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Obama on Boston Marathon explosions: “We will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this, we’ll find out why they did this.”
U.S. President Obama pauses as he remarks on Boston bombings. PHOTO/Mark Wilson/Getty Images
(Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Monday that the United States will find out who carried out explosions in Boston and will hold them accountable, and a White House official said the twin blasts are being treated as an “act of terror.”
“We still do not know who did this or why, and people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts,” Obama said in a televised statement. “But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this, we’ll find out why they did this.”
Obama did not call the explosions an attack and emphasized that much was not known about them. But a White House official said any event with multiple explosive devices, as the Boston episode appeared to be, “is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror.”
“However, we don’t yet know who carried out this attack, and a thorough investigation will have to determine whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist group, foreign or domestic,” the official said.
The Boston explosions put the White House on edge with the Secret Service raising security around the executive mansion. Obama said he has directed the federal government to increase security around the United States as necessary after the explosions.
The blasts offered a fresh challenge to Obama, who early in his second term has been focused on domestic agenda topics such as gun control, immigration and budget deficits.
Obama quickly shifted into a national security mode as soon as he was told about the Boston blasts at 3 p.m. EST.
