Boston Under Siege

I arrived in Boston 12 hours later than I was originally supposed to due to inclement weather in my connecting city. It’s amazing what can happen in just 12 hours: a robbery at a convenience store, followed by a shooting on a college campus, a car chase, a shootout, a few explosions, one dead suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, and another on the loose. When I landed in my connecting city, I had 9 text messages, 2 voicemails, 7 Facebook messages, and 2 tweets. All related to what was happening in Boston. When you’re on a plane and completely disconnected from what’s happening, it’s kind of scary to step said plane and see so many people trying to contact you!

At that point, I found out that Boston was under lockdown–no taxis, no buses, no T; nothing in, nothing out. So here I was, about to board a plane to Boston with no clue if I could even leave the airport.

When I finally arrived in Boston, announcements in the airport stated that taxis were back in service, but that all public transit was still suspended. People were also instructed to not leave their homes or hotels; businesses closed down; schools closed. I hesitantly exited the airport, not knowing what to expect to see in the city, grabbed the first cab I could find.  The cabbie might’ve been the rudest I’ve ever encountered (even worse than in Paris!), he seemed genuinely pissed off that I needed his service. Picked up my bags and literally threw them in the trunk and muttered something under his breath. The whole drive he acted totally exacerbated by my existence, despite my not saying one word to him.

The drive downtown to my hotel was eerie. In all, I probably saw around 25 people on the streets–a few of those were police, and a few were journalists. Inside restaurant windows I could see chairs still flipped upside-down on tabletops, and the shops were all dark. Downtown was literally a ghost town. I’ve never seen Boston so empty before.

When I checked into the hotel, every room received a letter saying that we really shouldn’t leave for our own safety, and that the hotel’s main concern was our safety so they had extra security on staff to take care of us.

I spent the afternoon sitting on a chair glued to the TV just waiting for updates. They were still pursuing the second suspect, going house to house in Watertown, searching every inch of a 20-block radius trying to find him. But they had nothing. I was anxiously awaiting the moment when I’d hear they got him. When the lockdown would be lifted and we’d all be freed of our shackles to explore the city.

Around 6pm, city officials held a press conference saying that they were lifting the lockdown and reinstating all public transportation. They hadn’t found the suspect yet, but they were going to double their efforts and continue the search until they got him. We were assured they’d get him, but were told in the meantime to be vigilant if we were going out.

So finally, a taste of freedom, right? Wrong. No sooner were we told that the lockdown had been lifted did the news start reporting that shots had been fired and police cars were racing to neighborhood where there was a body identified in a boat in a backyard. Again, officials urged people not to leave their homes.

At 8:45pm, the police finally apprehended the suspect and took him  into custody. There was a resounding sigh of relief among the people of the city and a steady round of applause for all the efforts that made the apprehension happen.

Around 4 million people in the Boston metro area were housebound, all waiting anxiously to find out if the powers that be would finally catch this guy. The Economist reported that just that one day cost Boston $333 million. Can you even imagine? Though, one business (or should I say Boston institution) decided to keep their doors open throughout the whole ordeal–Dunkin’ Donuts.

This experience might’ve been one of the most interesting things I’ve found my way in the middle of. My cousin lives just a few minutes where all this was happening and so for the entire day, we were both not only glued to our TVs, but to our phones texting each other with the latest developments. Despite the fact that I lost out on a day in Boston, it was worth it to be here when they finally got the guy and to see the city’s reaction to it. Not only that, but I had a pretty perfect view of the gorgeous city from my hotel room.

Quote from the local news: “Boston stands as one. Boston strong. Boston proud.”