by Christopher Dickey, The Daily Beast
Law-enforcement officials say they have no doubt that the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon this afternoon were bombs, possibly placed in mailboxes, garbage cans or hidden in some other fashion. Officials at the scene say two people are dead and 22 injured.
As rescue workers, bystanders, and runners rushed to try to help the wounded in the immediate aftermath, Boston shut down cell-phone service. Several cities have put their police forces on alert.
In New York, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne, as many as 100 of the Critical Vehicle Response (CRV) police cars often seen on drills around the city, and always kept at the ready, were put in motion for immediate deployment to landmarks, hotels and other possible targets of terrorist attack.
"These are some of the precautions we are taking until we can learn more," said Browne.
In Washington, NBC reports, streets around the White House have been closed to traffic.
For the moment, no group or individual is being ruled out as the possible source of the attack, which could be the work of an individual, a group, or an organization. Although suspicion inevitably and immediately falls on radical jihadists, because of the record of the last many years, the police are painfully aware that there are no shortage of people capable of building bombs. Those terrorists with agendas that range from animal rights to national liberation movements, religious zealots and criminals taking revenge.
Cain has generated reporting and will reach out to travelers/administrators of those that reflect a hotel booking in Boston tonight to determine if we can be of added assistance.