Boston Strong: Moving Photos of the 2013 Marathon Bombing and Aftermath
Days before the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, thousands crowded the race's finish line on Boylston Street on April 12, 2014, for a Sports Illustrated cover shoot. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans joined the moment, as did survivor Marc Fucarile, who told the media there, "We are strong, we bounce back no matter what."
A crowd stood at the race's finish line at the April 12, 2014, shoot, but this was only the beginning: While many of those injured in the blasts still have a ways to go, amazing stories of resilience and love surfaced in the year since the tragedy occurred.
The Sports Illustrated cover, out April 16, 2014, showed the more than 3,000 enthusiastic Bostonians who came out for the big moment. In an essay in the issue, Red Sox player David Ortiz wrote, "If I had to make a speech this year on Patriots' Day, I'd say, 'God continue to bless America.' Because even though it began with so much pain and tragedy, the last 12 months have been a blessing."
Despite losing part of her left leg in the bombings, dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis vowed she'd dance again. She did just that on March 19, 2014, performing at the 2014 TED Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, donning a prosthetic leg to twirl across the dance floor with partner Christian Lightner. "I knew that I had to [dance again]," she said, "and here I am."
There was indeed a silver lining to survivor James Costello's harrowing Boston Marathon experience: He got engaged to the nurse who treated his burns. Costello proposed to Krista D'Agostino in December 2013, while the two were on a cruise with other first responders and survivors in France. "I now realize why I was involved in the tragedy," he wrote on Facebook when announcing the news. "It was to meet my best friend, and the love of my life."
Jeff Bauman's image became one of the most memorable from the marathon, after the AP snapped him being rushed away in a wheelchair following the blasts (he later helped ID the suspects, too). One year later, he was recovering, engaged to longtime love Erin Hurley, and expecting a baby! "We've got a lot going on," he joked to the Associated Press. But for now, "I just want to be a good dad." He eventually went on to write. best-selling book, Stronger.
By June 2013, 16 people had already lost limbs due to the bombings — but none of them lost hope. "It's been incredible to see their resilience," Dr. David Crandell of Massachusetts's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital told PEOPLE of patients like Roseann Sdoia, who was profiled in the magazine. "There's no point in negativity," Sdoia said. "You just have to look forward and do the best you can."
In 2015, Rebekah Gregory, who ultimately lost a leg in the bombing, returned to Boston to cross the marathon finish line in her prosthetic leg. In a reflective 2021 Instagram post, she remembered her time in the hospital in 2013, writing, "As exhausting as that time was, there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for it. Being still, taught me lessons that otherwise might've been lost in the everyday chaos. Being patient, allowed me to soak in the true blessing of small victories. And being present, made me realize that even though my future seemed so uncertain, I was so incredibly grateful to have one at all."
In 2023, Rebekah's husband Chris Varney will run the marathon in her honor, with a team of friends, for the couple's Rebekah's Angels foundation. Rebekah plans to be at the finish line with the couple's children, waiting to celebrate as their crew completes the race.
Runner Lizzie Lee joined mourners at a vigil in Boston Common on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Lee was in the middle of her first Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, when two bombs exploded along the race route, killing three and injuring more than 270.
Before their April 16, 2013, home game, New York Yankees players and fans paused for a moment of silence to honor the fallen. Later in the game, the crowd sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" — a Boston Red Sox staple — as did sports fans at several other ballparks around the country.
Neighbors hugged under a U.S. flag on April 16, 2013, as they arrived for a candlelight vigil in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, home to 8-year-old Martin Richard, one of three people killed in the blasts.
Meanwhile, outside the Richards' house that same night, classmates, friends and grievers came together for a separate candlelight vigil.
Flags flew at half-mast around the country on April 16, 2013, including outside Boston's Trinity Church, which stands just a few blocks from the site of the bombings.
Bostonians packed the Arlington Street Church on April 16, 2013, during a moving interfaith service to honor the victims.
Also sending love on April 16, 2013: a runner from Seattle, who hung a Boston Red Sox logo at a Massachusetts Street sign in his hometown. "The world obviously needs to change," Boston native Mark Wahlberg told PEOPLE hours after the bombings. "If you think about all the events over the last couple years, if we can't protect our innocent women and children, then we have a serious problem."
An Atlanta man held an American flag as he stood outside the city's Big Peach Running Co. on April 16, 2013, after taking part in a moment of silence and memorial run in tribute to the Boston Marathon victims.
