At the onset of the first year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, two unattended bags seen at the finish line raised suspicion of another bomb threat.
The unattended backpacks prompted authorities to impose evacuation and closure at Boylston Street and suspend the operations of the MBTA Green Line Subway pending investigation, the police said via Twitter.
Police has taken Kayvon Edson, a barefoot man dressed in black, into their custody after he was seen carrying one of the bags. Witnesses said that Edson screamed "Boston strong" during the marathon.
The bomb squad immediately took action and "detonated" the bags between 9:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Both WBZ and CBS sources said that one of the backpacks had a rice cooker filled with confetti, while the other bag had photo equipment. Authorities have yet to confirm the bags' contents.
Boston Police Department said via twitter that the bags were already disrupted for "precautionary reasons".
Authorities have imposed strict security measures at the Boston Marathon since the bombings that happened last year. The incident has been considered as one of the worst terror attacks in the U.S. after the September 11 bombings in New York.
During last year's bombings, Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, and Lu Lingzi died while 264 others were hurt including Patrick Downes and his wife, who both lost a leg during the explosion.
Chechen brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were identified by authorities to have carried pressure cooker bombs in their backpacks that exploded in the marathon's finish line.
Days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released the brothers' photos, they attempted to escape. Police were able to run into them and had an open fire fight with them at Watertown in Boston. A police officer was killed during the battle. Tamerlan was killed during the encounter while Dzhokhar was arrested and awaits trial for the 30 charges that he faces.
A memorial service was conducted to honor the victims of the Boston bombings hours before the evacuation prompted. It was attended by the more than 2000 families, survivors and officials led by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh.
Biden delivered a challenging message during the memorial that commended the people's refusal to bend and yield to fear. "That is what makes us so proud of this city and this state, what makes me be so proud to be an American. It's that we have never, ever yielded to fear. Never," the vice president told Reuters.
Church bells were tolled followed by the moment of silence that was observed during the memorial.
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