Boston Marathon Bombing Victims Lu Lingzi, Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell Remembered

The three fatalities in the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday, which injured 176 people and earned President Obama’s condemnation as a “heinous and cowardly act,” have been identified as Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23.

All three victims who were killed had been spectators at the city’s 117th annual marathon. Richard, who hailed from Dorchester, Mass., was the youngest fatality; he had reportedly just returned from an ice cream break to a spot nearer to the finish line when he was struck by the blast.

Richard’s father, who suffered shrapnel damage to both his legs from the attack, released a statement on Tuesday in which he thanked supporters. “My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston,” Richard wrote. “My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries. We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin.”

Krystle Campbell had also been watching the marathon with a friend when the explosion claimed her life. The Massachusetts native was described by those who knew her as caring and lovable. “From what I can gather from talking to everybody, she was a very energetic, likable woman who had strong convictions,” Roy Belson, the superintendent of Medford High School, where Campbell graduated in 2001, said.

Shena Parent, a front-of-house manager at Jimmy’s Steer House in Boston, where Campbell worked as a manager, said Campbell had been a friend and mentor who helped to show her the ropes and get her acquainted with other employees. “She basically took me underneath her wing,” Parent said. “She was the first one there if you needed something.”

Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old graduate student from China studying at Boston University, who also died watching the marathon, was described as an avid foodie. Before attending the marathon, Lingzi shared a photo of a fruit salad she had eaten that morning on the Chinese social media site Weibo. “My wonder breakfast!” Lingzi wrote in a post that has since amassed some 23,000 comments.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Lingzi was celebrating the marathon with two other international students before the explosion. Weibo users have mourned her passing since her name was released. “Never could have imagined that one of the casualties could be a sister from Shengyang,” one user wrote, according to the New Yorker.