The first reports were reassuring.
“Initial reports of another explosion at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston turned out to be an unrelated fire,” said The Washington Post. The New York Times reported the same.
But a Boston police official does not rule out a connection, according to the Dorchester News, which reported:
In a press conference around 4:30 p.m., Commissioner Ed Davis said police are not certain that the incident is related to the Copley Square explosions, but they are treating it as if it is related.
Paul Yazbeck, a JFK Library employee, said he saw a small fire and heard what he defined as “definitely an explosion.”
The JFK Library site reports only “an unexpected mechanical failure.”
Earlier the Boston Globe reported that the two incidents “were likely unrelated.”
The latest reporting I have seen is that the explosion and fire at the JFK Library remains under investigation as to a possible connection to the Boston Marathon bombs. I saw the Boston Police Commissioner speak on live TV twice, first saying the incidents were related, then saying there was an incendiary device at the JFK Library and saying the incident was under investigation. As of last evening the FBI has taken over the investigation as the lead agency.
Of course the event at the JFK Library is part of what happened on Boylston. Too great a coincidence. Perhaps the Library was the main event and the two bombs were a distraction? Who is warning who about what?
I would not say “of course.” We don’t know yet. The police approach of assuming they are connected seems prudent.