Boston Marathon Attack - an Example of Homegrown Terrorism

Homegrown or domestic terrorism is a terrorist act committed against the citizens or infrastructure of a country. It's often but not always perpetrated by citizens of a nation or a group associated with a locally based movement that espouse extremist ideologies. Such groups or individuals must entirely be operating within a country hence their actions are not influenced by any international forces. The intent of domestic terrorists is usually to intimidate the government. In the United States, this form of terrorism has been common with most of the incidences leading to dire consequences to the victims and the nation. One of such attacks was the Boston Marathon attack which occurred in 2013.

The terrorist attack which lingers in the memories of Boston residents and athletic funs, and stakeholders occurred during the 117th edition of the city’s marathon. On April 15, 2013, devastating twin bombings happened at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 264 others. The event's reverberations continue to be felt by kin and citizens in the city and worldwide. Nearly 75 per cent of the 23,000 athletes that partook that year's race had crossed the finish mark when an explosive that was placed in a bin detonated around 2:50 p.m. causing mayhem.

The catastrophe that involved the explosion of two bombs occurred in 12 seconds. It was an extraordinarily complex set of events that exposed aspects of disaster response and preparedness of distinct stakeholders in Boston City. An intensive search of the suspects was launched immediately. The attack perpetrators were the suspects identified as Tsarnaev brothers. They were arrested on Watertown Street where they engaged the law enforcers in gunfire which left one of them seriously injured while the other fled only to be arrested on the evening of April 19. After intense investigation, the law enforcement agencies established that the two brothers, who had spent their childhoods in the Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan, had no connection with any terrorist group. They had therefore planned and attacked on their own.

Despite the three agencies playing a significant role in promoting homeland security in the United States, they are not part of the Department of Homeland Security. This is because these agencies operate independently hence are not controlled by DHS. The other reason is that their role significantly differs from that of DHS. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, for instance, plays law enforcement agency and domestic intelligence roles. The Central Intelligence Agency is tasked with gathering processing and analyzing national security data from across the globe. According to Johnson andHunter, it helps in informing American leaders of important overseas events and in countering terrorist activities.

References

• Enders, W., Sandler, T., & Gaibulloev, K. (2011). Domestic versus transnational terrorism: Data, decomposition, and dynamics. Journal of Peace Research, 48(3), 319-337.
• Johnson, T. C., & Hunter, R. D. (2017). Changes in homeland security activities since 9/11: an examination of state and local law enforcement agencies’ practices. Police Practice and Research, 18(2), 160-173.
• Marcus, L. J., McNulty, E., & Dorn, B. C. (2015). Crisis meta-leadership lessons learned from the Boston Marathon Bombings response: The ingenuity of swarm intelligence. The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2014: 1-38.