Ten years after two homemade bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, today, Saturday, the city will remember this dark moment with prayers for the dead and actions that show enduring community spirit.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who first ran for city council when the tragedy struck, will gather families of the victims to lay wreaths at memorial sites. There will then be a short ceremony at the finish of the marathon during which the bells will ring and a moment of silence will follow.

The 127th Boston Marathon will take place on Monday.

“Since then, I have spoken to many members of the community, families who have been forever traumatized and who carry that trauma with them to this day,” said Wu, who on that day people with feelings of “confusion, fear and shock because of this was going on” infiltrated her campaign offices.

“In that moment, the whole world saw how Boston came together, and to this day we still carry the hallmark of resilience and strength,” the mayor of the city added.

Three people died and more than 260 were injured when two pipe bombs planted by Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev exploded at the finish of the marathon. The dead were Lu Lingzhi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China, Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford, Massachusetts, and 8-year-old Martin Richard, who came to watch the marathon with his family.

During an intense four-day hunt that paralyzed the city, police officer Sean Collier was shot dead in his car. A second police officer, Dennis Simmonds, also died a year later after being wounded in a clash with terrorists.

Police arrested the bloodied and injured Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston suburb of Watertown, where he was hiding in a boat “parked” in the yard, hours after his brother’s death. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a shootout with police.

“I think we are still living in those tragic days 10 years ago,” said Bill Evans, former Boston Police Commissioner.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death, and all his legal efforts in recent years have been focused on trying to avoid execution.

The decision of the federal appeals court in the 29-year-old man’s case has been expected since January last year, but the decision has not yet been made.

Initially, an appeals court rejected Tsarnaev’s 2020 death sentence, saying the judge failed to properly check the jury for possible bias. However, last year the US Supreme Court restored the verdict.

The explosion not only united Boston – “Boston strong” became the city’s slogan – but also inspired many runners and encouraged many of those affected by the terrorist attack to take part in the marathon.

Source: Associated Press.