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Deadly Terror Attack At Boston Marathon

Aired April 16, 2013 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Vause. We would like to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

LEMON: Absolutely. Well, listen, state and federal authorities look to the public for help as they investigate a deadly terror attack in Boston.

It was two quick blasts, barely 100 yards and just seconds apart killing three and wounding more than 140. You just heard the first blast. Here's the second.

For all of this, right in the heart of the city at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The attack turned the city's annual Patriot's Day celebration into a nightmare of confusion. And that played out in the city's communications at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Definitely devices here. I need officers, definitely devices here.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Units, stay off the air. Units stay off the air, just make your way over there. I only want to hear from 984. I only want to hear from that supervisor.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Delta 984. Give me a clearance (inaudible) to what I need. I need as many (inaudible) as you can get me. I want Ring Road cleared indoors and in and out. (Inaudible) Unit 84 take control of the fire coming in. I need lanes open here.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Copy, just keep giving it out, sir. All -- anybody else stay off the air.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Delta 984.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Delta 984 go.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: We need help up from the medical tent. Get as many people up there as you can from the medical tent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, as bad as the casualties are, it could have been much worse, had it not been for all medical first responders already at the scene to help with beleaguered marathon runners. They were quick to pitch in and render badly needed aid. We spoke to a couple of them a bit early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN SEGATORE, NURSE: The first that we heard was explosion and took the concussion in the room and then several of us went running towards the door. Half there, we heard the second explosion and two or three of us kept going. The group kept going back waiting for the casualties. Half of us went forward to the wounded and half stayed back waiting for the casualties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you see when you get to the casualties?

JIM ASAIANTE, NURSE: Lots of smoke and confusion and blood. For me it was just a flash back to Iraq. Hearing that first explosion, I knew it was an IED and usually they come in twos sometimes threes. Sometimes they wait until people come to help out the people that are injured and they set off the third one or the second one. There were two. They stopped the third one thankfully. We had to make room in the medical tent for the marathoners to move forward so we can make room for the injured people that were coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And authorities are scouring, surveillance cameras, media footage and cell phone video looking for any possible clues. A former FBI agent has told CNN it will be a long, difficult job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI OFFICIAL (via telephone): They will be trying to obtain copies of all of the media, videotapes, the iPhone cameras, personal cameras that were being used at the time before during and after the bombings to see if they can get a view of what individual may have actually place the device.

Now that's going to be extremely difficult. You have thousands of people near that finish line, probably more than half carrying backpacks so that they have dry clothing for the runners when they cross the finish line or water or food or other materials.

So you're going to have people from all over the world that come to attend this, their family members, their friends. They're going to be, as I said, carrying packages and backpacks and setting them down on the sidewalk because they are out there a long time. It's going be very difficult to find some individual that stands out as suspicious in a crowd that diverse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Let's check in now with Peter Hamby who is not far from where the bombs exploded. Peter, as this investigation moves forward the big question, of course, is motive. Was this a foreign or a domestic attack? How do the investigators start to piece this puzzle together? PETER HAMBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's happening right behind me now, John, is the Copley Square, which on any other week they would be a hub of shopping and public activity is now a crime scene. There are six or seven blocks that have been cordoned off by officials here.

They are sifting through evidence. They are looking at forensics, examining the explosions and perhaps some devices that did not explode for evidence, to try to track down who might have done this.

There are no suspects or persons of interest. Authorities did earlier release a bulletin that was obtained by CNN that said they were searching for a dark skinned male wearing a black hoodie who approached a restricted area and looked rather suspicious with a backpack.

But they are said to be on the lookout for that person. We've also seen Boston police in a town of Revere, which is a town northeast of Boston. I believe we actually have some new video of investigators at that scene.

We have not been able to really drill down that that was an explicit connection to this bombing. But authorities were there for several hours according to our reporter Brian Todd, who is out there on the scene, John.

But right now here, just a few blocks from the blast site, we continue to see fire trucks, unmarked cars, Boston police cars pull in to the scene behind me as they start to get to work to figure out why this happened and who might be responsible.

VAUSE: Peter, you were there moments after the blast 12 hours ago now, obviously a very different scene now compared to how it was back then. But even at this hour, we are now still hearing stories of those who survived this attack. Some terrible first-hand accounts.

