EDMONTON- As thousands of police officers remained on the streets of Boston Friday, searching for a 19-year-old man believed to be linked to the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, a group of Edmontonians were among the millions who were locked down, told to remain in their homes and hotel rooms.
Friday morning, authorities in Boston suspended all mass transit and warned close to 1 million people in the city and some of its suburbs to stay indoors. That order was lifted around 4:15p.m.MST however, prior to that, those stuck inside say it was strange to see the normally bustling metropolis virtually abandoned.
“It’s pretty eerie here. Looking out my window right now, the streets are completely dead. There’s three or four helicopters circling around, up above us. It’s kind of surreal to tell you the truth,” explained Jared Smith, an Edmonton business owner who is among a group of business owners from Edmonton and Calgary in Boston for a lecture series at Harvard University.
“There are no pedestrians, there are no cars, no taxi cabs. It’s like a still picture,” he explained. “It’s just so odd to see such a crazy, busy town like Boston, completely shut down.”
The group arrived in Boston Thursday morning and is scheduled to arrive home Sunday.
Also in Boston, is a group of students from Sir George Simpson Junior High School in St. Albert. The students are there as part of a curricular trip to see the local universities, museums and other historic sites.
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“They arrived in Boston on Monday, about a half an hour after the bombings occurred,” Krimsen Sumners, associate superintendent with St. Albert Public Schools said Friday.
The hotel the students and their chaperones are staying at is outside of the locked down area however, the assistant principal decided it was best for the students to remain inside Friday, as a safety precaution.
“They made the call to remain at the hotel for the day,” Sumners said. “(The chaperones) are just trying to keep things very low-key and calm for the kids. The kids have all phoned home, they’ve all spoken with parents this morning… they’re staying in contact.”
“The kids are handling this very well. They are recognizing this is a huge tragedy, but they’ve been very calm.”
But as strange a feeling being in a vacant city during this difficult time is, both groups say they feel safe.
Smith says despite being stuck inside a hotel, he can still feel a real sense of pride from Bostonians.
“The people here are obviously shaken, but they’ve really banded together as a people and it’s pretty inspiring to see that.”
With files from Fletcher Kent.
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