Seems like I have said that before.
"Man arraigned on multiple charges after bomb scare" by Evan Allen, Maria Cramer and John R. Ellement | Globe Staff April 16, 2014
The Wakefield man charged with creating a disturbance at the Boston Marathon finish line told police he was preoccupied with his “performance” when he walked barefoot, draped in a long black veil, carrying a backpack containing a rice cooker, down Boylston Street Tuesday night.
Is that was this all was? Another staged and scripted performance?
My printed story's first paragraph:
When Boston police demanded to know why Kevin Edson had walked, screaming and barefoot, down Boylston Street carrying a backpack holding a rice cooker on the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, he looked back at them with a face streaked with yellow and blue paint running from his eyes like tears.
The same Boston Strong and ribbon colors for this year?
Police were so alarmed by Edson's behavior Tuesday that they shut down Boylston Street, arrested Edson, and detonated the backpack and rice cooker.
Kevin Edson was arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and disturbing a public assembly, and felony charges of possession or use of a hoax device and making a false bomb threat.
My printed article says he pleaded not guilty.
Boston Municipal Court Judge Michael Coyne set bail at $100,000 cash at the request of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office. The judge also ordered Edson to be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a competency evaluation after court mental health expert Jeffrey Miner told him that Edson was an intelligent man with a history of hospitalizations for mental illness.
Oh, no, they sent him to Bridgewater.
Miner told the judge that he had spoken with the 25-year-old Edson and with Edson’s parents and sister and learned that Edson had not taken his medication for the past three to four months, leading Miner to question whether Edson could make rational decisions.
Edson's attorney, Shannon Lopez, said that her client was not a danger and that he did not claim to have a bomb. She called the request for $100,000 bail "egregious."
The incident rattled the public’s nerves because it came on the anniversary of the terror bombings at the Marathon finish line that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
A little too convenient, to be honest. This is smelling like a mind-manipulating psyop.
The city had marked the anniversary earlier with solemn ceremonies honoring the victims, survivors, and those who have helped them. The race is slated to be run again Monday and officials are promising tight security.
According to a police report filed in court, Edson told arresting officers that the rice cooker he was carrying inside the backpack was not an explosive device. He also explained his behavior, which included shouting out loud as he walked down the street.
“I knew what I was doing, it was being conceived in my head. It’s symbolism,’’ Edson allegedly told police after being informed of his Miranda rights. “The performance got the best of me.’’
That was the second paragraph of my printed story.
Conley said “there could not have been a worse time or place for this inexcusable behavior.”
“If this was a performance, it was the most irresponsible, senseless, and selfish performance I can imagine,” Conley said in a statement. “It was akin to shouting ‘fire’ in a theater. People were put in fear, public transportation was disrupted, and a day of somber remembrance and reflection was marred by this defendant’s choices.”
My seventh paragraph, but it is verbatim print.
Edson’s family issued a statement saying he had “multiple mental health issues,’’ including a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The statement appeared to come from Edson’s mother, Joie, who said that she and her daughter had themselves run the Marathon six times for charity.
“It’s a glorious event that embraces the spirit of friendly competition and good will,’’ the statement said. “Crossing the finish line of the Boston Marathon is a feeling of accomplishment that can not be described. … Our family is so sorry and emotionally overwhelmed by the events that occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon” Tuesday.
In the statement, the family said they were facing a tumultuous time, as Edson’s father battles Stage 4 head and neck cancer.
The statement applauded the city, first responders, Marathon runners, and the region’s medical community for being “Boston Strong.”
“What is NOT strong is the mental health system in Boston, our state, our country and the world. I have two sons who struggle with mental illness and I have had to constantly fight for twelve years to get them the help they need,’’ the statement said.
“We wish the runners of the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day a wonderful and celebratory day. Run Strong and enjoy your wonderful feeling as you cross that finish line,’’ the statement concluded.
My print account is as follows:
Edson's mother said that her son is bipolar with psychotic features and that he is probably manic and psychotic. During past manic episodes, she said, he has dressed as Lady Gaga and the Statue of Liberty and paraded around in public.
"God only knows why he does it; he's mentally ill," Joie Edson, said Wednesday. Her whole family is devastated by her son's actions, she said. "I don't think he meant to do harm, I think he just meant to draw attention to himself."
I guess he succeeded there.
Joie Edson has been trying to get him help for years, but she has another son who struggles with mental illness, and she said there is simply not enough support in the mental health system.
"Advocating for assistance from mental health providers for my sons has been a full-time job," Joie Edson said.
On a Facebook page that appeared to belong to Edson, there was a photograph of Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev with the headline, “had a blast at the marathon.’’
The web version somehow retained that!
Joie Edson said she had not seen the page, but said that her son sometimes gets obsessed with events in the news.
Usually, she said, he focuses on celebrities; he has never spoken at length about the bombings.
Kevin Edson is an aspiring fashion designer and a student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has not been living at home for several months, his mother said. When he was arrested, he gave the police a Mission Hill address.
The Massachusetts College of Art and Design said that an “undergraduate non-residential student has been arrested by Boston police.... The College takes these matters very seriously and holds people accountable for their actions should they be found responsible.”
The school is cooperating with police and “committed to keeping our campus and community safe, secure and informed,” the school said in a statement on its website.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said at a news conference that Edson’s behavior and the fact that he was carrying a backpack led officers to approach Edson.
Evans said Edson did not breach security because Boylston Street was open to pedestrians at the time.
"We are going to increase visibility in the area over the next couple of days because of the incident," said Evans. "We will also have bike patrols."
When this year’s Marathon is held on Monday, Evans said, people are being asked to leave their backpacks and strollers at home.
“We’re not forbidding backpacks. We’re not forbidding strollers. But it will make our jobs a lot easier,’’ Evans said. “I don’t want anybody’s anxiety to be put up. ... That’s what troubles me about what happened last night.’’
Evans also said he was saddened to see the incident garnering so much attention just hours after the city had hosted a powerful memorial service to mark the bombing anniversary. The service had included a moment of silence and flag-raising at the finish line.
According to court documents, Edson walked toward the finish line screaming incoherently, dressed all in black and carrying a backpack, with his face covered by a hat and black veil. When police asked what was in his backpack, he said he had a rice cooker that was not an explosive, a robot mask, two cigarette lighters, 2,000 business cards, his cellphone, and his wallet. Police cleared the street and detonated the backpack, along with a bag left by a news organization.
He really hammed up the performance.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he did not believe the incident with Edson indicated any problems with the security strategy created for Monday’s marathon, in part because of Edson’s personal history.
“The guy wasn’t right, I don’t think,’’ Walsh said in an interview. “Just the whole idea around that was terrible.”
Walsh said he was “very confident’’ about the quality of the security that will be deployed Monday.
“There’s a lot of excitement on the street. People are excited,’’ he said. “There is a good police presence out there. That’s going to continue through the rest of the week and into the weekend. And then Monday or some point Sunday night, the street will be shut down. They will be doing sweeps of the street to make sure the street is safe.’’
Walsh also urged the public to use “common sense’’ when deciding whether to bring backpacks into Boston on Monday.
Police said today that when Edson was arrested around 7 p.m. Tuesday his face was painted blue and yellow. Some videos of Edson taken Tuesday night show him wearing an outfit and veil.
The clothing appeared similar to what he wore on a YouTube video called “Purgatory Vacation.’’
The video, which was linked to Edson’s website, was shot as if it took place in a padded room and opened with a character wearing a straitjacket. At one point, the character says, “I don’t know when my mind went awry.’’
On Tuesday, the Boston police bomb squad performed a controlled detonation of the rice cooker in Edson’s backpack as a precaution.
A second backpack, originally believed to belong to Edson, was also detonated by police. It has since been determined to have belonged to a local media outlet, police said today.
Related: Police detonate backpacks at Marathon finish line
Man arrested for alleged hoax bomb at Boston Marathon finish line identified as Kayvon Edson, self-described 'performance artist'
Also see: Ready to Run Another Marathon
Finished a lot later than I wanted.
