Current Event:

On April 15, two bombs exploded within seconds of each other near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people, including an 8-year-old-boy, were killed and more than 260 others were injured. Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev are suspected to have carried out the bombing. The brothers are from Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim territory in southern Russia. Three days after the bombing, the brothers allegedly shot and killed Sean Collier, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer. They then carjacked an SUV and led police on a wild chase. Early on the morning of April 19, one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a police shootout. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev escaped but was captured that night in Watertown, a suburb of Boston. He remains hospitalized as he recuperates from wounds suffered in the April 19 shootout. On April 22, he was charged by the U. S. attorney’s office for the district of Massachusetts with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons and property, resulting in death.

The Boston Marathon bombing took place on April 15, 2013. Two homemade bombs exploded near the finish of the race, shown here. Three people were killed and more than 200 others were injured in the explosions. © Dan Lampariello, Reuters/Landov

Objective:

Terrorism is the use or threat of violence to create fear and alarm. Terrorism is usually committed to promote a movement or cause. Acts committed by terrorists have included setting off bombs, murdering and kidnapping people, and hijacking airplanes. Terrorist goals typically have to do with beliefs and ideas. These beliefs can relate to politics, religion, or other subjects. Terrorists hope to achieve their goals through violence and the creation of fear. The United States has suffered from both domestic terrorists—in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing—and international terrorists—in the 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore terrorism and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Words to know:

• Boston
• Boston Marathon bombing
• Chechnya
• Department of Homeland Security
• Improvised explosive device (IED)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Oklahoma City bombing
• Patriot Act
• September 11 terrorist attacks
• Terrorism

Discussion Topics:

1. Ask your students what they know about Boston. (Students might say that it is the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England; it is one of the oldest and most historic sites in the United States; it was the site of the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and several major Revolutionary War battles.)

2. Ask your students to debate, “Today, terrorism is the greatest threat to world security.”

3. Ask your students if they were following TV coverage of the bombings when Dzhokhar was surrounded and captured in Watertown. How did they feel as they were watching the coverage? How did they feel when they heard that Dzhokhar was captured?

4. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of terrorism. (Students may wish to use the “History of terrorism” section of World Book’s Terrorism article for help.)