Neighbors mourn Martin Richard, age 8, killed at Boston Marathon Bombing

Martin Richard age 8 killed in the Boston Marathon Bombing

Story by Boston Globe
By Evan Allen and John R. Ellement

Grief-stricken neighbors gathered in small clumps today outside the Dorchester home of Martin Richard, the eight-year-old boy who was killed when two bombs detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Richard was fatally injured and his mother and sister seriously wounded as they waited for their father and husband, Bill Richard, at the finish line on Boylston Street, friends said. Bill Richard was active in the Ashmont community issues.

Neighbor Dan Aguilar said the Richard family was close-knit, and that on most days -- regardless of the weather - Martin Richard and his brother were in the family’s backyard, playing soccer, hockey or baseball.

“They are just your average little boys,’’ Aguilar told reporters gathered near the family’s home on Carruth Street. “They are a good family. They are always together.’’

Aguilar said he last spoke with the family on Easter Sunday when they were gathered outside, enjoying the day.

He said, he is still wrestling with the idea that a child he knows has died.

“That little boy will never come home again,’’ Aguilar said. “It’s still unreal. I have no words. I have no words.’’

Richard is one of three people killed in the bomb explosion, and so far is the only victim to have been publicly identified by friends and colleagues.

This morning, no one was at home at the Richard house, which was watched over by a Boston police officer parked in a cruiser nearby.

At the end of the driveway, someone had written the word, “Peace.’’

Emira Myers came with her mother, Jacqueline, to the family’s home and left a small stuffed animal on the family’s porch, which is starting to be filled with flower bouquets and other stuffed toys.

Emira, who is 10 years old, said she attends the same charter school as Richard, but was not in the same class as him. Holding close to her mother, she described him as happy little boy.

Asked by reporters how she was feeling, the 10-year-old responded: “Scared.’’ She added, “I don’t know where they are.’’

Her mother said Emira was referring to the people who attacked the marathon.