By Jennifer Christensen

Comment Staff

The recent Boston Marathon bombings caused frustration, pain, and sadness for many in the Bridgewater State University community. For Joshua Osegueda, a site manager at Jumpstart for Bridgewater State, witnessed what he called a “warzone.”

“One of our Jumpstart site managers was running the race,” Osegueda said, referring to the Boston Marathon. “I started to go to the finish line.”

Luckily, Osegueda was not injured. Although he did not hear the bombings, he received text messages from coworkers asking if he was safe. The ordeal was not over, however.

A few days later, while visiting a friend in Watertown, Massachusetts, Osegueda and his friend’s roommates found themselves in lockdown. Police were looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the nineteen-year-old suspect in the Marathon bombings. The suspect was also a student at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

At about 12:30 A.M. on Friday morning, Osegueda was awakened by screaming from the roommates in the house. Once he looked out the window, he saw a group of policemen with their guns drawn, shining flashlights into house windows.

“A scary moment was when we saw the FBI on the scene,” Osegueda said. “It started with the Watertown police, then progressed to state police, then progressed to the FBI.”

“A scary moment was when we saw the FBI on the scene,” Osegueda said. “It started with the Watertown police, then progressed to state police, then progressed to the FBI.”

A swat team was called in, and soldiers began patrolling the streets into the early hours of the morning. Unmarked police cars blocked the streets. Osegueda and his friends saw helicopters and military vehicles, such as tanks.

“For those twenty-four hours for everyone in that area, it felt like an active war zone,” Osegueda said. “Once we saw the tank, we thought we were going to die.”

A full perimeter search was later issued, and soldiers entered the house to secure it.

“They said we are here to do a complete search of your home,” Osegueda said. “They were looking out for our well-being.”

Osegueda added that he asked the soldiers to check the basement of the house because it is sometimes unlocked. He and his friends were afraid the suspect might be hiding in the house.

“There was an endless amount of anxiety,” Osegueda added.

That afternoon, Osegueda and his friends gathered various tools such as kitchen knives and baseball bats in case they needed to defend themselves. They also secured the doors with metal rods. That way if the suspect tried to get into the basement, they would hear him coming.

At 5 P.M. the lockdown was finally lifted, and according to a televised news conference, residents of Watertown were allowed to go outside. However, residents were told the suspect was still armed and dangerous. Soon after the lockdown was lifted, Osegueda saw police and FBI vehicles race toward Franklin street. Osegueda and his friends heard gunfire soon after.

According to CBS News’ John Miller, a man living on Franklin Street in Watertown called 911 after seeing blood on his boat outside. Once he lifted the tarp, he saw the suspect covered in blood inside the boat. The suspect then opened fire on the police officers. He was wounded and transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

“We heard the cheers when they got him,” Osegueda said. “We were about one thousand feet away from the boat where he was found. We couldn’t see it because it was about two streets over. More than anything, we were relieved.”

Megan Gomes, a student at Bridgewater State, was also affected by the Boston bombings. She was with her family watching the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off. Gomes saw emergency vehicles respond right away.

“It was a shock,” she said. “Seeing it on the news made it real. But it’s amazing to see the positive things coming out of it.”

“Seeing everyone unite around the nation is amazing,” Osegueda said.

Jennifer Christensen is a Comment staff writer. Email her at jchristensen@student.bridgew.edu.