WSVN — The most horrifying images of the year coming out of Boston. Bombs exploding near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Runners and spectators sent scrambling for their lives.
Two homemade bombs were behind the terror and chaos, killing three people, including an 8-year-old boy. Hundreds more severely injured.
Surveillance video captured the two suspects, later identified as brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. “I can’t believe it, when I saw this on TV news I was thinking who could do this stuff? It’s crazy, it’s unbelievable,” the suspect’s uncle said.
The city was placed under lockdown as police launched a massive manhunt for the bombers.
Later that night, an MIT campus officer was shot and killed. Eventually, there was a gun battle between police and the suspects. Tamerlan was killed. His younger brother was later found injured hiding in someone’s boat. He is awaiting trial.
Another act of terror, this time paralyzing our nation’s capital.
12 people were killed when authorities say Aaron Alexis, a military contractor, opened fire at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, DC. He was later shot and killed by police.
Those lost remembered by their loved ones. “I don’t want people to remember him as a victim. He’s strong and I want him to be known as a dad,” one victim’s daughter said.
South Florida rising Republican star Marco Rubio got his chance in the national spotlight. “What we need is an accountable, efficient and effective government,” Rubio said.
He gave the GOP’s rebuttal of the president’s state of the union address, but it got awkward when he had to stop for a sip of water.
Gay marriage made big strides this year, after more states approved laws allowing gay couples to wed. “I know this is an historical moment for so many people.”
And the Supreme Court shot down a law that would have said marriage is only between a man and a woman.
New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder in the shooting death of Odin Llyod. Hernandez remains in jail awaiting trial.
It was a story that captured the nation. “I’ve been kidnapped. I’ve been missing for 10 years, and I’m here. I’m free now.”
Three young women in Cleveland finally escaped their abductor. Thanks to the heroic efforts of a neighbor. “I go on the porch, and she says ‘Help me get out. I’ve been in here a long time,'” the Good Samaritan said.
Ariel Castro was found guilty and sentenced to life, but was later found hanging by a bed sheet in his cell.
Tornado terror in the Midwest. Twisters tearing apart several towns in Illinois last month. Hundreds left homeless. Eight people were killed.
Twenty-three people were killed in Moore, Oklahoma by this massive tornado that stayed on the ground for 23 minutes.
An entire community mourned the deaths of 19 firefighters who were trapped and killed in a wildfire in Arizona. “Nineteen angels are in heaven right now.”
An investigation blamed communication problems between the men and their support staff.
In San Francisco, a plane crash was caught on camera. “Oh, my God.”
Pilot error is blamed for the crash of Asiana flight 214. “The masks fell down, stuff started falling down on people, and then everyone started screaming,” one witness said.
Two passengers were killed and more than one hundred injured when the Boeing 777 from South Korea slammed into the runway and burst into flames.
From the air to the sea. “Tempers are flaring, people are being very snippy.”
Cruise ship passengers on the Carnival Triumph forced to sleep in hallways as raw sewage poured from stateroom toilets after an engine fire knocked out power.
On the Carnival Dream, passengers were removed when it broke down in the Eastern Caribbean.
And finally, two 50-year milestones in our country’s history observed this year.
First, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was shot in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
The second, the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s March on Washington. “I have a dream today!”
The nation’s first black president, Barack Obama, spoke from the spot where King gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28 in 1963. “The promise of this nation will only be kept when we work together,” Obama said.
Coming up Friday at 6 p.m., we’ll look back at the year’s top international stories.