HAMBY: Yes, absolutely. I mean, walking over here, you bump into person after person who said that, you know, it was a terrifying moment. I saw many people crying. I saw several families reunited with runners. Remember, a lot of these runners didn't have cell phones when they are running so their families couldn't find a way to track them down. But yes, take a listen to just one person who was interviewed after the incident today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via telephone): When we turned the corner, there was a little girl and she was screaming and crying and her leg was bloody and she was screaming I need my mom, I need my mom. And she was completely alone.

Their instinct is to do what they can. We tell her to come with us, but she doesn't want to leave because there is no mom. Like I mentioned before, the four of us in a group, three of us physically carried strange children.

Children we didn't know. We physically carried them six blocks with us to a house we were safe at and their mother was running behind us with her 2-year-old son. So we had taken complete strangers with us to safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMBY: That's a really telling story. This race really was about families and loved ones. People came in from all over the country and the world to watch their brothers, sisters, children, run in this marathon. They came in packs and they were separated because of this. They were here for hours and hours after the explosions trying to find each other -- John.

VAUSE: And Peter, one of the complicating factors to the investigators, simply the number of backpacks and bags, which were left behind by the spectators who just simply left them there and ran. What's happening with those now?

HAMBY: Yes, we do have some new video of that too. So many of these runners just didn't finish the race and beforehand, a lot of these runners just left bags with their, you know, change of clothes, phones, keys, whatever.

Passed the finish line I actually walked by them earlier and saw piles and piles of bags next to rows and rows of empty school buses that there were there to transport these marathon runners, you know, away from the finish line when they are finish.

Well, none of those buses ever got used and lots of those bags were just lying around in the street. So a lot of volunteers have come to help pick them up. Like you mentioned, investigators probably want to go through some of those bags, too.

There are a number of reports today of, you know, other suspicious pack just all over the city so I'm certain they're leaving nothing to chance.

VAUSE: Absolutely. Peter, thank you. It's been a long day for you. Thank you for staying with us. Peter Hamby live for us on the scene.

LEMON: A long day and it's been a devastating attack for the victims and witnesses as well. But it's also taking its toll in the medical staff treating the injured. Jason Carroll reports now from Brigham and Women's Hospital where some of the victims were taken -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the attendants here at Brigham Women's Hospital said that the ambulances in the very beginning were coming in droves, six at a time. It seemed like to him. A nurse who came outside said it's been an extremely emotionally trying days you can imagine for the nurses here, for the trauma here who are desperately trying to save the patients who are here, 31 patients in all.

Some of them critical, at least two of them critical, one of the trauma surgeons, Dr. Ron Walls described the extent of the injuries that doctors here are trying to treat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON WALLS, MD, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: The worst of these injuries have been injuries to the legs. There have been a lot of damage such as a lot of blast effect from these types of explosions. So a lot of injury to the muscle, the skin and the bones are broken, those sorts of injuries. The shrapnel injuries have been ambient things thrown around in the blast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Nine of the patients that were brought here were immediately operated on. Two of them are in critical condition. Those injuries, once again, we're being told --

LEMON: CNN's Jason Carol reporting from Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston, again, a very long day for everyone and a sad day especially for the victims and the family members.

VAUSE: We have a lot more of that coverage here on CNN. We also want to bring you the response from the White House. President Obama made comments about eight hours ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Now for another perspective on Monday's attack. This comes from a broadcast journalism student at the marathon who was filming everything.

LEMON: Isaac Moore is his name. He is a student at a nearby Emerson College, which has been on lockdown and will be closed today. Welcome, Isaac. Did I meet you when I was there?

ISAAC MOORE, EMERSON COLLEGE STUDENT: I actually missed your meeting that you had. I had a class that I had to go to. So I don't get a chance to meet you.

LEMON: I asked because a number of students have been reaching out to me on e-mail and social media saying you were just here and sharing their stories with me. So tell us where you were and what you saw?

MOORE: Well, I was actually on Call Map when it happened, which is, you don't know, it's parallel to Boylston where the finish line is and where the bomb actually exploded. I was -- I'm doing a package for one of my classes and I was shooting some B roll when I heard the explosions.

Initially I thought it was just city noises something like that, but then I saw a bunch of police cars speeding towards Copley and then suddenly I saw the police barricade the road where the runners are running. At that point, I knew something was obviously going on.

