Feds Earmark $8.3M for Boston Bombing Victims

WASHINGTON (CN) - Groups supporting the victims, witnesses and first responders of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings will receive an $8.3 million grant, the Justice Department said Monday.

Three died and more than 200 were injured on April 15 after Dzokhar Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan allegedly set off two improvised explosive devices near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Tamerlan was killed by police in the ensuing manhunt, while Dzokhar faces federal charges of using a weapon of mass destruction against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, as well as one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.

State charges against the ethnic Chechen include the murder of an MIT officer and the nonfatal shooting of a transit officer shortly before his capture.

The Justice Department noted that the grant announced Monday will also benefit "those in the vicinity of the bombings as well as the residents of neighborhoods in which subsequent events unfolded."

"An estimated 1,000 victims will require crisis and/or longer-term recovery services," it added.

Dzokhar faces the death penalty or a life sentence if convicted. He arrived in the United States with his family over a decade ago as a refugee from Kyrgyzstan.

"This grant funding will provide critical support to many who were affected by last year's terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "We will never forget the courage of the first responders, marathon participants, and bystanders who rushed to save lives on that terrible day, nor the heartbreak and pain of those who suffered injuries or lost friends and loved ones. With this grant, we reaffirm the Justice Department's firm commitment to standing with the victims of this heinous crime - and all of the community leaders and service providers who continue to heal this remarkable and resilient city.

The Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime provided the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) grant to the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA).

It is meant to cover past and future costs "for organizations providing crisis intervention services and trauma-informed care, continuum of care, socioeconomic support, wrap-around legal services and other victim assistance."

The Justice Department noted that the OVC was authorized to administer up to $50 million a year in connection to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit