At least 134 runners from Greater Cincinnati and four from West Chester were listed as entrants in Monday’s Boston Marathon. Many have been reported safe, as friends and family continue trying to reach others.
According to the Associated Press on Tuesday morning, the bombs took the lives of three, including an 8-year-old boy, and wounded more than 140 others.
House Speaker John Boehner of West Chester issued the following statement Monday evening after ordering flags over the U.S. Capitol to be lowered to half-staff out of respect for the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy.
Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15. Photo taken by Charles Krupa for the AP.
“Words cannot begin to express our sorrow for the families who are grieving so suddenly right now,” Boehner said in a statement. “The House of Representatives offers its prayers to the victims and the city of Boston. We also give thanks for the professionals and good Samaritans who prevented further loss of life. This is a terrible day for all Americans, but we will carry on in the American spirit, and come together with grace and strength.”
Tony Delnoce of West Chester said that his wife, Robin and three West Chester residents – Paul and Maureen Heintz and J. Jill Cummins – were all safe. Paul Heintz is the owner of Mojo Running in Olde West Chester.
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The first bomb went off within 20 minutes of Robin Delnoce crossing the finish line. She was walking back to her hotel room at the Marriott Copley when she heard the explosion.
“She was unintelligible. She was very rattled, shaken by the whole experience,” Tony Delnoce said of reaching his wife by cell phone.
Delnoce said he has attended the marathon twice to route his wife on but didn’t go this year. She has participated in five Boston Marathons, he said.
Understanding how the families are lined up along the route there and understanding the explosion came from a building alongside I’d be willing to bet the bulk of the runners are OK and the runners families took the brunt of the injuries,” he said.
Boston police and marathon organizers have a strong presence at the event, he said.
“I can’t begrudge the City of Boston or the marathon organizers. They do a good job,” Delnoce said.
“If a bomb goes off in a hotel next to the finish line where nobody can get in to a hotel room to check it out, I can see where that can be a problem.
The couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Abby, said she talked to her mom by phone after she heard the news of the explosions from her father.
“Whenever she answered, she was crying,” Abby said. “I said, ‘I wish I was with you,’ and she said, ‘No, I wish I was with you.’”
Sheila McLaughlin and Associated Press contributed to this report