It’s what any little sister would do.

With the cameras pointing at a new statue of her older brother Martin, Jane Richard did something she had probably done countless times before — she gave him bunny ears.

After the Martin Richard statue was unveiled at BSU, his sister Jane gives him bunny ears. ❤️ #wcvb #BSUPeace pic.twitter.com/F1kPT0a1hq — Sera Congi (@seracongi) September 26, 2015

It was a momentary return to innocence for a family that has seen anything but.

Martin, 8, was the youngest victim killed at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Jane, then 6, lost her leg in the attack and suffered numerous shrapnel wounds. Their parents, Bill and Denise Richard, both suffered injuries as well.

The statue unveiled Saturday at Bridgewater State University is in front of the university’s new Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice.


The statue has Martin holding the “No more hurting people. Peace.’’ sign he made in school. The photo of him holding the sign became an iconic image following the bombings.

“I find some peace in knowing what kind of man he would have become,’’ Bill Richard said of his son at the unveiling.

Bill and Denise are Bridgewater State alumni, and Bill said Martin wanted to attend the university as well.