So I picked up my camera and run as fast as I could towards the finish line, but unfortunately, I couldn't really get very far because police are doing a pretty good job of blocking everything off.

VAUSE: How were the police dealing with the situation? Because I know a lot of people said that they did a great job. They put themselves in between the participants and the spectators and where the blast happened. What was your take?

MOORE: Well, I thought for the most part they did a very good job. Obviously in a situation like this it's tough to be prepared because of the emergency and the hysteria of it. There was a lack of communication in some circumstances.

I found that some cops were telling us to go in one direction and others in another direction, which created a lot of added stress for some of the people on the ground. But again for the most part, it is pretty good. There were a few incidents where, you know, I think people were just getting a little extra route up because of it.

You know, cops were being -- they are being forceful, which made it difficult, but at the same time, that's part of like what their job is.

LEMON: What you needed it in that particular situation. Clearly something like this would catch anyone off guard.

VAUSE: These situations are always confusing at the moment when they happened. I'm curious. What was it like before the blast went off? Can you describe what the mood was like? We're focusing so much on what happened after the blast.

MOORE: That's really what is so amazing. It was honestly, I went to the Boston marathon last year, too. Last year was great as well but it was extremely warm today. Everyone was very happy.

And that why I'm actually having difficulty because I have to produce a package for my class, but it's difficult when I have to produce a package where everyone is so happy and so joyful when just minutes later, this huge, huge news story and constant massive eruption happened just a couple of minutes later.

It's difficult to kind of actually get myself in sort of that kind of mood to do something because everyone was so happy just, you know, prior to the incident.

LEMON: Yes, but then, a lot of people helped out and a lot of good Samaritans came out. It was not just chaos, but a lot of good people helping out the injured and trying to get people to safety.

MOORE: Yes, I mean that probably shows a lot about Boston's character. I love the city of Boston and I love the people here in Boston. I think the way people reacted and responded to the whole situation really shows a lot about the type of people that we have here. We stick up for each other. I felt like overall I felt the reaction was very good and very positive.

VAUSE: Are you going to be all right, Isaac?

MOORE: I think I would be all right. It's been a long day for sure. I think I'm pretty much running on fuel right now. You know, it's been tough, but, you know, I think we'll make it through. LEMON: You know people are injured right?

MOORE: I don't know specifically who they are because the school has not released the information on their names. But I do know there are seven students that were brought to the hospital. None of them are in critical condition, but they were brought to the hospital after the incident.

LEMON: Isaac Moore, thank you. Emerson is a great school. I just can't imagine something like this happening anywhere --

VAUSE: This is Patriots Day. It's a very big holiday in Boston.

LEMON: Let's move on. I want to take a look at this. Before the Anaheim Angels and the Minnesota Twins game last night in Minneapolis, they held a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Listen.

VAUSE: Along with that moment of silence there, the Boston Symphony concert was canceled last night. Today's NBA game between the Celtics and the Pacers was also canceled.

LEMON: Yes, and the people at the highest levels looking at this and responding to this. President Barack Obama says he's ordered the full resources of the federal government to respond to the Boston attacks. In a statement at the White House, he stopped short of calling it terrorism saying authorities don't yet have all the answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We still do not know who did this or why and people shouldn't jump to conclusion before we have all the facts. But, make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this and we will find out who did this. We will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals and groups will feel the full weight of justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And that was President Obama addressing the nation just hours after this attack as he already ordered the federal government to devote their full resources to getting to the bottom of whoever carried out attack. Finding out whoever was responsible for this. Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Expect President Obama to be briefed throughout the day today on developments in the investigation. No doubt we will see his schedule start to move to accommodate meetings on the Boston attack and he will have to start thinking about going to Boston to pay his respects.

So far the FBI is leading the federal effort, the support from the Department of Homeland Security. Attorney General Holder called the Massachusetts U.S. attorney to make sure the full resources of the Justice Department are made available to investigate this unfolding crisis.

The president spoke in the briefing room he said he doesn't have the answers we all want, who did this and why. But he vowed that the investigators will find the guilty and they will face justice.

He did not call this a terror attack. Shortly after his statement, I spoke with the White House official who did. That official told me that this was clearly an act of terror, but a thorough investigation will have to determine whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist group.

