Explosion at the Boston Marathon.

Obviously -- and for reasons I don't quite understand -- some people want to believe the Tsarnaev brothers built the bombs they used without any instructions or assistance other than what they found on the Internet.

Is it possible? Sure, why not. Except that because something is possible, that doesn't mean it had to have happened that way.

I'm a bit skeptical. I want to see if there might be a bit more to this than the Tsarnaevs simply being do-it-yourselfers. I'm suspicious of how Tamerlane Tsarnaev spent his time in Russia. Who he may've met with. What he got involved with.

We'll see.
 
Last edited:
Arisia said:
I think he may have wanted to stay as far under the radar as possible, so not going near any firearms shop even in New Hampshire, if a similar product is available at a fireworks shop. And who's to say he didn't buy more at other fireworks shops with cash.
Click to expand...

It doesn't have to be a specialty firearms shop. The last time I was in a Walmart that sold firearms, I noticed that they had black powder in stock. You can probably get everything needed for a pressure cooker bomb in one shopping trip.
 
In Pennsylvania not only will they fill your trunk with fireworks, they will fill up your gas tank too! Now remember folks, the "Bad Attitude Shell Kit" is only available for free for a short time.

www.keystonefireworks.com
 
Kestrel said:
It doesn't have to be a specialty firearms shop. The last time I was in a Walmart that sold firearms, I noticed that they had black powder in stock. You can probably get everything needed for a pressure cooker bomb in one shopping trip.
Click to expand...

Perhaps they didn't realize that black powder is easy to purchase in most states. I guess that if you've never been exposed to shooting hobbyists, you might think that powder is hard to come by.

Immigrants in MA probably tend to be unfamiliar with muzzleloading.

Just a guess.
 
In February Tamerlane Tsarnaev bought one Lock and Load kit, the store says, after asking for the biggest and loudest fireworks they had. The Lock and Load kits are priced at $199.99 with a 'Buy One Get One Free' deal and Tsarnaev took two.

Each kit contains 24 shells, each with roughly 30 grams of black powder.

Ironically, Phantom Fireworks, the Seabrook New Hampshire store where Tsarnaev shopped, is the same store where failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad (now serving 'life without parole') bought his fireworks.

“We were just shocked,” said Bill Weimer, vice president of Phantom Fireworks in Seabrook, N.H. “After our Times Square experience, we said, ‘It can’t happen twice.’ ”
Click to expand...
Link
 
newyorkguy said:
Ironically, Phantom Fireworks, the Seabrook New Hampshire store where Tsarnaev shopped, is the same store where failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad (now serving 'life without parole') bought his fireworks.
Click to expand...

It might not be so ironic. Two men connected to Shahzad lived in Watertown, MA.
 
Alt+F4 said:
In Pennsylvania not only will they fill your trunk with fireworks, they will fill up your gas tank too! Now remember folks, the "Bad Attitude Shell Kit" is only available for free for a short time.

www.keystonefireworks.com
Click to expand...
In Indiana they'll fill your trunk with fireworks, you just have to sign a form promising to use them in some other state.
 
newyorkguy said:
Ironically, Phantom Fireworks, the Seabrook New Hampshire store where Tsarnaev shopped, is the same store where failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad (now serving 'life without parole') bought his fireworks.

Link
Click to expand...

Alt+F4 said:
It might not be so ironic. Two men connected to Shahzad lived in Watertown, MA.
Click to expand...


Somebody ought to check those facts. I heard that it was the same chain but a different store.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/06/faisal-shahzad-buys-firew_n_567153.html
 
phiwum said:
Perhaps they didn't realize that black powder is easy to purchase in most states. I guess that if you've never been exposed to shooting hobbyists, you might think that powder is hard to come by.
Click to expand...


That's a good point. Perhaps hobbyists should only be shot out of public view.
 
Kestrel said:
The screwy part is that even in Boston the authorities have mistaken a blinking circuit board for an actual bomb. Hollywood bombs have blinking lights and counters to attract attention, real bombs don't.
Click to expand...


And they did it twice. After the Mooninite invasion of 2007, they were paralized by a non Hollywood Star that had a few blinking lights on a hoodie.
 
Dan O. said:
Somebody ought to check those facts. I heard that it was the same chain but a different store.
Click to expand...

I think you're right.

“We were just shocked,” said Bill Weimer, vice president of Phantom Fireworks in Seabrook, N.H. “After our Times Square experience, we said, ‘It can’t happen twice.’ ”
Click to expand...

I think probably Bill Weimer meant it was from their chain not the same outlet. I didn't realize that in the earlier post I made because I was not aware that Phantom Fireworks was a chain with 1200 national outlets.
 
Dan O. said:
That's a good point. Perhaps hobbyists should only be shot out of public view.
Click to expand...

Huh?

I honestly have no idea what point you're trying to make. I'm assuming it's a joke, but I plumb missed it.
 
Dan O. said:
Perhaps hobbyists should only be shot out of public view.
Click to expand...

What hobbyists were shot and by whom? Are you saying that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was just a hobbyist when buying fireworks or are you saying that hobbyists are being targeted and murdered.....by?

:confused:
 
newyorkguy said:
Obviously -- and for reasons I don't quite understand -- some people want to believe the Tsarnaev brothers built the bombs they used without any instructions or assistance other than what they found on the Internet.

Is it possible? Sure, why not. Except that because something is possible, that doesn't mean it had to have happened that way.

I'm a bit skeptical. I want to see if there might be a bit more to this than the Tsarnaevs simply being do-it-yourselfers. I'm suspicious of how Tamerlane Tsarnaev spent his time in Russia. Who he may've met with. What he got involved with.

We'll see.
Click to expand...

I'll assume you haven't read the Inspire Magazine issue called "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom", correct?

I'd link it, but I doubt I'd be around much longer after that.

Anyway, I've read it, and the details on how exactly to build both of the types of bombs they made, are quite simple, and very easy to do. It's got step by step instructions, and even gives you some alternative options that also work. Point being, instructions on the internet are quite easy to follow, and make a very effective device. Bombs are quite easy to make.
 
Last edited:
smartcooky said:
So how big of a bang will 1.4kg of black power make?
Click to expand...

Hundreds of thousands of ft. lbs. About enough to level a normal sized garage. Or, about 3 mega-joules per kg. Low energy, but the way it makes a bang, is by burning it in a compression chamber. TNT is about 5 ish...
 
Last edited:
triforcharity said:
Hundreds of thousands of ft. lbs. About enough to level a normal sized garage.
Click to expand...

While the first online site I found sells black powder for $23.50 per pound at the most expensive. Tamerlan (Djhokhar?) chose a needlessly expensive way to buy black powder.

Of course, they couldn't have easily bought black powder online (MA laws prevent that), but I presume that it would still have been much cheaper to buy it in a New Hampshire gun store than get it from fireworks.

Regardless, they seem to have gotten it from fireworks for whatever reason.
 
I've never bought black powder in MA, so I don't know what restrictions there way be. I have bought it down here, and it's relatively cheap and easy. Maybe he thought by buying fireworks, his plan was less likely to be discovered?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom