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Jesus: Police clear area around finish line after discovery of backpacks; firefighters, EMTs summoned just in case

Suspicious backpack

UPDATE: Kayvon Edson faces a variety of charges in Boston Municipal Court following his arrest at the finish line.

Boylston Street was shut at the Marathon finish line tonight after police found two unattended backpacks - not long after a barefoot man dressed like a Southern belle in mourning danced his way up the street with a backpack on, yelling "Boston Strong."

People in nearby buildings were told to shelter in place and stay away from windows. The Green Line started skipping Copley - until shortly before the bomb squad decided to detonate one of the backpacks, when all Green Line service was halted completely.

The activity did little to calm the nerves of people remembering the one-year anniversary of the Marathon bombings.

Kim works at Marathon Sports, scene of one of last year's explosions, reports employees huddled down in the basement, added that at least they had beer.

Police quickly detained Southern Belle man, and at first held him at the library to await questioning by the bomb squad. Here he is dancing up Boylston shortly before 7 p.m.:

Backpack up close, by Catalani:

Backpack closeup

Catalani photographed one of the backpacks being inspected by a robot around 8 p.m.:

robot

Around 8:30 p.m., police pushed people even further away from the scene than Exeter Street and asked the MBTA to halt all Green Line service to await detonation of at least one of the backpacks.

Around 9 p.m., the bomb squad blew up a backpack. They may have blown up the second around 9:40 p.m.

Randy Falandys reports after the first detonation:

Looks like backpack debris after detonation was of an American flag.

David Finnerty reports Marathon hero Carlos Arredondo continued to pose for photos down the street.

A planned service at Old South Church continued, but around 8:15 p.m., police had to go in the church to get people away from windows on the Boylston Street side.

Joseph McMahon photographed the scene around 7:30 p.m.:

Boylston scene
Neighborhoods: 


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Comments

You took the words right out of my mouth....

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I wonder if that, first of it's kind, security camera system is already operable? If so, I imagine the authorities will have plenty of photographs of the oxygen thief that left it there.

Edit: evidently instagrammers caught the guy on camera before the authorities.

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To bring a black back pack anywhere near the finish line, let along leave it there unattended?

If I didn't have teenagers, I wouldn't think that this level of unconsciousness and stupidity was even achievable.

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Hey, I own a black backpack, don't hate.

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I own a black backpack too, but I'm nowhere near stupid enough to leave it near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

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I hope that Conley drags out every single applicable statute in the General Laws to throw against the unbelievably insensitive prick who thought this might be funny or thought s/he would make some kind of "statement".

I also hope that the idiot is billed every last cent for the emergency response. This kind of crap is not funny and it not right.

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Watch the video.

Does he look like he's fully mentally-abled and free of any chemical substances? I don't think so. He's stumbling, speech sounds odd, etc.

Wouldn't you look like a royal jackass if the guy turns out to be developmentally disabled and someone else put him up to it. Or if he was drunk or high, and someone put him up to it, etc.

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And? Still the same-lock him away.. Simple you see

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Punishing people for something has the effect of causing other people to think about the possible consequences before doing the same thing. People who are bat-shit crazy don't think about consequences. Punishing people who are bat-shit crazy does pretty much nothing to deter other bat-shit crazy people; there's really hardly any point in it.

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This guy's actions were way too well thought out and organized. He may be bipolar, but that ain't going to buy him much in court - this took considerable planning and intention. It will be interesting to see what his legal counsel does with this.

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Deeply mentally disturbed people aren't always gibbering incompetents. I'm pretty sure what John Hinckley, Jr. did took some careful planning and intention, but the court agreed he was a stark, raving loon who deserved to be locked up in a mental institution rather than prison. And bipoloar disorder can be a decidedly non-trivial mental health issue: sufferers in the manic phase can become psychotic, quite disconnected from reality. The insanity defense is rarely mounted anymore, but it does occasionally succeed.

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If he has a disability, then he may need and get some leniency.

If he's drunk or high and someone put him up to it, he's still an asshat who deserves prison, fines and infamy. You don't get to excuse your behavior because you chose to get impaired.

