More than two days after the unthinkable struck Boston, authorities still don’t have answers to the questions of “who?” and “why?”
In just seconds on Monday, two bombs injured hundreds of people and took three innocent lives. The FBI is coordinating the search for a perpetrator, scouring information from retailers’ security cameras, bystanders’ smartphones and other devices in a search for evidence.
“No doubt, this is a massive effort and no resource will be spared,” said Michael Vatis, a partner at law firm Steptoe and Johnson who has served security agencies including the FBI and Department of Justice.
The FBI reported some progress late Tuesday, with authorities saying that the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon were likely heavy, carried to the scene in dark nylon bags, and fashioned out of pressure cookers packed with shrapnel to make them more lethal.
Vatis said Washington is canvasing all intelligence nationally and internationally. They are talking to confidential informants in various groups. Searches for domestic information on extremists in the U.S. are also being coordinated.
Law enforcement agencies have contracts with data mining companies. Once there is a lead, those data mining companies will scan thousands of individual profiles in search for answers.
- Reuters contributed to this report.
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