BOSTON (AP) — Boston marked the third anniversary of the deadly 2013 marathon bombings with subdued remembrances and acts of kindness and generosity.
The governor and mayor joined victims’ families Friday morning for a brief and quiet ceremony at the finish line.
Gov. Charlie Baker and his wife, Lauren, bowed their heads in silence after helping the father of one of the three who died, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, place a white flower wreath. Mayor Marty Walsh placed a second wreath with the families of the other slain victims, 8-year-old Martin Richard and 23-year-old Lingzi Lu.
No one spoke.
A bagpipe played softly before the occasion, which was observed by nearly 100 people, including survivors, their families and supporters.
A multicolored banner with a peace sign, a heart and words that Martin had written before his death — “no more hurting people … peace” — hung on an empty storefront.
Two men placed crosses on a tree honoring the victims, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed by the attackers in the ensuing manhunt.
Scott Weisberg, a Birmingham, Alabama, physician who finished the 2013 marathon seconds before the first bomb detonated, said he comes back each year for the anniversary and to run the race.
He wears hearing aids now because he suffered hearing loss and recently closed his medical practice because he continues to deal with memory loss and speech processing problems from head injuries he received in the blast.
“This is a special time to connect. I have a second family who understands what I’m going through,” Weisberg said. “The first year, a lot of us were just trying to figure things out. I think the focus now for many of us is where we’re going, what we’re going to do with the second half of our lives.”
Throughout the day, residents took part in blood drives, food and clothing collections, and other community service projects as the city has proclaimed April 15 as One Boston Day, a day to celebrate the city’s resilience through acts of kindness and generosity.
Martin’s family helped clean up a busy commercial street and square in their Dorchester neighborhood while Lu’s family made a financial donation to the police department’s Athletic League.
“This is how they wanted to show their kindness so we’re here to support them,” said Sheila McCarthy, a friend of Martin’s family, as she and dozens of other volunteers picked up trash, cleared brush and planted flowers.
Later, Deval Patrick, the governor at the time of the attacks, is slated to speak at an interfaith service near the finish line.
At 2:49 p.m., a citywide moment of silence will mark the time when the first of two pressure cooker bombs detonated near the finish line, killing three people and injuring over 260 others.
One of the bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was sentenced to death. His brother, Tamerlan, died in a gunfight with police in the days after the attack.
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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo
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