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"You don't get to excuse your behavior because you chose to get impaired"

You're right that it doesn't 'excuse' it, but if you're drunk or high to the point where you are incapable of understanding what you're doing is illegal or morally wrong...that most certainly factors into how you're prosecuted and sentencing if you're convicted.

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The guy can't do this without consequences.

Yeah, there are probably issues with the guy, but excusing actions because of chemical imbalances or whatnot is part of what's wrong around here.

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First, I wish to note that at the time I read the thread, the video had either not yet been posted by adamg, or I did not recognize it as a video (as opposed to a still that showed nothing, and in any event, I had not seen the video prior to posting my comment).

Second, while I will admit that the pack this person in the video is wearing looks like that which is shown in the other pictures, I have no reason to know whether they are the same, and whether the individual in the video has anything to do with the pack pictured at the finish line.

With respect to your other contentions, others have already covered why being drunk or high, rather than being exculpatory, is probably an aggravating aspect from a moral standpoint.

With respect to developmental disability or other mental incapacity, I am not an expert in that field, but the pack placement, all-black outfit and "Boston Strong" chanting do not suggest to me that this person (if in fact it was s/he who placed the pack) acted without the capacity required to form the intent to place the pack in that very meaningful and non-random location. On the contrary, it seems like the work of the type of person I originally alluded to - either someone thinking s/he is a joker or someone trying to make a "statement".

I stand by my original comment.

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(c) Whoever willfully communicates or causes to be communicated such a threat thereby causing either the evacuation or serious disruption of a school, school related event, school transportation, or a dwelling, building, place of assembly, facility or public transport, or an aircraft, ship or common carrier, or willfully communicates or causes serious public inconvenience or alarm, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 3 years nor more than 20 years or imprisonment in the house of correction for not less than 6 months nor more than 21/2 years, or by fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $50,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Might apply but a strict reading would probably mean he had to communicate the backpack was a explosive device. But after what happened last year, I'm sure the prosecution could argue the intent was there.

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This young man looks like the son of Otho from Beetle Juice and Lady Gaga. Poor bastard is not going to have a good few years ahead of him. Stealing the Codfish in the State House is a college prank. This today was lunacy.

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He's from Wakefield, near Reading where I'm from.

His real name is probably Kevin Edson and I knew a few of the Edson clan as a kid.

They were big guys, one was a Vietnam War vet. I wonder if one had a son.

This is too sophomoric for Museum School.

But the "Studio of Interrelated Media" used to be a regular conveyor belt for ridiculous idiot art school pests.

I don't even know if it's still a curriculum element but this is the sorta stupid shit they'd dream up.

Apropos of lock him up.. absolutely.

He'll probably love the attention.

And I'd bet Paranoid Schizophrenia will be a likely plea if the mental health advocates with hair trigger comment reflexes are wondering.

Also, too.. what...an..idiot!!!.

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While I won't comment on Kayvon's actions it is incredibly unfair to make a blanket judgement on the SIM students at MassArt. The students here work hard and do amazing work every day and it's unfair to judge on the actions of a classmate.

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Y'all think this ones legit? Seems like it may be?

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I was just there 10 minutes before it taking a picture at the finish line. I stopped in Starbucks for a drink and then heard all the sirens and thought "hmm, that's eerily creepy hearing those on Boylston today" but thought nothing of it. Then I went down into Back Bay and was waiting for a train when I saw the news (actually courtesy of the uHub Twitter feed). You broke the story first before any stations! I had plenty of time to start researching because the Orange Line is royally f'ed up tonight.

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I first heard about this on Facebook, and once again, the first thing I did was head here. Great reporting.

Seriously, Adam, do you have the scanners on 24/7?

So, we know it was the guy dancing around with the hoopskirt? If so, crazy. As much as I want to respect the anniversary of the event, the fact that the bombing site seems to have become an ad-hoc tourist attraction today seems to be doing everything but.

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That is all.

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At 800 pm , Maria the Fox told us the BPD called and told the news stations to stop live broadcasting, as the bomb robot was in place ready to annihilate the backpack , and they didn't want it shown live.

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At least we know the system works when there isn't a crowd.

This is not funny.

