Obama Addresses Nation After Boston Bombings

Federal investigators are calling the coordinated bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon a “terror event,” CNN is reporting.

President Obama, however, did not explicitly categorize the blasts as terrorism during a brief statement he delivered from the White House just after 6 p.m. Eastern time. “We still do not know who did this or why,” he said. “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 added that those responsible “will feel the full weight of justice.”

The president said he has called for heightened security around the country in the wake of the bombings.

CNN:

Notably absent from his remarks was the word “terror,” though federal investigators are classifying the bombings as a terror event. It is not clear if it’s from a domestic or foreign source, a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said.

…After Obama’s statement, a White House official said “any event with multiple explosive devices – as this appears 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 continued.

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— Posted by Tracy Bloom.