Ground was broken Wednesday in Boston for a children's park to be named after the youngest victim of one of the most vicious acts of terrorism in U.S. history.
Martin Richard was 8 years old when two bombs blew up near the finish line of the April 2013 Boston Marathon, killing him and two others.
Martin's Park will be a playground along the South Boston waterfront. It will be what his father, Bill Richard, called "a place where all kids will have the opportunity to learn together and play together without prejudice."
Boston's Democratic Mayor Martin Walsh and Massachusetts' Republican Governor Charlie Barker were part of the groundbreaking ceremony. They thanked all those who dedicated their time and money to help build Martin's Park.
When it opens in late 2018, the park, just blocks from the Boston Children's Museum, will feature a pirate's ship, climbing ropes and rocks, swings and slides.
Children in wheelchairs will have easy access to the attractions. Martin's younger sister, Jane, lost a leg in the bombing.
"I know Martin is happy that the community is coming together to build something inclusive, which is what Martin was all about," she said at the ceremony.
Two brothers from Kyrgyzstan of Chechen descent, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, killed three and wounded more than 260 when they planted the two bombs in backpacks. The terrorist bombings were an apparent reaction to the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police several days later. A wounded Dzhokhar was captured hiding out in a suburban Boston backyard. He is in a federal prison waiting for his death sentence to be carried out.