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Cops have Boylston to Exeter blocked but they seem laid back. All they will say is they dont know what is going on.

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Meant Dartmouth to Exeter

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No doubt after the past year of the bomb squad riding around blowing up anything they can (including backpacks that cops will move before the bomb squad shows up) there can be no doubt that the terrorists, just as with 9/11 have succeeded. Sure, the community and country bonded after both events respectively, but in each instance the bad guys accomplished their missions and much more.

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They win only if we let them win. I, for one, choose not to let them win. I hope your opinion changes soon because it sounds like you're not too far away from letting them win.

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I think most people are ok with the bomb squad taking care of the business left behind from some mentally unstable person doing something as inappropriate as leaving a large mimic backpack at the finish line a year after a real tragedy.

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Marathon is still on. That's not a loss.

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Predictable that this anniversary would bring the "the terrorists win" pontificators out of the woodwork, all ready to sit on their asses and sneer down their noses at anything that anybody else is doing. You're having a memorial? Bzzt, the terrorists win. There are cops around? Shazam, the terrorists win. People are being discouraged from bringing backpacks and strollers to the Marathon? Holy Hannah, the terrorist win. Can one, just ONE of you crapmongers get off your high horse for the thirty seconds required to explain just WHAT "the terrorists" are "winning", and just what proof you have (apart from your own gasbag assertions) that they are, in fact, winning it.

As an alternative, you could suck down a dose of humility, stop being an obnoxious armchair quarterback, and stop second-guessing everyone else.

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I can recall a bunch of bomb-squad closures in the years prior for stupid stuff, too- in particular, an improperly disposed VCR that shut down Kenmore Square around 2009.

The issue is people- instead of using their common sense (Gee, there's wires sticking out of that VCR shaped thing in the trash pile, maybe it's a VCR), they call the police. Or instead of using their common sense and properly disposing of their VCR, they smash it and throw it in a curbside trash pile with the wires dangling out suspiciously.

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....the never ending Carlos Arredondo show needs to finally wrap it up. Not down playing his actions from a year ago one bit but cmon dude, enough w the attention-whore parade. ....seriously.

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Well, if you don't care for Carlos or his actions or his sacrifices, judging by your screen name, I'm sure you can find plenty of real heroes on either Bravo or the E Channel....seriously.

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Maybe if you walked through the shitstorm he's gone through since his son went to Iraq, maybe you could talk. But like you say, someone's gotta be a jerk.

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I'm with you - he's kinda milking it at this point. And I don't think that's insensitive to say. He wasn't wounded.

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He just saw a bunch of people get blown apart by a bomb, have their legs blasted off. Instead of running away, he did what he could to help.

Yeah, carrying off people with their legs blown away while holding their femoral arteries so they don't bleed out doesn't leave a mark, though. Nope, no potential for injury there.

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Carlos Arredondo is (not surprisingly) invited to attend the memorial.

Someone asks -- can I get a picture with you?

What is he supposed to do?

Say "sure" -- or say "bugger off"?

But its so easy to take anonymous potshots...

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And the petty sniping about whether he's an attention tart speaks volumes to the stinking petty jealousies that make this place such a ridiculous backwater.

And if we needed any more proof, the art school jackass steps out with a long black veil and a kettle full of confetti almost on cue to exemplify yet another facet of this hick problem.

Making it big being small.

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... than jack-offs -- but the latter make a lot more noise (and won't ever shut up). And it so much easier to be a schmuck when posting anonymously online than talking trash (identifiably) in public (not that most jerks like this aren't obnoxious in person as well -- at least when accompanied by enough like-minded buddies).

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..it's one of the place's saving graces.

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I first heard of Carlos the day of the bombings when an acquaintance started ranting on FB about Carlos and his wife. She had personal beef, something about ruining some mutual family member. HOWEVER, this same acquaintance has also made other left-field accusations about public figures, such as claiming an elected official made up a story about being assaulted in his/her youth.

And, yes, anyone that the TV news pumps up I tend to be dubious of. However, having seen him a few times over the year, and met him in person, not a whiff of pompousness nor manipulation. I spotted him at the Dorchester Day Parade last year and asked him to take a picture with my son, and he took a couple, without hesitation.