On April 16, 2013, Boston police officers kept the scene near Copley Square secure as the FBI continued its investigation of the explosion. Suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were later identified; Tamerlan died during a police encounter, while his younger brother, Dzhokhar, was apprehended after a tense, days-long manhunt in the Boston area. He was sentenced to death in 2015, but the sentence was overturned in 2020 in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The Supreme Court reinstated the sentence in 2022.
Despite the police activity, mourners didn't stop leaving flowers and messages for the victims at barricades near Boylston Street in the days following the attack.
At the Brooklyn Academy of Music the night of the bombings, few words were needed to show the sentiment New Yorkers sent to their East Coast friends.
It was already a special day in baseball — Jackie Robinson Day — but the Monday-evening April 15, 2013, games, like this St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates matchup in Pennsylvania, had even more meaning when they began with a moment of silence in honor of the Boston victims.
A simple but powerful word marked the driveway of Martin Richard's house. Though dad Bill was unscathed, his wife, Denise, suffered a brain injury in the blast, and his daughter, then-7-year-old Jane, lost a leg. A third child, an older son, was reportedly not injured.
Neighbors (and Boston Marathon runners, like Megan Cloke, pictured) delivered flowers and other stuffed animals to the Richard family home. "They are beloved by this community," said Ayanna Pressley, a city councilor at large. "They contribute in many ways. That's why you see this outpouring. It's surreal. It's tragic."
Flames erupted as the first explosion hit on a crowded corner of Boylston Street. "It was so powerful that it almost blew my hat off my head," witness Brian Walker told PEOPLE. "It sounded like a cannon. You could feel the blasts hit your body."
After being treated for her injuries, a shaken woman and her friend made their way to safety. "I saw horrific injuries," witness Walker told PEOPLE. "There were people who lost limbs and people who were bleeding all over the sidewalk. Like out of war zones."
Another victim was treated at the scene by two of Boston's finest. In a blog post Monday, April 15, 2013, comedian Patton Oswalt wrote of those who helped, "The vast majority stands against the darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil-doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak."
Volunteers worked to get another injured bystander to safety. Among those helping: former New England Patriot Joe Andruzzi, who was at the marathon on behalf of his charitable organization. When asked about the situation, he said in a statement, "The spotlight should remain firmly on the countless individuals – first responders, medics, EMTs, runners who crossed the finish line and kept on running straight to give blood – and the countless civilians who did whatever they could to save lives. They were the true heroes."
"Pray for Boston" trended on Twitter following the explosions, and one woman did just that on the city's Boylston Street, where the blasts took place.
A tearful runner found comfort following the drama. In the wake of the day's events, Google set up a Person Finder to help loved ones connect as phone service got spotty.
A young boy was wheeled to safety by doctors and first responders, a wrap around his ankle. "These kids were really badly hurt," trauma surgeon Dr. David Mooney of Boston Children's Hospital told PEOPLE. "They had soot all over their faces, burnt hair and burnt eyebrows and tourniquets on their legs that first responders had put there to save their lives and keep them from bleeding to death."
Emergency personnel helped a woman in need in the aftermath of the blasts. Speaking to PEOPLE after the event, Bostonian Jeff Chin said, "What you don't see on TV is how loud it was. Imagine there were hundreds of people just screaming at the top of their lungs, screaming so loud. It was piercing, just the terror that you could hear."
Runner Bill Iffrig, who was thrown to the ground by reverberations from the first blast, received instructions from police. "My whole body was just crumpling," the then-78-year-old, who was only 15 feet from the finish line, told ABC News. "I thought this was going to be it. I thought this was my last trip. I had no idea what was going on."
Following the first blast, two marathon officials ran for cover. Triage tents set up near the finish line – intended for runners who'd just finished the race – immediately became makeshift emergency rooms as the number of explosion-related injuries rose.
Police and paramedics cleared the area around the finish line, where the bombings occurred, and helped the injured into ambulances. First responders and quick-thinking civilians were heralded for their heroic efforts throughout the terrifying afternoon.
'We Bounce Back'
Days before the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, thousands crowded the race's finish line on Boylston Street on April 12, 2014, for a Sports Illustrated cover shoot. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans joined the moment, as did survivor Marc Fucarile, who told the media there, "We are strong, we bounce back no matter what."
Ten years after the tragic bombing, remembering the day's heroes, tributes to the fallen and a city that won't let tragedy take it down