So the White House is clearly being careful with words here out of an abundance of caution trying to avoid a rush to judgment. Jessica Yellin, CNN, The White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Now thanks to Jessica for that report. We will take a short break here. When we come back, we will talk to a security expert because so many people are asking how do you make these major sporting events safe?

LEMON: Can you? Can you do it? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back. Many security experts say protecting a large outdoor event like the Boston marathon is a huge challenge and it just got a lot bigger.

LEMON: It certainly did. Joining us now from London to talk about this is Will Geddes. He is the managing director at International Corporate Protection, a threat and management company in London. So is it possible to even protect an event like this?

WILL GEDDES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE PROTECTION: Well, in a very general sense, gentlemen, I think the answer is it is very difficult. You can look at isolating particular areas and trying to secure those. However, you're looking at a 26-mile plus route. In terms of protecting it, it would be really difficult.

VAUSE: Well, the London marathon is happening this weekend. The security plan will be reviewed. So what can we expect would be done differently in London in light of what happened in Boston?

GEDDES: Well, I think what the police will most likely be considering within their planning for the marathon will be the protection of the competitors, particularly at the start point. Any terrorist that is looking for mass casualties as we've seen potentially being a terrorist motivated plot behind the Boston bombings would be looking for the largest number of casualties they can achieve. So the start points and the finish points will be two areas the metropolitan police will no doubt be focusing on and how they can best secure those.

VAUSE: I was just going to say one issue with this is when you look at the -- like a marathon it is 26 miles long, but it's not just the 26 miles that you have to protect. Essentially because there are two sides of the road or the route, it's a 52 mile area that needs to be guarded by security. Do they have to re-think everything now?

GEDDES: I think to a certain degree there is only so much that they can do. Having run a few marathons myself, I know that there are protective measures around the start points of the marathons only in terms of insuring that those that have legitimate entries can actually start or commence from that area.

Obviously protecting against people trying to just piggy back into it and trying to join the race, but on the second side of it as you say, immense if you like string, they have to secure. One of the things that we've always known about counter terrorist method is the participation of the general public.

It's increasing the awareness of the general public, which no doubt we will see here in London in terms of reporting to any police or emergency services, any suspicious activity, any packages, any backpacks that are left unattended. That is a major part of that effort.

VAUSE: It does remind me of the days after 911 and they kept saying here in the United States if you see something, say something. Will, thank you for joining us. We appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

LEMON: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: And we now have a name for at least one of the victims of this terrorist attack. According to the "Boston Globe," they are reporting that 8-year-old Martin Richard was killed. His mother and sister were also seriously wounded. And this is the moment when the explosion occurred. This video was taken by a "Boston Globe" journalist who was at the finish line. Take a look.

LEMON: Security is intensified across the U.S. An investigation into the source of the attack is underway. CNN's Joe Johns is in Washington and explains how different federal departments are working together in the investigation.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: In Boston, the federal response has been enormous. The FBI which takes the lead role in terrorism investigations is flooding the city with assets to process an enormous crime scene with scores of victims.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm has sent every available person from New York. They have activated their national response team, which is made up of certified explosive specialists, forensic mapping specialists and k-9 handlers.

The federal CSI types who do bombs and fires. Almost everyone we've spoken has said at first glance, these devices did not appear highly sophisticated, but they were very powerful. The investigators will be looking to figure out what they can learn from the ark of the explosion.

The explosive agents that may have been used, all to help agents discover the first question, whether this was the case of home grown or international terrorism. Meanwhile, across the country, these explosions in Boston ushered in a cold wind.

A bunch of other cities are taking precautions. We're told New York City is beefing up security. Police right here in Washington, D.C. are too, mass transit including subways and airports getting a very close look right now.

The tighter security appears to go up and down the east coast, as far as south as Miami and as far west as San Francisco and Seattle. Of course it is just about as tight as it can get in the city of Boston, itself. Police there are on emergency deployment working 12-hour shifts. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

VAUSE: We have been reporting that there is a lot of police activity at a high rise apartment building in Revere, Massachusetts. That is not far from Boston about 5 miles.

LEMON: Absolutely. That's where CNN's Brian Todd is there. He joins us on the line now. So Brian, what are you seeing?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Don, we saw police presence at an apartment building in Revere on Ocean Avenue in Revere, Massachusetts. It's about 5 miles outside of Boston. We were told by a Massachusetts state police official there that they were checking out one apartment in the building.

