Two explosions tore through downtown Boston today, killing at least three of the thousands of people who'd gathered to watch that city's famous marathon race. The explosions went off near the race's finish line, causing mass panic and ripping off people's limbs, according to early eyewitness accounts. Explosives units have been dispatched to investigate another suspicious device in the area as EMTs and doctors attend to the reportedly dozens of wounded.

Though details right now are sketchy, various media outlets and citizens on the scene are reporting that things are grisly and chaotic, but police and medical teams have been quick to respond.

Victims with lost limbs wheeled from scene. #wcvb — Sean Kelly (@SeanKellyTV) April 15, 2013

BREAKING NEWS: At least dozens of people have been seriously injured, a Globe staffer on the scene says. — The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) April 15, 2013

The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon race, attracting tens of thousands of runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators each year.

Updates:

1:15 AM EST: The Boston Globe has identified the eight-year-old boy killed as Martin Richard. He was waiting with his mother and two sister for his father to cross the finish line. His mother and one of his sisters were also seriously injured and remain in the hospital.

12:07 AM EST: Here's the front page from Tuesday's Boston Globe:

11:44 PM EST: Local news outlets in Boston are reporting that an on-going police search at home in Revere, Mass is related to today's bombings.

11:14 PM EST: A runner filmed a video of the first bomb.



10:55 PM EST: CNN now puts the number people of injured at 144. Of those, at least eight were children.

10:45 PM EST: People throughout New York City are showing their support for Boston.

9:35 PM EST: It's going to take a while for police to give the all-clear for downtown Boston. BuzzFeed's Jessica Testa reports that there are now nearly 4,000 abandoned bags in the area:



9:25 PM EST: Here is the Alex Jones acolyte bumrushing the presser with his "false flag" accusations:



[There was a video here]

9:05 PM EST: In a just-finished press conference, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis confirmed that the death toll is now three. There are no suspects in custody.

8:55 PM EST: The first question in the latest Boston bombing press conference was from a man who asked if the incident was a "false-flag, staged attack" meant to undermine our civil liberties, a recent refrain of Infowars lunatic Alex Jones. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's response: "No." The man who'd asked the question was later discovered to be without press credentials.

8:40 PM EST: CNN reports police are on the lookout for a suspect resembling this horribly vague description: A "darker-skinned or black male" with "a possible foreign accent" who had attempted to gain entry to a restricted area a few minutes before the first blast. The man was wearing a dark sweatshirt and dark backpack.

8:25 PM EST: Boston SWAT teams have been dispatched to area hospitals, but police say the move was strictly procedural, telling WCVB, "Don't read into it."



8:15 PM EST: The White House just released this photo depicting President Obama being briefed on the Boston bombings by FBI Director Robert Mueller. To Obama's left is Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. On his right is Chief of Staff Denis McDonough.



8:05 PM EST: More from CNN from Boston-area hospitals: At least 17 of those wounded are in critical condition, at least 25 are in serious condition, and at least 10 limbs have been amputated.

7:59 PM EST: Massachusetts General tweets it is not on lockdown, despite what the media may say:



Contrary to some reports, #MGH is not currently on lockdown. — MassGeneral News (@MassGeneralNews) April 15, 2013

7:56 PM EST: CNN reports that more than 130 people have been wounded in the bombings. Doctors say they're pulling ball bearings out of patients, "suggesting that the bombs were designed to propel shrapnel."

7:45 PM EST: Massachusetts General Hospital is on lockdown after a suspicious device was discovered in the parking garage.

7:35 PM EST: There's now more information on the Saudi national being questioned by police. According to CBS, it turns out the man was simply running away from the blasts like everyone else when he was tackled by civilians who claimed he was "acting suspiciously."

7:25 PM EST: Reuters reporter Edith Honan says the news agency has confirmed 67 injured, including a 2-year-old child.

7:15 PM EST: The Navy has sent a three-person bomb-disposal unit to Boston to help police investigate the bombings and to assist in checking other suspicious packages.

7:07 PM EST: An unofficial and spotty rundown of blast victims hospitalized in Boston is here. The Lede blog reports that more than a dozen children are wounded.

6:55 PM EST: WCVB cites sources who say that a male "person of interest" is in custody at a hospital. The outlet stopped short of saying whether that person is a Saudi national, as other outlets have reported.

6:45 PM EST: CBS's John Miller reports that a Saudi national is in police custody, but he's denying any involvement in the explosions.

6:33 PM EST: More bad news from CNN affiliate WCVB:



Affiliate WCVB says an 8-year-old was one of those killed today in the bombings — Steve Brusk (@stevebruskCNN) April 15, 2013

6:19 PM EST: Following reports of police shutting down cell service in Boston, cellphone companies say service is overloaded but still functional.

6:13 PM EST: President Obama said in his brief statement that he is "supremely confident" Bostonians will pull together and take care of one another: "Boston is a tough and resilient town, and so are its people."

6:11 PM EST: CNN reports that the FBI has deemed the Boston explosions a terrorist investigation.

6:08 PM EST: Boston police continue refuting reports that they have a hospitalized suspect in custody:



BREAKING: Boston police commissioner says no suspect is in custody in marathon explosions — The Associated Press (@AP) April 15, 2013

6:03 PM EST: The Boston Globe has the most frightening footage yet of the pandemonium that ensued following the blasts:



5:54 PM EST: President Obama will be issuing a statement at 6:10 PM EST.

5:45 PM EST: Twitter user Clare Richardson captures a heightened police presence in New York's Times Square:



5:37 PM EST: NBC News reports that police are guarding a "possible suspect" at a Boston hospital, though, unlike the Post, it's not said anything about that person's nationality.



Officials say that Boston PD are "guarding" a wounded man at a Boston hospital as a "possible suspect" - @jimmiklaszewski — NBC News (@NBCNews) April 15, 2013

5:24 PM EST: Of the Post's "Saudi national suspect" story, a Boston police spokesperson told Talking Points Memo the Post's "scoop" is bogus: "Honestly, I don't know where they're getting their information from, but it didn't come from us."

5:10 PM EST: Cellphone service has been temporarily disabled in the Boston area in order to prevent remote detonations of explosives, according to the AP.

5:01 PM EST: The New York Post—which has no clear reason to know anything anyone else doesn't know, and which is still reporting a death toll of 12, in contradiction of official reports—has taken the role of being first to publish purported information about a purported suspect. The Post claims that Boston police, who have said nothing about the matter, are guarding a hospitalized Saudi national who has shrapnel wounds.

4:58 PM EST: Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis just said in a press conference that while he won't officially call this a terrorist attack, "you can reach your own conclusions based upon what happened."

4:51 PM EST: The Boston Globe raises the wounded count to 64—though it says there are still only two confirmed deaths.

4:48 PM EST: Terrifying video of the second explosion:



4:42 PM EST: An AP reporter says families who suffered through the Newtown shooting in December were among those seated in the marathon's VIP section, which was adjacent to one of the blasts.

4:38 PM EST: Tom Putnam, director of the JFK Presidential Library, says today's fire in the library and museum was not caused by a bomb and was confined to a mechanical room.

4:31 PM EST: The Associated Press reports that two more "devices" have been found and are being dismantled.

4:21 PM EST: Boston's JFK Presidential Library caught fire in the aftermath of the explosions. Though it's not certain the two events are related, Boston-based journalist Dave Wedge reports that police have been deployed to assist firefighters.



4:13 PM EST: Boston police just said that there are 23 injured and two dead, which conflicts with Fox's earlier report that three people had been killed.



Update 23 injuries2 dead #tweetfromthebeat via @cherylfiandaca — Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 15, 2013

4:04 PM EST: There are now multiple reports of "secondary devices," though how many there are is undetermined.



Police officer near Boston Marathon finish line: 'There are secondary devices that have been found and are unexploded.' — Chris Faraone (@Fara1) April 15, 2013

3:45 PM EST: New video shows the turbulent moments immediately following the first blast:



3:40 PM EST: The Boston Herald quotes an eyewitness who says one of the explosions "looked like it was in a trash can or something."

3:36 PM EST: Fox News is reporting that there are at least three deaths so far.

3:26 PM EST: Cambridge resident Bruce Mendelsohn tweeted this picture, saying, "I was in office right above it. There was a primary and a secondary explosion."



3:23 PM EST: An explosives unit has been dispatched to examine a "possible device" in front of the Mandarin Hotel.