I think for many he is a walking, living antidote to the hatred and fear that we saw in the bombings... while the police response may have been brave and necessary, it doens't make us feel good about humanity the way Carlos does, not only from his actions that day but his work prior and since. So, I'm willing to bet he gets an endless stream of photo requests.

here's the photo:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151513436122762&l=b7c005e5b0

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Nah, no attention whoring.

Just a man that lost a son in a time of war. Then a second son that was so distraught he killed himself. I think the man has bigger needs in life than the pretty frequent news clips we've seen of him. I would figure these events are helping him heal and not feel as distraught as he once was.

But, that's all just my wild guess.

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a lot of his time to Veteran groups and the Red Cross as well. Its why he was where he was last year.

I'm sure he doesn't mind the attention if funnels more attention back into the causes that he's found meaning in after the tragedy in his life.

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good point, I hadn't really thought of it that way. it just seems weird to me when he's there without Jeff Bauman. I know he's a big part of the narrative, and a recognizable hero now, but it still feels weird for him to show up in his cowboy hat and be the star and lead a bunch of people who have actually lost limbs when he wasn't himself hurt or wounded. There was another girl there that day that helped Bauman get to safety, the girl in the photo who is pushing his wheelchair, who has never sought credit or attention from this,and who, to my knowledge, doesn't go to the survivor events. I don't question his motives or that he's a good well-intentioned human being, but I wonder what happens when the media attention finally does die down. I hope he's able to find plenty of fulfilling and healing things in his life besides the attention for being a "survivor".

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... of Carlos's volunteer activities.

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Carlos was not a Marathon medical volunteer, as the woman who pushed the wheelchair, but someone who jumped in when the first bomb went off, ran towards instead of running away, a "first responder" who helped save the life of Jeff Bauman by tying tourniquets around his leg or legs, which were blown apart. He witnessed horrors that none of us, I would say, would want to witness first hand (never mind dealing with the death of a son in Iraq and the other from suicide, which is horrific enough).

No, he was not wounded but does it matter? Perhaps, he did not think of his own life as he rushed back towards the explosion. And he helped save a life. He is a hero.

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I kind of understand what you're saying, but given this guy's recent past, and the fact that he seems to have channeled his grief and sadness into some very positive activities (I was reminded of why he was on the marathon route that day when someone mentioned all the volunteer work.) I'm prepared to cut him a lot of slack.

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He's a savior. My understanding is he was really stanching the blood for Bauman. Quite possibly saved his life. I'll be honest, i don't love the cowboy hat but as long as Jeff Bauman stands by him, he's ok in my book.

Hell, I'd like to see him write a book or get a cheesy reality show and make some money. (Not that i think that's his motivation, and I don't know him from Adam)

But seriously , Kardashians and Baby Boo-Boo brood are getting rich and all the other shenanigans going on and Carlos is your beef?

More power to him, I say!

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its clear u were not around when the bombing last year. im sure you were at work, but hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion I suppose

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https://www.facebook.com/kayvonedson

High school classmates identifying this guy with lots of pro tsarnaev fb posts

http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/all-signs-point-to-this...

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I thought the comments here were a cesspool, but check out how many times homophobic slurs are used.

Unbelievable.

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I know this is not a cool sentiment to have, but the media coverage of this anniversay is getting to be a bit much. It's unavoidable right now. I understand this is just the first year memorial, but is this going to happen every year? If so, I think I'm leaving the city. There's a line between memorial and awareness, and exploitation that is very thin. The media is milking this every way it can. I can't begin to speak for the families of the victims, but this has to be overwhelming for them as well. Moving on doesn't have to mean forgetting, but it doesn't have to mean immersing yourself in it either. People who weren't even personally affected by it - and I mean had a role in it, or had a loved one with a direct role in it - are taking this on as their personal tragedy. It's just, I don't know. I know it's insensitive, and it's not directed at anyone who was personally affected that day, and I know but enough already with the "Boston strong" and the memorial ribbons and the "we'll run again" and all these marketing slogans implying that anyone who lives in the city, knows someone who lives in the city, or has ever run a marathon was somehow devastated by this.

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Don't get me wrong, I read where you are coming from. My guess is that for those not involved, this will eventually die down. By September 11, 2008 you knew the date (heck, people just call the events by the date anyway) but not much unless you had a connection. Someday April 15, 2013 might be one of those dates like November 28, 1942, or even March 5, 1770 for the people of Boston. And yes, you will have to look those up.

It was the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster today. 96 dead, scores wounded. 30,000 turned out for the 20th anniversary at Anfield. So, the future depends on how the public approaches it.

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1942 was Coconut Grove, I think. And the 1770 date is either the Tea Party or the Boston Massacre.

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Massacre

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Not sure about tea party.

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If we're still doing this 5 years from now, I will agree. But it's only been a year, so give people some slack.

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You just showed the world how to turn disorderly conduct into terrorism with a hoax device.

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I wonder if Biden thought it was worth it.

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You are fucking kidding me. Who the hell does that?

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Well, an only slightly better than Brian Ross of ABC News level of research indicates that this is who the hell does that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYXbBjRvJyc

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I have seen the future of terrorism....and it is the offspring of Rip Taylor and Truman Capote?

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Edson's Facebook page

WBZ reports the man arrested tonight near the two backpacks left at the Marathon finish line is Kayvon Edson - and that one of the backpacks contained a rice cooker filled with confetti.

Edson is from Wakefield. Following his arrest, most of the photos on his Facebook page were deleted.

From a deleted, but still cached entry from his blog page today:

Edson's Blog page

Michael Ratty provides this video of one of the explosions:

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As a duly-authorized representative of Suffolk County, I declare this young man PERSONA NON GRATA!

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Can't send him to a penal colony...

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I'm always amused how they think deleting things locally means they go away.

They don't understand caching broadcast mediums.

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I mean I get it, right? It's a feeble attempt to make a comment on the backlash that happens after we are threatened. A misguided attempt to embody some form of institutional critique, but it falls flat. I feel what he is trying to say though, I feel the anger and the frustration at system that is so caught up in trying to protect its citizens that we throw our rights away with the friday trash. But, there is no answer here. And this definitely doesn’t go about creating a conversation in which we can find ourselves reflexively questioning what it means to be here in this city now. It is using the system, tragedy, and (attempted) satire as a medium, but it does nothing to highlight or question any of those components. There is no new information, no new thought, no new feeling in its contents. Its acting against the system the way a teenager acts against its parents. As art It is transparent and disrespectful. It is perpetuating the problems that it wishes to critique with no regard for the people involved.

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I'll try to help you out. The point is, it's not about what you people think, it's all about MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

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I KNOW THIS GUY. HE IS COMPLETELY INSANE.

Also, he works with kids -- teaching them "art", in Woburn I think.

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Do tell us.. :) inquiring minds want to know...

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He sometimes wears a hat that looks like he just killed a raccoon and he put that mangled carcass on his head, and he has these ridiculous shoes I've seen him wear that curve up to a point two feet from his toes. I've worked a job on the side at a JoAnn craft store, and would see him all the time. More recently, I saw him on the commuter rail a couple times when I was commuting via Melrose. Everyone who knows him thinks he's just very odd. I guess I'm really not surprised by this turn of events, when I think about it.

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So his fashion choices make him insane?
Do you have any evidence of odd behavior to classify him as 'odd'? I'm not trying to defend him or anything, but an art student wearing clothing one would find 'weird' is called my daily commute on the B line, and not exactly a qualifier for insanity.

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Everything about him just came off a bit weird. The way he would present himself, the way in which he would communicate, the way he would act. It all seemed slightly "off" -- but never to the point where he seemed like a threat or anything like that. He seems more a threat to himself than to anyone else.

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By the way... getting this guy's name out there is EXACTLY what he wants. He was desperate for this, and probably thinks he'll be making his "big break" into the art world, now. Don't share his work. And try not to even mention his name. Seriously, just don't do it.

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there is no winning with these types either way. all we can hope is that society never ever sees him again

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getting this guy's name out there is EXACTLY what he wants.

Well, it's out there. So is Rosie Ruiz's. What's she been up to lately?

