The eight year old boy who was mercilessly killed at the Boston Marathon has been
identified
as Martin Richard. Martin was in attendance in order to watch his
father race; he was waiting at the finish line so that he could give his
father a hug.
Martin was
accompanied
by his mother, brother and sisters. After the explosions, his mother
and six year old sister were taken to a hospital to be treated for serious
injuries. It has been
reported that his mother underwent surgery for an injury to the brain and his sister suffered the loss of a leg.
Friends of the family congregated together at a Dorchester
Restaurant
on Monday night. Martin’s father, William Richard, has been described
as a Dorchester community leader. “They are beloved by this community.
They contribute in many ways. That’s why you see this outpouring,”
Ayanna Pressley, City Councilor at Large, said. “It’s surreal, it’s
tragic, it’s incomprehensible. Everyone here tonight is trying to
comfort one another and be prayerful,” she added.
The Richard family resides in the tight knit Ashmont-Adams neighborhood where both of Martin’s parents are
well known
for being for their civic involvement. Bill served as board chairman of
the St. Mark’s Area Main Street group as well as having been one of the
catalysts behind the transformation of Peabody Square. The family is
also involved in little league baseball, soccer and their church, St.
Ann’s parish, in Neponset.
Jim Keefe, a close friend of the family, who also lives in the
Ashmont area, was also at the marathon; his two sons, Nick and James,
ran
in the event. Jim explained that his son Nick had just crossed the
finish line on Boylson Street when he, “heard this earth shattering
boom. I turned and saw this plume and then I heard a second boom, just
as loud and earth shattering.” He also communicated that he, “almost
blacked out from fear.”
Martin Richard is being
remembered as an exuberant boy who enjoyed running and climbing.
