‘Cowards’ Billboard Slams Boston Marathon Bombers
Boston, MA – Just 10 miles away from the marathon finish line that was bombed Monday, resulting in the deaths of three people and over 170 injured, stands a hard-to-miss electronic billboard with one word for the city’s most wanted men:
“Cowards.”
Local 103, the Boston chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, set up the billboard Tuesday to send a message to the then-unknown terrorists who set off two deadly bombs at the Boston Marathon just a day before.
IBEW’s billboard is proudly and defiantly blaring the message next to the I-93 expressway, standing as a testament to Boston’s inspiring grit and tight-knit community spirit.
“It was Local 103?s way of shouting out our feelings of anger,” said IBEW business manager Michael Monahan. “No other word or words came to my mind.”
Every 10 seconds, the electronic billboard switches to an image of the city seal and the words “Pray for Boston.”
Though none among the union’s 7,500 members were hurt in the bombings, the group does have a connection to one of the victims.
Local 103’s headquarters is located in Dorchester, the same town where the Martin Richard, the attack’s youngest victim, lived with his family. Richard died in the explosion, while his father, mother and two siblings sustained “serious” injuries. He was eight years old.
“No other word or words came to my mind when I heard of the tragic event downtown Boston on Patriot’s Day when a family from our neighborhood was effected so tragically,” Monahan said.
Two suspects have now been identified in the Boston bombing with one, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, killed in an apparent firefight with police. The second, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is currently at large with the entire city of Boston engaged in a manhunt for him.
This billboard in Boston> #Cowards twitter.com/bobbyboooo/sta…
— Bobby Alexander (@bobbyboooo) April 19, 2013
If he attempts to leave along I-93, he’ll know what the city thinks of him.
A representative for Local 103 said that they’ll keep the billboard devoted to Boston Marathon victims, though they will use new messages in the near future. The chapter usually uses it for union-related and community messages.