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should have gotten the trophy. Anybody who can make such good time on the Green Line on Marathon Monday deserves it.

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Check out 1:24 of that "Purgatory Vacation" video. He's wearing that same stupid hat/veil thing when he was arrested.

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Please pick me for the jury! I'm impartial, I swear!

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ask questions later. you wanna be "boston strong"? shoot assholes like this that can be a public threat onsite. you want to chase this asshole thru the city and into some shitty little town where the whole world has to stop while he is hunted down? TAKE THE GUY OUT!

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You want to shoot anyone who "can be a public threat". I consider that a greater threat to the public than some dumbass wannabe performance artist.

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i should have been more specific. THIS asshole should should have been shot on site. he knew he was surrounded by traumatized victims from last year, didnt give a shit. he knew no backpacks at finish line, didnt give a shit. he has posted things showing he was pleased with last years turn of events. he seems to have some kind of schoolboy crush on the coward that ran over his brother and hid in a boat. the city was warned, he knew what his little "performance art" would do. it would scare the shit out of a lot of people that are trying to fix lives broken by some other little boy with a warped sense of reality. fuck him, he should have died in the middle of Boylston Street last night.

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I can't help but think shooting someone dead in the midst of a group of survivors might have added at least an equal amount of trauma to what actually happened last night.

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would it have been less traumatic to see dead bodies and limbs strewn across copley square again? i say shoot him until you run out of fucking bullets. let all the future asshole/art students/off the meds folks have something to think about when they think its their turn to be star of the day.

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IMAGE(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130416115722-martin-richard-peace-sign-story-top.jpg)

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i really cant get the image of that poor kid out of my head and i think thats why im reacting so angrily today.i have 3 yr old and 6yr old boys and i cant start to imagine the pain that poor family suffers everyday. thanks for pulling me back in swirly.rip martin.

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let all the future off the meds folks have something to think about

Those "meds" are usually required for the "off the meds folks" to think clearly.

But look at me telling you your business...

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He put confetti in a rice cooker. Soooo you'd be saving those with some confetti on them. That's a really good reason to spend life in prison yourself, right? He's an idiot, sure, a misguided "artist", and should get a good fine and some probation. Does not warrant another killing. I'd hate to ask who else you think deserves to have their life ended. I really hope you don't have kids, 'cause kids from about 10 to 24 they do stupid stuff all the time.

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it hadnt been confetti?

and yes i have kids and i dont think im going to have to kill them. i was not suggesting some vigilante shoot this guy down on boylston st, i do think BPD had every right to do whatever needed to be done to protect the city. i think the mayor agrees.

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Alright, well, start packing. The BPD just determined the best way to protect the city is if nobody is allowed in or out of it.

What? That's ONE solution that is completely sufficient at solving the problem of safety. Think about it...zero murder rate (nobody killing or being killed), zero terrorists, zero crime.

But it's obviously not necessary. So, we need to find the minimum that is both necessary and sufficient. Killing him in the street does not further us to that end.

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First thing I can think of is if the shooter missed. Those bullets don't stop traveling just because you miss your target. One of the most important rules of shooting is knowing what's beyond your target. This is stressed in the Massachusetts pistol safety classes us gun owners are required to take.

Second thing I can think of: There was no way to know if he was actually wired with more possible explosives. Shooting this guy may have set them off if that were the case.

Possible third problem: What if he weren't acting alone? Killing the guy would have left us without any clue on who else to pursue.

Now, if the BPD weren't so careful, and happened to overlook his head hitting the car door on the way in to the back seat of the car...

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(like what the FBI did to that guy in Florida?)

I prefer the court system -- which this idiot will have plenty of time to experience.

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Are you kidding me? Extrajudicial killings are awesome for the police. They get to blame all their cold cases on that person. "Oh, yeah, he confessed to all of it. And then he happened to lunge at us, so now he's dead and you can't get his side of the story. But trust us on this, that's exactly what happened. 'Cause he told us. And we're the good guys, so you should believe us 100 percent'.

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Wall, based on what the owner of Wai Kru (spelling?) had to say about him, it doesn't seem unlikely that he would have flared into a hot temper and try to fight someone who was interrogating him.

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