Police were there for several hours. There were Massachusetts state police and Revere police there. A neighborhood told us they had been there since at least 5:30. We can tell you that they left, we believe, the last of the police officials left at about 2:00 in the morning.

So, we, you know, we were there outside the building pretty much the whole time. They would not talk to us and tell us exactly what they were doing there. Two gentlemen came in who they did question. That's about all we can tell you.

That's what we saw through the lobby, but there was a police presence at this apartment building in Revere on Ocean Avenue for several hours today and they were were checking out one apartment, but whether this is a heart connection to the case we're not sure right now.

VAUSE: Do we know exactly what they are looking for? This suspect if this is actually a solid lead.

TODD: It seems to have been a solid enough lead that they were here for several hours, but then again they did not leave with anyone. When we asked if they have made any arrests they wouldn't say. They left just carrying one black bag, but it didn't look anything really like an evidence bag.

So it could have been to question some people. . Maybe someone who acted suspicious may have been from there, but again, we didn't know that. They would not tell us that and neighbors did say that they were there for quite some time though with a state police presence and possibly a federal one as well.

VAUSE: OK, Brian, thank you. Brian Todd on the line. We have got the latest on that police search of the apartment in Revere. We got to be so careful in reporting all of this because police will obviously --

LEMON: They have been very particular of saying no person of interest. No suspect. Just talking to people trying to figure out exactly what is going on and who might be behind this particular blast, but again, no official suspect. No person of interest.

VAUSE: If you look past bombings, the World Trade Center, the Atlanta bombing, Oklahoma City bombing, it was a long time before there was a suspect.

LEMON: Yes, we will be back. We will check some of the other headlines on the other side of the break including the situation in North Korea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just this huge pile of smoke and then it sounded like a huge cannon going off and another one just happened right across from us. It was just a huge explosion and there is debris everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A big huge explosion while we were having lunch and everybody ran for the doors and windows and shelter under tables.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elevator shook the whole building.

ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: These explosions occurred 50 to 100 yards apart. Each scene resulted in multiple casualties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The explosion looked like it was right beside the finish line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This all happened with the --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many, many people injured and those injuries are severe. There was a lot of blood left at the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We helped picking up people and putting pressure on wounds. A lot of people were hurt and we ran as fast as we could. They were banged up, bad, severe lacerations, amputees, a lot of shrapnel, pretty big explosions.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: But make no mistake. We will get to the bottom of this. We will find out who did this and why.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The FBI now leads the investigation into Monday's bombings at the Boston marathon. Authorities say the attack came without warning and without mercy. An 8-year-old boy is among three people killed when one blast was followed just seconds later by another.

And the death toll could rise, 140 people are wounded, many of them critically. A doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital says many victims were hit in the legs with shrapnel and several amputations have been performed.

President Barack Obama says those responsible will feel the full weight of justice. We're also learning the security plan for this weekend's London marathon will be reviewed in light of the deadly Boston bombing. Organizers say they expect the race on Sunday.

VAUSE: And we will have more on the terror attack in just a moment. We would like to take a look at other news from around the world. This is just in to CNN. The U.S. military says one of the helicopters, which is a transport chopper has crashed near the North Korean border, calling to the U.S. military, this is a Marine chopper.

It went down. No word on the cause with 21 people on board including five crew members. All have been taken to hospitals, 15 have been released and six are on stable condition. The chopper was taken plot in these military drills with the U.S. and South Korean military.

Meanwhile, North Korea continues to threaten war and has not issued a new ultimatum to South Korea. Pyongyang says it's retaliatory action will start without any notice. That's in response to what it calls insults from authorities in the South.

Those insults apparently include this anti-North Korean rally in Seoul on Monday, a monstrous event according to the North. That included burning effigies of leader Kim Jong-Un along with his father and grandfather.

Monday was the 101st anniversary of founder Kim Il-Sung's birthday. It is the most important holiday on the North Korean calendar and the party is still underway today. CNN's Kyung Lah has the view from South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Screaming stop the dictatorship, these right wing protesters ripped through the North Korean flag in downtown Seoul, made clear their feelings about Kim Jong-Un and burned effigies of the young leader, his father and grandfather. The rhetoric maybe cooling, but passions on the Korean Peninsula are not.

(on camera): What makes this protest particularly potent is the day that its happening, the most important day for North Korea.

