One Boston Day Marks Ninth Anniversary Of 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings
BOSTON (CBS) – Friday is One Boston Day, marking nine years since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attended a wreath-laying at the two memorials on Boylston Street.
There was a moment of silence before the bells at Old South Church rang at 2:49 p.m., the time the first bomb exploded near the finish line, on April 15, 2013.
Krystle Campbell, Martin Richard and Lingzi Lu were killed in the attacks and MIT Officer Sean Collier was murdered during the manhunt for the bombers.
Boston Police officer Dennis Simmonds suffered a head injury during a shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers and died almost a year later.
"It's a horrible, terrible tragedy and I'll tell you something," Gov. Baker told reporters. "The silver lining of all this for me was the number of people who came out and ran the next year – the biggest crowd they ever had."
It's the very reason why a Lexington couple decided to run for the Lingzi Lu Foundation to honor the 23-year old bombing victim.
"Let people know, we are not afraid of those terrorists," said Yanling Zhang. "We are united, we are brave. Boston people are strong."
In the spirit of unity, One Boston Day celebrates how the city can come together in the face of tragedy one act of kindness at a time.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu started the day planting and cleaning up a school, then a church.
"We will have a chance once again to really showcase to the entire world what makes Boston so incredible," she said.
At Big Night Live, Justin Carter was one of many who decided to give back by donating blood.
"I know there's always a blood shortage, so I try to give when I can," Carter told WBZ-TV. "I know it helps so much and it takes very little time out of my day."
It didn't cost much, but a bit of his time – showing how a kind gesture no matter how big or small can go a long way.
One Boston Day began back in 2015, with the goal of taking a negative event and turning it into a positive one. Then-Mayor Marty Walsh saw the anniversary as an opportunity for the people of Boston to spread goodwill and give back to the community. For more information, visit onebostonday.org.
