Report: Victim helped ID bombing suspect

Bloomberg: A man who lost both legs in the bombing helped describe a suspect to the FBI, aiding the investigation

By David Daley

Contributing Writer

Published April 19, 2013 2:33AM (EDT)

Runners continue to run towards the finish line of the Boston Marathon as an explosion erupts near the finish line.    (Reuters/Dan Lampariello)
Runners continue to run towards the finish line of the Boston Marathon as an explosion erupts near the finish line. (Reuters/Dan Lampariello)

Bloomberg reports an amazing story tonight about Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line.

According to the report, Bauman watched as someone dropped a bag by his feet, and was then able to describe the man to the FBI, helping investigators sift through a massive amount of video and photographs and focus their search.

The story:

Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview.

Two and a half minutes later, the bag exploded, tearing Jeff’s legs apart. A picture of him in a wheelchair, bloodied and ashen, was broadcast around the world as he was rushed to Boston Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee.

“He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, ‘bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,’” Chris Bauman said yesterday in an interview.

Those words may help crack the mystery of who perpetrated one of the highest-profile acts of terror in the U.S. since the 2001 assault on New York City and the Washington area, one that killed three people and wounded scores.

While still in intensive care, Jeff Bauman gave the FBI a description of the man he saw, his brother said. Bauman’s information helped investigators narrow down whom to look for in hours of video of the attack, he said.


By David Daley

David Daley is the author of the new book "Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right's 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections" and the national bestseller "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count." He is the former editor-in-chief of Salon.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Boston Explosion Boston Marathon Boston Marathon Suspects