Boston paused for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the fatal marathon bombings three years ago.
The third anniversary ceremony of the Boston Marathon bombings was led by Mayor Martin J. Walsh along with Gov. Charlie Baker. The wounded and dead were solemnly remembered as the city laid wreaths at the bombing sites.
The church bells rang at 2:49 p.m., the time one of the two bombs went off three years ago. The city stopped for a moment of silence.
Rev. Joseph White led a crowd of more than 100 people outside City Hall in prayer for the grieving families left behind by the victims of the bombings.
Jun Lyu and Ling Meng, parents of Lingzi Lu who was killed in the bombings, traveled all the way from China to attend the ceremony. They also presented a $10,000 check donation from a foundation honoring Lu to the Boston Police Athletic League. Dozens of survivors, their families and supporters were also in attendance.
Former governor Deval Patrick, who was at an Old South Chrurch service in Copley Square, also observed the moment of silence and shared to his group that what they need in moments like this is silence.
The advocacy group Massachusetts Resiliency Center laid out cards outside the church, encouraging people to write messages of hope to help victims from other cities. An advocate from the group said that they want to spread hope to victims of such events.
In March, Walsh designated April 15 as One Boston Day, a day of performing acts of kindness to remember the lives of those who perished in the bombings. Throughout the day, families attend special community projects, such as blood drives. Walsh is calling on Boston residents to look at what has come out of the incident: hope and inspiration.
The Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013 killed three people and injured nearly 300 individuals. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on all 30 counts related to the bombing. Defense lawyer Judy Clarke admitted in court that it was indeed Tsarnaev who conducted the bombings on that fateful day in an attempt to lower the sentence.
The 2016 Boston Marathon will be on Monday, April 18. There will be a million spectators who will cheer the 30,000 participants. To protect everyone, there will be thousands of cops, national guards and federal agents on duty.
Photo: Sonia Su | Flickr
