Eleven Kirkland residents were registered for the Boston Marathon, which was the location of at least two bomb explosions this afternoon, according to the Boston Athletic Association, which hosts the marathon.
The New York Times reported the Boston Police Department said that “a series of bombs exploded near the finish line” at the marathon, “leaving two people dead and more than a dozen injured.”
Later reports from CNN have confirmed three deaths, including an 8-year-old boy, with more than 170 people with injuries.
President Barack Obama addressed the nation Monday afternoon and vowed justice would be served to whomever responsible for the two bombs.
More than 520 Washington residents were registered for the race, according to the Boston Athletic Association.
The names of the Kirkland residents are below:
3124 1/4 Andersen, Jordan 29 M Kirkland WA USA USA
5042 1/6 Friesen, Dan 50 M Kirkland WA USA USA
25718 3/9 Hansen, Jens J. 43 M Kirkland WA USA USA
13401 2/5 Jefferson, Tracy 41 F Kirkland WA USA USA
23764 3/6 Kennedy, Nisa E. 41 F Kirkland WA USA USA
11840 2/3 Routt, Bob 60 M Kirkland WA USA USA
9735 2/1 Santana, Cynthia 42 F Kirkland WA USA USA
3783 1/4 Sundine, Rob 34 M Kirkland WA USA USA
8547 1/9 Tremblay, Donald J. 52 M Kirkland WA USA USA
13541 2/5 Uchiyama, Donald M 51 M Kirkland WA USA USA
19468 3/2 Uchiyama, Larissa M 48 F Kirkland WA USA USA
UPDATE:
According to Jordan Andersen’s Facebook page, he said he and his group are safe.
Posted around 1 p.m.:
“Tragic news. There has been an explosion at the finish line of the Boston marathon … Emergency responders are out in full force now. I’ve heard from most of my group now and they’re ok.”
Sammamish resident Becky Backstrom, 55, was also running in the race. Her husband Guy Backstrom, owns Bear Creek Chiropractic Center in Redmond. Becky is a dental hygienist at Kirkland Family Dentistry.
Guy said his wife, who has run in several marathons and done the Boston event about eight or nine times, completed the race about an hour before the explosions erupted. He said Becky and her friend and fellow Sammamish resident Marianne Brunner — who was there to cheer on his wife — had spent sometime in the finish line area afterwards before going back to where Becky was staying.
Guy said his wife did not hear the explosion as the area where she was staying was not too close to the site and all she heard was cheering. Becky heard about the explosions from her mother, who was staying closer to the site but is okay, he said. Becky called her husband around noon.
“I was telling her about (the explosions),” he said, because she was in a room that had no television and the Internet connection was slow as so many people were trying to get online.
Guy added that he was unaware of the events in Boston until his wife called him. While speaking with his wife, he told her not to go to any public places.
“She was hanging right around where those (explosions) went off,” he said about how close of a call it was.
The explosions took place about four hours after the start of the men’s race, the New York Times reports, “which meant that there were still several thousand runners yet to finish the race.”
The New York Post, reported investigators have a person of interest – a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian national – who is being hospitalized for severe burns, but no arrests have been made.
A third bombing at the John F. Kennedy library also occurred but no injuries were reported, according to The Post. However, most recent reports have indicated that explosion is not linked to the Marathon bombings.
Concerned family and friends of the registrants can search the American Red Cross’s list of those who have registered themselves as “safe and well” by clicking on the “Search Registrants” button on their website at safeandwell.communityos.org.
President Barack Obama is expected to address the nation at 3 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.
The Reporter will update this story as more information becomes available.
Reporter Newspapers staff writer Samantha Pak contributed to this report.
