At this year’s Boston Marathon, 12 years after the deadly marathon bombing, law enforcement will be watching “a broad set of potential soft targets for an attack,” according to a bulletin obtained by ABC News.
About 30,000 runners are participating in the April 21 race and another half-million spectators are expected along the route.
According to the bulletin, congested areas where the largest amount of people gather — particularly designated viewing areas — are likely the most vulnerable spots for a mass casualty attack, along with nearby publicly accessible areas, tunnels, pre-event gatherings and post-event celebrations.
A policy change may provide a motivation for an attack, the bulletin said, pointing to marathon organizers allowing runners to select “non-binary” regarding gender.
“Following this announcement, individuals posting content consistent with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism posted online calling for an attack on the 2023 Boston Marathon, according to an organization that tracks violent extremist activity online,” the bulletin said. “Some of these individuals called for an attack similar to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.”
Three people were killed and hundreds were injured by the powerful explosives detonated near the finish line during the 2013 marathon.
There are also symbolic anniversaries that coincide with the timing of the Boston Marathon, including the holidays of Easter, Ramadan and Passover, as well as anniversaries of prior attacks that occurred in the third week of April: the Columbine High School shooting massacre on April 20, 1999; the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995; the Branch Davidians’ compound fire in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993; and Adolf Hitler’s birthday on April 20.