Boston police find 2 unattended backpacks, evacuate marathon finish line

ASSOCIATED PRESS

11 years ago

Police on bikes cycle across the Boston Marathon finish line prior to a remembrance ceremony for family members and survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing on Boylston Street in Boston, Tuesday, April 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Family members and survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing walk down Boylston Street for a remembrance ceremony at the finish line on the one year anniversary, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

A Boston Police honor guard is posted outside the Forum restaurant, the site of the second of two bombs that exploded near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, Tuesday, April 15, 2014 in Boston. Three were killed and more than 260 injured in last year’s explosions near the finish line of the race. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Honor Guard members line up in front of the Forum Restaurant in Copley Square where a wreath-laying ceremony was held to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, Tuesday, April 15, 2014. (AP Photo/The Boston Globe, Wendy Maeda)

People photograph a banner reading "Boston Strong" as it hangs at Rowes Wharf on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in Boston. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

A law enforcement official patrols the area with a dog near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A runner passes as Boston Police honors change their post outside the Marathon Sports store, the site of the first of two bombs that exploded near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, Tuesday, April 15, 2014 in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Police salute as a U.S. flag is raised at the finish line during a tribute in honor of the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, Tuesday, April 15, 2014 in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Alex Fusco, of North Reading, Mass., right, hugs his mother, Ernestine Fusco at the conclusion of tribute ceremonies near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in Boston. Alex, who was working as an athletic trainer near the finish line that day, was among first responders to the scene of the bombing. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON —Police have evacuated the area around the Boston Marathon finish line to investigate two unattended backpacks.

Police spokesman Dave Estrada says the backpacks were discovered Tuesday evening, a year after two bombs in backpacks exploded at the end of the marathon and killed three people.

Police have cleared the area. Trains are bypassing the nearby Copley Square station.

The police department has tweeted asking people to avoid the area while the bomb squad investigates.

Survivors, first responders and relatives of those killed in last year’s Boston Marathon bombing marked the anniversary Tuesday with tributes. Former Mayor Thomas Menino (meh-NEE’-noh) spoke at the nearby Hynes Convention Center.