State security is an element of governmental control over compliance with generally accepted laws and regulations. The objective of maintaining public safety is to establish a degree of internal and external threat intelligence for people, society, and the nation that ensures the country’s long-term growth and achievement of its strategic interests. In the conditions of the continuous existence of both internal and external threats, the state creates special bodies designed to solve problems of that kind. The complement of institutions that possess the functions combating acts of crime includes internal affairs structures, police departments, the army, prosecutor’s office, intelligence services, and the investigation of serious crimes units. During the Boston Marathon that is held annually on April 15, 2013, a terrorist attack in the form of a bomb explosion occurred. Two detonations happened within twelve seconds, killing three individuals and wounding over 280 people. The Boston Marathon bombing is possible to be considered as an appalling incident that became an indicator of the necessity to introduce additional measures to guarantee the safe recreation of citizens at public events.
Homeland security defines the United States’ domestic approach to maintaining a protected, stable, and durable state to violent extremism and other risks. The hazards include situations in which American values and ambitions develop into the federal attempt to combat terrorist acts inside the United States, minimize the country’s weaknesses, and limit the damage caused by arising attacks. The Homeland Security Department attempts to strengthen safety in the United States of America. It operates in the border, customs, immigration inspections, disaster response to artificial and natural catastrophes, anti-terrorism efforts, and tackling cybercrime. The White House named the first head of the Office of Homeland Security eleven days after the terrorist events of September 11, 2001. The office’s mission is to supervise and execute a coherent government strategy to defend the public against extremism while responding to any potential assaults. The Homeland Security Department was established as a separate Cabinet-level body after Congress approved the Homeland Security Act in November 2002. The Department brought together twenty-two independent federal agencies and institutions into one united cabinet administration when it was founded.
Homeland security policies are developing following general human progress, but it is yet impossible to be devoid of drawbacks. A powerful anti-terrorism program requires a clarification of the duties and missions of various government bodies since durable results can only be achieved by splitting counter-terrorism work among multiple departments (Givens et al. 4). Researchers examined how numerous security agencies and divisions allowed the appearance of considerable gaps in the ability of America to discourage, avoid, and react to terrorist incidents (Givens et al. 5). According to the studies, one of the main problems in the national security system is not paying enough attention to the internal processes and movements while international affairs are being emphasized (Givens et al. 6). At the same time, the development of globalization and technological progress had a profound influence on the concept of homeland security and has supplied law enforcement institutions with additional advanced resources (Givens et al. 24). The state defense system is subject to internal dangers that, despite the strong evolution of information technologies and digitalization, can significantly undermine the activities of government bodies.
The finish line of the marathon’s last segment was located near the Boston Public Library. The race competitors were given the roadway of the street, while the pedestrian area was intended for the viewers and was divided by iron barriers. Beside the finish line, stands were constructed on one side of the street. A marathon area for the participants and a separate space for their families was set up behind the finish line. Nearby, emergency medical personnel were on duty, and a considerable group of media reporters covering the event gathered in the library’s surroundings. The terrorist action involved the detonation of two homemade bomb devices near the Boston Marathon finish line. The first explosion occurred beside the finish line in the spectator area. From the beginning of the third group of runners, the race continued for four hours, nine minutes, and forty-three seconds. Although the majority of the athletes had completed by this stage, 5700 individuals remained in the process of running. The second explosion happened 12 seconds later in the spectator area, approximately 170 meters away from the first one.
On Patriots’ Day, which celebrates the 1775 clashes of Lexington and Concord, which began the Revolutionary War, the well-known sporting event takes place. Patriots’ Day is considered to be an official holiday in the state of Massachusetts and is recognized on the third Monday in April. Due to the popularity of the holiday, a large crowd of people is understandable. Police officers that were on duty immediately started rescuing viewers and marathon competitors, while physicians and volunteers began treating the injured people. The blasts murdered three individuals and wounded over 280 others, with several victims losing limbs due to the attacks. Windows in neighboring buildings were broken as a consequence of the explosions. According to police and medics, the explosives were comprised of nails and ball-bearing balls. At least eight children were removed from the place of the crime, according to the Boston Children’s Hospital. The group was represented by a two-year-old boy with a severe head injury, a girl with a leg injury, and six more children under fifteen. Feasibly, there were more minors among the sufferers, but they were transferred to different hospitals for unknown reasons.
