UPDATE: When I pulled the quote below from the Boston Globe last night, I removed the graduate student's name. Her father has since given permission to give her name to the public. Her name was Ms. Lv Lingzi, and as the Globe stated "has also been rendered as Lingzi Lu."
And as written below, she might have been a Chinese national, but she was here as a BU graduate student, living here, learning here, socializing here, and she watching the Boston Marathon when the non-professional runners, those running for a cause, a cure, or for the experience and pride of running and finishing the marathon are making their way towards the finish line, just as all of the others who were killed and maimed.
As far as many are concerned - Lingzi Lu was a Bostonian and we mourn her loss.
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Boston University's newspaper is reporting that the third victim of the bombing at the Boston Marathon was a BU grad student who was a Chinese National.
Yesterday at a news conference when Police Commissioner Davis said the number of dead had gone from two to three, he let it slip that one of the dead was a BU student.
As we learned the identities of the other two victims, 29 year old Krystle Campbell and eight-year-old Martin Richard, it was assumed then, that the third was the BU student.
The university hasn't released the student's name pending permission from the family.
According to BU Today the student was with two friends, one was injured, the other unharmed:
Rev. Robert Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel, visited the injured student Monday evening and again yesterday afternoon. He reports that she underwent surgery on Monday and on Tuesday. “She is doing well,” says Hill. “She has her friends around her, and she will soon have family around her.
The Boston Globe reports more information from a source at the Chinese consulate in New York:
The Chinese consulate said that two Chinese students were victims in the bombings. One was injured, and the second died.
The Chinese consulate in New York identified the survivor as BU student Zhou Danling. Chinese media said Zhou is a graduate of Wuhan University in central China, and is a student at BU in actuarial science.
“She cannot talk now but can communicate with pen and paper,” the consulate said in an e-mailed statement earlier Tuesday.
In that earlier statement, the consulate said another Chinese student, identified by the consulate (name removed) was still missing.
Boston is known internationally for it's colleges and universities. The rainbow of young people of diverse nationalities that fill the streets during the school year can, at least to some extent, be attributed to students from countries all over the world.
It's one of the things we love about Boston.
I remember telling one of my children who was accepted to Northeastern that just being able to live in that area made the opportunity even more exciting.
The area of the bombing is close to several colleges, so it's no surprise that several of the injured were local college students.
So far, according to Globe, schools have confirmed that:
Among the injured were several area college students. Three Tufts University students, seven Emerson College students, three Northeastern University students, two Boston College students, and one Berklee College of Music student were among those injured, according to the schools.
Even though these students came to us from another country, they were living here and we consider them Bostonians. So yes, we've lost yet another one of our own.
A map showing colleges and universities in Boston proper this link will take you to a larger map.
Letter from BU President Richard Brown:
Dear Friends,
We are still learning about the explosions that occurred earlier today near the Finish Line for the Boston Marathon. We now know that the two explosions at the Finish Line were the result of devices planted at the scene and we also know that additional unexploded devices have been found. Two people were killed and many more seriously injured, including a Boston University student who was critically injured (we cannot yet identify the student). Boston University police have stayed on duty to protect our campus and support Boston and state police.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have experienced a dreadful loss and those whose loved ones are terribly injured.
Obviously we will work with safety officials to understand as much as we can about what has happened. We are advising all Boston University students to stay in their residence halls and apartments and continue to follow the guidance of the Boston Police Department. All community members who are not on campus should stay home and avoid the immediate area. Please monitor BU Today for updates about University actions that we take as we learn more.
Yours sincerely,
Robert A. Brown
President
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I love that dirty water ... BOSTON YOU'RE MY HOME
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