UCLA affiliates confirmed safe after Boston bombings
By Sonali Kohli
April 17, 2013 2:24 a.m.
UCLA has confirmed the safety of two employees who were scheduled to arrive in Boston after Monday’s explosions at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
The two employees, in addition to five people who are not current UCLA students or employees, registered their Boston travel plans with the university, said university spokesman Phil Hampton. The university knew about the other five people who were either in Boston or en route to the city on Monday because they had business with the university and had booked their flights through UCLA Travel, Hampton said.
After events like this one, the Office of Insurance and Risk Management contacts travelers who register their travel online to confirm their safety, offer assistance and provide updates, said Dean Malilay, director of the Office of Insurance and Risk Management. The service is open to UCLA students or faculty traveling on UCLA business.
One of the employees responded to an email from the Office of Insurance and Risk Management and confirmed her safety. The other employee contacted the university by phone and confirmed his safety after the university also tried to contact him through other channels like personal email and phone.
The university emailed the other five people who are not UCLA faculty or students on Monday afternoon. As of press time Tuesday, Hampton could not confirm whether the university followed up with them further or had plans to do so.
Two former UCLA athletes, Matt and Nicole Reis, were at the Boston Marathon with their family during the explosions. Both are safe, but Nicole Reis’ father was injured, according to a statement from the New England Revolution soccer team, for which Matt Reis now plays. The family has requested privacy, according to an email from New England Revolution spokeswoman Lizz Summers.
Two current UCLA students who were also at the marathon during the explosions are safe and uninjured, the students said in separate phone interviews with the Daily Bruin.
Second-year communication studies student Alex Wood completed the marathon about an hour before the explosions. Fourth-year business economics student Kaytlin Louton was a spectator near Boston College, at mile 21 of the marathon.
Third-year computational systems and biology student Thomas Curran was also registered to run in the race. Friends of Curran’s confirmed to The Bruin via text message and phone that he is safe, but The Bruin has not spoken directly with Curran.
There were two explosions Monday near the finish line of the 117th annual Boston Marathon, one of the oldest and most beloved marathons in the country. Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and more than 100 were injured, according to the Boston Police Department.
The FBI is investigating the explosions as an act of terrorism, President Barack Obama said during an 8:30 a.m. press conference on Tuesday.
The explosives probably involved fragments of BBs and nails possibly contained in a pressure cooker and probably carried in dark nylon bags, said Rick DesLauriers, FBI special agent in charge, during a press conference at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
There were no suspects as of that time. DesLauriers encouraged people to continue providing video from the scene, and to call the FBI if they had tips about suspicious activity near the explosion sites, recent explosion-like sounds in remote locations or people expressing interest in explosives or targeting the Boston Marathon.
Contributing reports by Erin Donnelly, Naheed Rajwani and Yancey Cashell, Bruin senior staff.