In accordance with the fatal bombings in all primary cities of the United States of America, the degree of the extremist danger was elevated, and greater protective precautions were implemented. In the state of Massachusetts, the Boston airport stopped working for half an hour owing to a flying prohibition over the area near the assault location. Numerous individuals showed their regrets and provided assistance to the sufferers of the terrorist incident. Massachusetts officials declared a situation of an emergency on April 19, dispatching over nine thousand law enforcement officers to Boston and its outskirts. Municipal authorities and state bodies and private companies, large businesses, and ordinary residents took an active part in eliminating the consequences of the terrorist attack and assisting the investigation. For instance, to identify and save victims of the terrorist bombing, Google corporation has created a special Boston Marathon Blasts page on the Google Person Finder. The terrible events in Boston became the factor that was able to unite the efforts of various structures, organizations, and people to understand the issue and rescue the injured.
The law enforcement departments started investigating the incident immediately. The detectives apprehended one person, considering press articles, although the authorities later refuted the statement. On the evening of April 16, police raided one of the apartments, confiscating three suitcases and transporting them to a testing laboratory for analysis. The Federal Bureau of Investigations examined the images and fragments of video made by witnesses of the bombing with considerable attention. What concerns the information from the state bodies, the devices that detonated in Boston were constructed using steam pressure bombs and included metal parts, nails, and iron bullets. A considerable number of little metal pieces were extracted from the bodies of the injured by physicians. The explosives were created from six steam pots, packed in huge suitcases, and left near the accident scene, according to an anonymous person connected to the inquiry. The Boston police officers were seeking a person with a black suitcase. The man appeared to be not a native English speaker and was spotted nearby in the region with a heavy rucksack, according to the reports of the state authorities.
The law enforcement agencies published images of two suspected criminals throughout the Boston Marathon on April 18. The first person was wearing a white cap with a peak, and the second was wearing a pair of black sunglasses and a sports cap. As soon as Jeff Bauman, a victim that lost his legs in the attack, retrieved consciousness following the surgery, he composed a letter in which he gave detectives a precise depiction of the criminal. Two young guys confronted a policeman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston on the evening of April 18, and one of them killed him by shooting multiple times. Sean Collier, a 26-year-old law enforcement officer, died in the hospital after losing sense. The assailants stole his police vehicle before stealing another automobile, a Mercedes SUV.
A pursuit ensued, in which the suspects shot at police officers and threw homemade bombs at them as they sped towards the Boston neighborhood of Watertown. Consequently, a gunshot gravely injured a Boston traffic state trooper. The chase continued in Watertown when the eldest of the offenders charged the officers and shot until he ran out of bullets, while the officers succeeded in hurting him in the wrist during the gunfight. The eldest criminal, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was identified as the 26-year-old sportsman, and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was recognized as the 19-year-old person. When Dzhokhar, who was in the vehicle, pulled in the direction of the policemen, the officers who had put Tamerlan on the ground sought to arrest him. The detectives retreated, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev drove over his sibling, wiring him to the ground, and slammed him with the jeep’s underside, inflicting several fractures and massive internal organ damage. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev then slipped through the barrier and vanished. Even though law enforcement officers rushed the offender to the clinic, Tamerlan Tsarnaev died during the surgery without sense.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and various other public universities were temporarily shuttered as part of the effort to seize Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Dzhokhar was apprehended in Watertown on the evening of April 19. By 2002, the Tsarnaev brothers lived in Makhachkala, Dagestan, where they had earlier relocated from Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan. They entered the United States of America as residents of Kyrgyzstan in 2002, although they were of Chechen ethnicity.
