Tuesday, the one year anniversary of the deadly bombings at last year's Boston Marathon, was supposed to be a day of healing and triumph.
It mostly was.
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But Tuesday evening the area near the marathon's finish line was evacuated after two suspicious packages were spotted sitting on the ground in much the same manner as the makeshift bombs that killed three people, inured more than 200 others and sparked a massive manhunt at the 2013 race.
Police taped off the area, just after 7 p.m. ET according to local news reports. Photographers from one local TV station said they saw a man with a backpack screaming "Boston Strong" -- the rallying cry that survivors and supporters adopted last year -- before police evacuated the area.
Boston TV reporter Sarah French posted this video to Instagram, showing the suspicious man witnesses say left the at least one of the backpacks near the marathon finish line.
Boston police used Twitter to tell people to stay away from the area and give updates on bomb squad investigators:
#BPDPublicSafetyAlert: Boylston St has been closed & MBTA Green Line service temporarily suspended. Community members asked to avoid area.— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 15, 2014
#BPDPublicSafetyAlert: #BPD Bomb Squad still on scene in the area of Marathon Finish Line investigating call for 2 unattended backpacks.— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 15, 2014
Meanwhile, media on-hand posted more photo updates:
RT @magicofpi: Closeup of the backpack in question at the marathon finish line. pic.twitter.com/Q4VR7u3h7m— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) April 15, 2014
The #Boston PD Bomb Squad is suiting up to check out a suspicious backpack left near the marathon finish line. pic.twitter.com/uCeZfpT7eQ— David Meyers (@davidfmeyers) April 15, 2014
Local TV reporter Ryan Schulteis posted this video of a bomb squad investigator approaching the suspicious packs:
Just after 8:15 p.m. ET, Boston police confirmed a suspect had been taken into custody.
This is a photo of the man taken into custody, according to New England Cable News (NECN) reporter Kathryn Sotnik:
Shot of man who was taken into custody wearing all black, a black veil prior to being taken in, and no shoes. @NECN pic.twitter.com/8QOY4M1Tc0— Kathryn Sotnik (@kathrynsotnik) April 16, 2014
Just before 9 p.m. ET, police detonated at least one of the backpacks, according to reports from the scene:
Huge explosion. Police have detonated backpack.— Jim Armstrong (@JimArmstrongWBZ) April 16, 2014
Ugh, that sound. Here. Today.— Jim Armstrong (@JimArmstrongWBZ) April 16, 2014