Local Residents React to Boston Marathon Explosions, Three Reported Deaths

Update 4 p.m., April 16: Two victims have been identified as 8-year-old Martin Richard and Krystle Campbell, 29.

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A bomb attack happens, and you expect to witness tragedy. But, when a child is among the victims, it seems all the more horrific.

Numerous media reports indicate that an 8-year-old boy is among those dead following two explosions at Monday's Boston Marathon. The child's name has not been released.

A total of three people, including the child, are reported to have died in the afternoon explosions that rocked a race attended by thousands. More than 100 are injured.

Many are struggling to grasp what happened, even here in Georgia -- a thousands miles away. 

According to the Boston Marathon's website, more than 300 Georgians entered the race, including 29 runners who were listed as residents in Gwinnett County towns.

One of those runners was 45-year-old Carl Pearson from here in Lilburn. Patch asked about his condition on Facebook, and one of our readers wrote:

"Per a friend, their daughter got a text from him and his wife and they are safe!"

His official time was 3 hours, 44 minutes and 10 seconds.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Mike Beaudreau, of Lawrenceville, also was running in the race. He talked to Patch about his experience.

"It was a crazy, crazy day," Beaudreau said from his Boston hotel room Monday night. "I had finished the race about an hour and a half, two hours ahead of that.

"We were headed to the transit station and were actually going toward the finish line. I stopped and asked how to get there and were told we were headed the wrong way.

"So we turned around - thank God. About five minutes later - boom."

From Snellville, Paralympian Santiago Sanz also confirmed to Patch that he was present at the race, where he won the wheelchair event in the quad division.

"I heard the explosions after I finished the marathon from my room," he told Patch through a direct message on Twitter.

His reaction? Stunned, he added.

On Tuesday morning, locally owned Big Peach Running Co. will host a "mile of silence" event to remember the victims of Monday's explosions. The event will take place at 7 a.m., from each of the seven locations in metro Atlanta, including one in Suwanee.

"Runners, walkers, people who just want to feel the love, but don't want to run or walk, are all welcome," Karen Kaye, BGPC's communications director, told Patch.

At a time like this, it's that togetherness, that toughness, that brings many people through such tragedy. It turns an 8-year-old's death into a call to action.

"Make no mistake," said President Barack Obama, "we will get to the bottom of this."

Americans are counting on that declaration.

Their faith may be shaken; fears stirred up. There will be more questions than answers.

But, strength, that's another truth.

It is built, and rebuilt, and rebuilt again. Knocked down, it will get back up to face another day, another race.

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Do you know any Gwinnett runners in the Boston Marathon? Have you heard from them about this incident? Share your thoughts in the comments below.