In the wake of the two explosions that killed three people at the Boston Marathon, runner Kristen McGuinness is thankful that her family wasn’t hurt.
Her son, daughter and husband were waiting for her across the street from where one of the blasts happened Monday afternoon.
"It could've easily been them,” McGuinness, 37, told NBC 6 in Boston Tuesday.
She was about to turn a corner Monday when two bombs went off within seconds near the finish line, leaving three people dead and scores more wounded.
"It sounded like a cannon, like a bomb,” said McGuinness, who lives with her family in Stoneham, on Boston’s North Shore.
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Her eight-year-old son, Ryan McGuinness, is the same age as one of the victims who died, Martin Richard.
"It's just a bad thing that someone bad would do, but I don't know why they would do such a thing," Ryan said.
Boston and law enforcement officials have vowed to find and bring to justice whoever was responsible.
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Ryan called the immediate moments afterward “just sad.”
"I wanted to get out of here and find my mom quick, because I wanted to see if she was okay, and it was just bad,” he said.
Kristen McGuinness remembered what her first words to her family were Monday.
"I love you, and I just cried and cried and cried,” she said.
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Her son said he gave her a big hug along with a kiss.
The 8-year-old said he was happy that no one in his family was hurt, and said he would pray for those who were injured and their relatives.
Click here for complete coverage of the Boston Marathon explosions.
Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida