish Inquisition > > 😉 I wasn’t expecting that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/59 "2013-04-18T15:27:01Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > I’m curious too. So far the police claim to have a suspect on video, but I’m not seeing any images released. I have. I don’t know what other info they have regarding it. But I’m changing my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946/60 "2013-04-18T15:32:58Z")
I predict the suspect is a highly suggestible individual with a poor grasp of the English language, who saw a shirt that he _thought_ directed him to “Iran the Boston Marathon”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/likely-suspects-in-boston-marathon-bombing/655946.md?page=4)