The same way such situations have always been handled in the past.
A major city has NEVER been put on lockdown in America.
Which “major” cities have ever had the possibility of pipe bombs hidden all over the city.
I think until they really knew what they were working with, and where the other guy was, they had to close the city down.
By emptying the streets, people who were afraid to show up at work or school would not have their pay docked, and students wouldn’t get penalized for missing a day.
I don’t care much for the politics coming out of Boston—or all of MA, for that matter, but they were breaking new ground here and, personally, I think they did a good job.
Just MHO, of course.
They probably would have, if the one brave soul who had both legs blown off hadn't woken up from his surgery and told his brother he saw they guy set down his back pack, and thus given a clear ID of the "guy in the white cap on backwards".
The FBI already had photos of these two guys--they were even posted here on FR--but they had no real evidence to ID them as suspects, until they got the info from the victim.
That's when the FBI could announce they had two suspects, and zero in on photos of the two brothers. And they only way to "flush them out" was to make sure they could NOT blend in again--that's when the lockdown was announced.
And--to me--it was an idea that actually worked, since they had to wait til dark to hi-jack and SUV and get cash at an ATM.
Until then, they seemed intent on laying low until they could create more havoc--judging by the pressure cooker bomb and pipe bombs they had with them when they encountered the police Thursday night.
All in all, I think the FBI and the police deserve the spontaneous outpouring of thanks they received from so many people in Boston--and would not want to be critical of any big city LEO's for having a bit of a "besieged" mentality since all too often it is for a good reason.
That being said, I am glad I live in a small town in a part of the country where people DO NOT rely ONLY on LEOs for protection!
I think Boston put the rest of the country's cities in peril with that move. Future terrorists have been taking notes, and marvel at the disruption this lockdown cost....way, way out of proportion to the two IEDs planted at a footrace.