DORCHESTER, MASS. — Bill and Denise Richard are active in their local Catholic parish and at their kids’ school, and usually are among the first to sign up their children for local sports leagues.

Eight-year-old Martin Richard, the second of their three children, was a constant presence on local baseball diamonds in this gritty Boston suburb.

On Monday, Martin died from injuries he suffered in the bomb blast at the Boston Marathon . Tuesday night, his community gathered for a candlelight vigil at a Dorchester sports field to remember him, and to find comfort in sharing memories of his shattered family.

Denise Richard, a librarian, remains in hospital, suffering from a brain injury related to the bombing. Her daughter Jane, 6, had a leg amputated.

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“We’re talking about a family that’s a pillar of the community,” said Lucy, whose son was in Martin’s class and who did not want to disclose her surname. “I’ll remember Martin’s shy smile and big brown eyes.”

Perhaps protective of their own children as well as Martin’s memory, many parents here eyed journalists with suspicion.

“This isn’t a perfect community but it’s a close one,” said Jennifer House, who owns a local coffee shop and counts the Richard family among her regular customers. “We had a bank robbery last week and one of my employees chased the guy down the street. She told a taxi not to pick him up when the robber jumped in and tried to get away. The cops got him.”

As families lit candles and handed out American flags, Diane Lescinskas probably spoke for many in the Boston area when she said kids here are confused about the bombings.

“My 14-year-old Meghan asked me if North Korea was attacking,” she said. “We’ve all had to tell our kids that they’re safe.”

As FBI investigators winnow down reams of evidence, grief and stoic defiance are beginning to replace shock on the still sparsely populated streets of Boston and in nearby Dorchester.

Martin is one of two casualties who have been identified by police. The other is Krystle Campbell, 29, from Medford, Mass.

The third victim has been identified as a Chinese citizen who was a graduate student at Boston University, but officials have not yet disclosed his or her name.

Campbell’s mother Patricia was initially told that her daughter had survived her injuries and was in surgery. She later learned that hospital officials had misidentified her daughter, compounding her grief.

Campbell’s grandmother Lillian told The Boston Globe that her granddaughter had been a regular at the marathon ever since she was a young girl, taking up a traditional place near the finish line to cheer runners as they crossed.

U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Boston to attend an interfaith service Thursday morning.

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A day after the bombing, Boston was chilly and bathed in sunshine, but the city has hardly returned to normal. More than a dozen city blocks near the finish line remain blocked off to traffic and pedestrians. Police helicopters hovered over the downtown throughout the day.

Used garbage bags and shiny foil blankets used to keep runners warm sit in piles. Closer to the explosion sites — which are about a block apart — discarded bottles and cans lie undisturbed on the street. Trash has become potential evidence.

How long will it stay like that? “As long as it takes,” said a runner who declined to give his name. “Remember, after Oklahoma City, they found the bomber by first tracing fragments from the containers he used to carry the explosives.”

In a typical year, the streets of Boston would be jammed in the days following the marathon. But Tuesday, many streets were eerily quiet.

Some pedestrians wore the familiar blue-and-yellow jackets issued to marathon runners. Several hugged and cried near the finish line, where they had left clothing and bags.

A few people involved with the race shuddered as they recalled the explosions, and some race participants said the bombing evoked memories of Sept. 11, 2001.

“I had a hard time breathing; I could really feel it in my chest,” said Michael Butcher, whose wife Kelly was competing. “After the first one, a few people actually started moving toward the blast to help the injured. Then the second one happened and everyone was realizing we have to get out of here.”

It took the Atlanta couple about an hour to find each other.

“I didn’t know where she was, or if she was OK,” Butcher said. “My kids were at home freaking out. Then we just found each other wandering in the street.”

Karen Durante, 62, said she has competed at the Boston Marathon about 12 times.

“No one is talking about race times; I still don’t even know who won the race,” Durante said.

“I wasn’t planning to run next year but I will now. We all have had flashbacks of terrorism and I think you’d see there’s a real determination by people not to let this change how we live.”

George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, said Tuesday afternoon that 31 of the 170-plus injured patients were brought to his hospital. Of those, four had above-the-knee amputations, procedures Velmahos called “easy decisions. These were mangled extremities hanging by shreds of muscle and skin.”

Even so, Velmahos said, those patients feel fortunate. “They thought they would die as they saw the blood spilling out,” he told reporters. “They woke up and said they were happy to be alive.”

Boston city officials set up a counselling centre in a hotel and by early Tuesday afternoon, at least 50 people had visited. Most asked for help with problems like finding lost passports. A few were overcome by emotion and looking for someone to talk to, Barbara Ferrer, Boston’s health commissioner, told The Star.