(voice-over): April 15th is a national holiday. The day Kim Il-Sung was born, the founder of North Korea, the grandfather of Kim Jong-Un. The now leader reverently paid his respects to his ancestors.

A North Korean state run television, holiday viewing includes bizarre military exercises displayed before North Korea's most popular girl band, concerts where singer proclaim their love for Kim Il-Sung. All of this displayed with absolute blind devotion.

(on camera): Why is that devotion so important?

JASPER KIM, CEO, ASIA-PACIFIC GLOBAL RESEARCH GROUP: Well, that's basically what all North Korea has. If it doesn't have devotion and political support it can crumble from within.

LAH (voice-over): North Korea watcher Jasper Kim says that's why. When you compare Kim Il-Sung to Kim Jong-Un, you can't help but notice a resemblance.

KIM: He is the youngest leader in North Korea's story so what can you do? How do you mitigate the risk of internal resurrection against the third generation leader? Well, I think one tactic is basically to make the third generation leader look like the first generation leader.

LAH: On the day his country celebrates its founder, Kim Jong-Un has proven he is not his grandfather.

KIM: He's younger and more aggress if. What we know so far is every move he makes it's in bold strokes and high risk, high reward.

LAH (on camera): Inside Korea, is there a sense that this crisis is over?

KIM: It's not over. It's just the beginning. This is not one of those things where a crisis starts, gets hot and cools off and ends. There is in this end to the story.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And from South Korea, we would like to Hongkong. Let's check in the Asia markets. There was a big sell-off on Wall Street on Monday. How is Asia reacting to that now?

PAULINE CHIOU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Initially at the morning session today we also reacted with a big sell-off. The markets have erased some of their losses from just a couple of hours ago.

In the last two hours, they have reversed directions after spending most of the session in negative territory. Let's take a look at the big board. As you can see, most of the indexes are still in the red. Some of them have closed already.

The big factor that weighed down the markets today and yesterday was first quarter GDP data. That data showed that growth in China slowing to 7.7 percent in the first quarter compared to the last quarter of 2012. We're still pressure on commodities and raw material producers as a result of this.

Now this is from worries that China slowing growth means less demand for commodities like iron ore and oil that in fact crude, which is the international bench mark has fallen below $100 per barrel, trading now at $99.67 a barrel.

And another commodity is gold. And the price of gold is still below $1400 an ounce even though it has risen in the last hour to about $1375 an ounce. We're seeing the domino effect on the share market in Australia, which ended down a third of a percent although it did gain back some ground before the close.

The China data has hit the share market not surprisingly in the resource sector. The Nikkei ended down as well. John, the bigger picture, the Boston bombings are not having a direct effect on the market sentiment here.

Although the bigger issue of national security and uncertainty is something investors will certainly keep an eye on.

VAUSE: They always do. Pauline, we appreciate that. Thank you for that.

LEMON: Lots more to cover when it comes to this Boston bombings as Pauline mentioned. We're going to go back to the scene and also tell you what's happening at the hospital with the victims right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Authorities are on the lookout for somebody described as a black male with a possible foreign accent. He was seen with a black backpack trying to get into a restricted area. Three people were killed including an 8-year-old boy. More than 140 were injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Severe lacerations, amputees, a lot of shrapnel, pretty big explosions. A lot of blood everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Tributes from native Bostonians have been pouring in. Late night talk show host, Conan O'Brien mentioned the attack in his opening monologue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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CONAN O'BRIEN, TV HOST: We do have a great show for you tonight. I did want to start by mentioning what an upsetting and sad day it has been. I'm talking of course about what happened in Boston earlier today. Boston is my hometown. It's where I grew up.

It's where my family lives. So I wanted to take a moment to say that like everybody here, my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Boston, and everybody who's been affected by this absolutely senseless act.

It's important to say right up top. That said, it is our job to do a show and we will try to entertain you the very best we can. Given our track record gives you people a 20 percent chance of having a good show tonight.

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VAUSE: And Academy award winner Ben Affleck who is also from Boston tweeted earlier saying such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston.

I'm John Vause. You have been watching our special coverage of the Boston marathon terror attack. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" starts right now.

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. For our domestic viewers, we're going to continue our coverage of the Boston marathon bombings with Brooke Baldwin and John Berman starting right now.