In July 2013, the Boston Marathon bombing court commenced in the United States of America. During the process, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to any of the thirty accusations that have been leveled against him. State Prosecutor Eric Holder asked the court to punish Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with the death penalty. The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev started on January 5, 2015. For months, Tsarnaev’s defenders have been discussing a pre-trial agreement with the authorities. They considered the potential of Tsarnaev confessing to his culpability in return for a life sentence without the chance of release. Nevertheless, it would require the government to drop the death sentence, and the United States of America Attorney general’s Office finally refused to consent to this. The accused was given a copy of the accusation, which Judge George O’Toole read to him. Tsarnaev’s attorneys attempted to portray their client as a gullible sufferer of his elder brother Tamerlan’s influence in order to secure a life sentence for him. Prosecutors, on their part, said that Tsarnaev Jr. was a religious extremist and deadly assassin motivated by anti-American sentiment.
In accordance with the charges, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was announced to be guilty on April 8, 2015, by the tribunal. There had been almost three weeks of evidence and witness testimony before then. The judge was shown images and visual content of the blasts’ consequences. Victims of the bombing attended the procedure in order to share their terrible experiences. The prosecutors described Tsarnaev Junior as a tough assassin who intended to murder American civilians with his brother Tamerlane in vengeance for the United States military’s involvement in Muslim nations. Considering the accusation, Tsarnaev was convicted on thirty counts against him, involving his role in the act of terrorism. He was also convicted of brutally murdering police officer Sean Collier several days after the bombing. The security agencies had already issued pictures of him and his brother as criminals. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty of thirty acts of crimes and sentenced to the death penalty by a state judge on May 15, 2015. He will be given a fatal injection, according to the final decision.
Another figure, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev Katherine Russel, became famous in the case. Law enforcement authorities suspected her of aiding her husband and his brother. The state bodies of the United States of America, in turn, brought the same charges against Katherine Russell as against the Tsarnaev brothers. The defense side, which represented the woman’s interests, stated that she had no idea about the planned terrorist attacks and possessed no relevant information. However, the public and authoritative experts were convinced that Katherine Russell could not help but notice the brothers’ intentions, and she deliberately concealed details about potential crimes.
The American public’s reaction was sharply negative towards the terrorist brothers and extremely sympathetic towards the victims. During the first week after the terrorist attack, the American society, concentrated in the surrounding regions, was subjected to a considerable increase in the level of stress, negativity, and panic (Clark et al. 2089). In addition, since 2001, Islamic extremism has been one of the most troubling issues for Americans, and the Boston Marathon Bombing defined the Tsarnaev brothers as an absolute evil that must be destroyed (Combes 126). The number of victims and killed, coupled with the community’s reaction, became the signs of the presence of problems in the field of state security and the protection of citizens at public events.
To summarize, The Boston Marathon bombing was a horrible terrorist attack that killed three individuals and injured almost three hundred people. Based on the public’s reaction and a large number of victims, it can be concluded that the internal security system has flaws that allowed such an incident to happen. The Tsarnaev brothers and the widow of Tamerlan Katherine were recognized as a total evil, which must be fought in a tough manner.
Works Cited
Clark, Andrew, et al. “The Impact of Terrorism on Individual Well-Being: Evidence from the Boston Marathon Bombing.” The Economic Journal, vol. 130, no. 631, 2020, pp. 2065–2104.
Combes, ML. “Encountering the stranger: Ontological security and the Boston Marathon bombing.” Cooperation and Conflict, vol. 52, no. 1, 2017, pp. 126-143.
Givens, Austen, et al. “Going Global: The International Dimensions of U.S. Homeland Security Policy.” Journal of Strategic Security, vol. 11, no. 3, 2018, pp. 1-34.