A young girl cries with her mother during the vigil for eight-year-old Martin Richard
When a pair of bombs exploded on Monday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least three people and injuring more than 140, it left a scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that terrorised the city. Spectators who moments before had been cheering family and friends were knocked to the ground. Blood stained the pavement.
Here are the stories of those affected by Monday's twin bombing
Lu Lingzi: A long way from China
A Boston University graduate student was one of the three people killed in the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the school said on Tuesday.
The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run Chinese newspaper, identified her on Wednesday as Lu Lingzi.
Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings, a Hong Kong-based broadcaster with ties to the Chinese government, said she was from the northe-astern Chinese city of Shenyang and a graduate student in statistics.
In a statement late on Tuesday afternoon, the school said it was not releasing the name or any other information about the student. The Chinese foreign ministry and consulate general in New York did not identify the victim at the request of the family.
The Boston University statement issued mentioned that the student was with two friends who were watching the race at the finish line, not far from campus. One of the friends, also a graduate student at the university, was injured and is at Boston Medical Center in a stable condition.
A team led by Deputy Consul General Ruiming Zhong was in Boston to investigate and assist relatives of the victims, a statement from the consulate said.
The Richards: A family in mourning
Neighbours and friends remembered eight-year-old bombing victim Martin Richard as a vivacious boy who loved to run, climb and play sports like soccer, basketball and baseball.
The boy's father, Bill Richard, released a statement thanking family, friends and strangers for their support following his son's death on Monday. Richard's wife, Denise, and the couple's six-year-old daughter, Jane, also suffered significant injuries in the blasts.
The family were watching Monday's race and had gone to get ice cream before returning to the area near the finish line before the blasts.
Denise Richard works as a librarian at the Neighbourhood House Charter School, where Martin was in grade three and Jane, grade one. Counsellors were being made available to staff and students.
"I just can't get a handle on it," family friend Jack Cunningham said of the boy's death. "In an instant, life changes."
Krystle Campbell: Cheering on friends
Krystle Campbell was a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford, Massachusetts. Her father, 56-year-old William Campbell, described her as "just a very caring, very loving person, and was daddy's little girl".
Campbell had gone to the race with her best friend Karen, whose boyfriend was running in the race, her father said.
"They wanted to take a photograph of him crossing the finish line, but the explosion went off and they were right there," he said. "It's pretty devastating.
The friend suffered a severe leg injury.
"She's very badly hurt, she's all messed up," he said. "Her leg was all destroyed."
Bauman Jr lost both legs
Jeff Bauman Jr, a man pictured in an Associated Press photo from immediately after the blast, lost both his legs as he cheered his girlfriend on in the race. He survived the trauma after people rushed him away from the explosion site in a wheelchair.
Rescuers took the 27-year-old victim to Boston Medical Center, but doctors had to amputate his legs because of extensive vascular and bone damage, a Facebook post from his father said on Tuesday.
"Unfortunately my son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," the elder Jeff Bauman wrote.
The son also had to have more surgery later because of fluid in his abdomen. His condition improved later.
"I just can't explain what's wrong with people today to do this to people," the father wrote. "I'm really starting to lose faith in our country."
Brittany Loring: A birthday gone wrong
Brittany Loring was spending Monday, her 29th birthday, cheering on her friend in the Boston Marathon. A day later, she lay in critical condition with injuries to her head, leg and fingers.
"We've had so many calls. Everybody's just upset over it," grandmother Philomena Loring told the Lowell Sun. "I put her on the prayer line at my church."
Loring is simultaneously pursuing degrees in law and business administration at Boston College. She's also a runner, and finished 80th in the Boston College MBA five kilometre on April 6. – Sapa-AP