People of Watertown Breathe a Sigh of Relief After Two Days of Chaos

Angelita Caceda watched the capture of the Boston Marathon Bombing suspect on her TV, but she didn’t have to – she could have just looked out her window.

Saturday morning, she enjoyed the quiet of the Church of the Good Shepherd where she relaxed with other members of her congregation.

The evening before, she was on the floor with the bright light from the search helicopter illuminating her room.

“When I saw it was Franklin Street I said ‘that’s where I usually walk. I see that boat all the time,’” Caceda said.

The church - which sits blocks away from the scene of the capture - opened Saturday for people to pray and just socialize, said The Rev. Amy McCreath.

“People came in and blurted out their whole story of yesterday,” McCreath said. “They had it inside and needed to share it.”

Stephen Steadman lamented the foul weather that greeted Saturday morning, after staying home the previous day during the lockdown.

“It was a wonderful day all day (Friday) and we were stuck inside and this morning it was raining. It was pretty discouraging,” Steadman said. “But we all slept well last night.”

Normal life returned to Watertown Saturday morning. Barbara Dailey said she saw people outside in their yards and strolling around.

“I was so happy this is an aberration for us, some people in the world go through this every day,” Dailey said. “This morning people were out gardening – that’s the way Watertown should be.”

Party Time

While Saturday was time for catharsis, Friday night – after the bombing suspect was captured – was time to celebrate.

John Donohue, owner of Donohue’s Bar and Grill and at Town Councilor, watched the end of the manhunt on TV at home. After being locked down all day, he had not planned to open for business.

“People said to me, ‘JD, you HAVE to open tonight,’” Donohue said. “I sent out an email and  on Facebook that we would open at 9:30 (p.m.) and when I got down here there were people waiting for me to open.”

The atmosphere was one usually only seen when a Boston team wins a championship.

The Donohue’s staff, in particular, had reason to party. They were too close for comfort to the shootout between police and the two bombing suspects on Thursday night, said bartender Christina Urquhart.

“We could smell something in the air, and we later found out it was gunpowder and there were loud bangs,” Urquhart said. “We were locked in here until 4 a.m.”

While the Donohue’s crew was listening to the mayhem in the neighborhood, Rob McCarthy and Bryan Nash slept through the gunfight and exploding bombs right in front of their house.

They spent Thursday in lockdown, and a SWAT team searched their house around 5 p.m. When the craziness of the manhunt ended Friday night, McCarthy took the dog out for a walk and found a crowd in Coolidge Square, near the Town Diner.

“There were 300-to-400 people,” McCarthy said. “It was like a huge party.”

Chris Hurley, a 2007 Watertown High grad, joined the celebration.

“People were chanting ‘U-S-A’ and even ‘Watertown’ a few times,” Hurley said.

He added that it is nice to see the town to return to normal.

“More than anything I was happy that it was over. We can try to resume life and get back to the day-to-day routine.”

For a day or two, however, residents want to bask in the afterglow and be thankful: the chaos is over.

Police presence remains high in Watertown, as State Police and officers from other communities help the Watertown Police. Kelly West said she saw the appreciation the people of Watertown have for the police.

“A State trooper was at Starbuck’s and a man chased after him out the door saying, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’” West said. “He couldn’t get out the door.”