Boston Bombing Victim with Gruesome Injuries Has Local Ties

A grisly photo showing the sheer carnage of the Boston Marathon bombs—a young man with his legs blown off being rushed away—quickly become one of the iconic images of the attack. The man pictured has a local connection.

The Associated Press photograph shows Jeff Bauman Jr., his face cut and bloody, clutching his left thigh. The lower part of his left leg is in tatters with the foot gone and the bone exposed. His right leg appears blackened and that foot is also gone.

Bauman’s father grew up in Oaklyn, a Patch reader emailed Tuesday. Jeff Bauman Sr., who now lives in New Hampshire, rushed to Boston Medical Center to be with his son, who was listed in critical condition. Patch could not immediately reach the Bauman family.

On his Facebook page, Bauman Sr. posted:

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they did help greatly. Unfortunately my son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had to have both lower limbs removed due to the extensive vascular and bone damage. I was with him last night and am heading back down to Boston - Boston Medical Center to be with him today. He went back into surgery last night at midnight for exploratory due to fluid in his abdomen. He came out at 2:30 and doctors informed us he was doing better. Thanks again to all you guys and girls, my friends. I'll keep you informed. Jeff B

Immediately after the attack, Bauman Sr. posted, “…I just can't explain what’s wrong with people today to do this to people. I'm really starting to lose faith in our country.”

The picture of Bauman Jr. spread quickly online in part because of the man helping Bauman. Carlos Arredondo, a peace activist, was at the marathon to honor his son, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, according to the Huffington Post. Arredondo was photographed pinching Bauman’s arteries closed as the man was rushed from the scene.

Bauman Jr. grew up in Massachusetts, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was at the Boston Marathon to cheer for his girlfriend, the newspaper reports. The family learned of Bauman Jr.’s injuries after seeing the photo of him, which has appeared cropped in many news publications given its graphic nature.

Update: Jeff Bauman Jr. may have directly helped crack the bombing case. According to Bloomberg News, the heavily sedated Bauman woke up in his hospital room, asked for a pen and paper and wrote, "bag, saw the guy, looked right at me."

His information helped authorities know where on surveillance footage to look for the possible perpetrators, leading to the release of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev's photos to the public.