The Boston Marathon bombing occurred on April 15, 2013, during the city’s 117th annual marathon. This is a world famous race, attracting participants from across the globe, and thousands of people had gathered near the finish line on Boylston Street near Copley Square. Suddenly, two homemade pressure cooker bombs exploded within 4 seconds of each other, just 210 yards apart. Tragically, three people were killed that day, and more than 260 others were injured.

In the immediate aftermath, Boston’s streets became a scene of both devastation and heroism. First responders, police officers, medical personnel, and ordinary bystanders rushed in to help the wounded despite the danger of further explosions. Hospitals in the city quickly mobilized, treating hundreds of casualties in a matter of hours. The attack left the city on edge, as investigators worked rapidly to determine who was responsible and whether more attacks might follow – Within days, the FBI had identified two suspects – brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, launching an unprecedented manhunt. In the following days, the brothers killed MIT policeman Sean Collier, and committed a carjacking, before engaging in a shootout in Watertown, Massachusetts, during which Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed. The city of Boston went into lockdown as police searched for Dzhokhar, who was eventually found hiding in a boat in a suburban backyard 4 days after the bombing. Dzohokhar told investigators that he and his brother were self-radicalized Islamic extremists who were motivated by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, they learned to build explosives from an online Al-Qaeda magazine. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on multiple charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction, and was sentenced to death in 2015.

But what if I told you that these were not the first violent crimes committed by the brothers? Is it possible that the bombing could have been prevented?