There are "man on the roof" conspiracy theories starting already.

[Courtesy Flush]

In one of the most-publicized pictures from Boston, there is a lone man visible on a rooftop. People are already speculating and fear mongering.

Honestly, if I were in Boston for the marathon, and could get a rooftop view of the race, that would be me up there, and who knows what a stir that might cause.

[ChangeUp106]

1. Weird

Why was he up there alone. Why does it look like he's casually walking away? I have only seen the picture, not the conspiracy theories.

[morningfog]

3. How can you tell the manner in which he is walking?

It is a blurry silhouette. He could have been running. Also how do you know he was alone?

[arcane1]

5. Because you have only one irrelevant photo to go on n/t

[uppityperson]

7. How can you tell from 1 fuzzy photo that he is "casually walking away"? I fuzzy moment in time tells

you that? How do you know he was alone? Maybe someone else was there but not in the photo. This is how conspiracy theories get going. People assume things that are not facts in evidence.

[Codeine]

10. Yeah, nothing weirder than a dude on a roof during a major spectator event.

Unprecedented, if you ask me!

[Raine1967]

29. Weird...

You have a picture? Come on, share.

[AsahinaKimi]

2. It really could have been..

Someone who came to watch the Marathon and found a high location.

[geckosfeet]

4. Thousands of people watch from rooftops, porches and multi-story buildings.

If someone also has a shot of him on the ground near the bomb site, well now that would be incriminating.

[morningfog]

6. People are stupid.

[justiceischeap]

8. There are photographers known for a specific style of photography (Warning: may upset height phobic)

they are called roof toppers. They usually get on top of very tall buildings and take photos but sometimes they also do events. This would be a perfect opportunity for a roof topper.

[Codeine]

12. That picture freaks the fuck out of me.

Gah! I hate heights!

[justiceischeap]

13. I can't play the video game "Assassin's Creed"

because of the heights. It makes me sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine doing what they do.

[Codeine]

16. There's a YouTube video of a fellow free-climbing a cellphone tower or some such structure.

A super-high tower in the middle of nowhere, anyway. I actually had nightmares for a week after viewing it. Freaked me out WAY more than Two Girls One Cup ever did!

[octothorpe]

25. I've seen that before. It was when I was considering getting tower climb and rescue certified

That kinda scared me out of it. ehehehe

[Scootaloo]

27. Seen that one too

I'm not afraid of heights, but that.. .that left me curled in a little ball

[Occulus]

39. Assassin's Creed is nothing.

Bioshock Infinite would make you fill your pants.

"Make yourself ready, pilgrim. The bindings are there as a safeguard.

Ascension.... ascension in the count of five....

Count of four....

Three.... two..... one.....

Ascension... ascension....

Five thousand feet....

Ten thousand feet....

Fifteen thousand feet....



Hallelujah."

[Iggo]

14. I had to lie down on the ground after looking at that.

Yikes!

[justiceischeap]

17. Should I place a warning on it? I don't want to upset anyone. nt

[Iggo]

36. No way! I liked it!

'Bout the only buzz I get these days...lol.

[NutmegYankee]

18. No kidding!

That picture should have a warning for those with a fear of heights.

[TeeYiYi]

21. Remember this famous guy on the rooftop photo?...

TYY

[Courtesy Flush]

23. I don't think that was the case.

It wasn't a particularly tall building. Just a regular rooftop.

[krispos42]

26. Ooooo....

...yeah, my privates tried to hide when I saw that picture.

I was gripping the arms of my seat during "Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol"

[Skip Intro]

33. Then there's this guy -

[Brickbat]

38. I find it awesome that what bothers everyone is the height that guy's at,

NOT HIS FUCKING CLOWN FACE.

[FreeState]

9. Confirmed the man on the roof was just Boston Marathon security

https://twitter.com/Urban_Supremacy/status/323945425772101633

[Demo_Chris]

20. That's what "they" want you to believe

I have seen reliable photoshops that show it was could have been either Kim Jon-Un or Bigfoot!

[FreeState]

31. LOL thanks for the laugh :) n/t

[treestar]

34. LOL

There was a thread earlier about Kim Jong Un not having been seen in some time!

[Warren Stupidity]

11. Rooftops were a tradition here.

I suspect the next marathon will be a full blown national security even, so that shit is over.

[anneboleyn]

15. I think this would point to a shooter not a bomber.

It doesn't seem like a bomber would be on a roof. Now if there had been a series of shootings I would think this photo might be significant. We will see I suppose.

[krispos42]

28. Remote-detonated bomb.

Possibly by cell phone.

It's possible he studied the crowd from the rooftop to pick the absolute best time to detonate the bombs.

Although between the network coverage and the webcams that were undoubtedly pointed at the finish line, he could also have done that from South Africa.

[anneboleyn]

35. Doubt it. Optimal time was when first runners came across

Not hours later. Bombers also want an immediate escape route -- being potentially trapped on a roof by the effects of one's own bomb (assuming this was not a suicide bomber) is generally -- one would assume -- not how a bomber would operate.

[krispos42]

37. I've worked traffic control a a marathon

The first runners are usually a tiny handful of elite runners, way ahead of the rest of the pack. These are people that are professionals, training for the Olympics or something.

The pack is spread out over many hours. The densest part of the pack is far behind the leaders, not at the forefront.

At the half marathon I was at, I was station at about Mile 9. It took a couple of hours before most of the pack had moved past. At that point, the people going past me were "running" only in the technical sense. Of course, where the bombs were seem to be placed in the stands, where most of the victims would be spectators, not runners.

I guess in the confusion, the bomber could have gotten from a roof to the ground floor in a couple of minutes and simply walked away before the police cordon took effect. Who would notice one more guy running out of a building?

Hell, what if he ran down the stairs and ran TOWARDS the explosion? The better to enjoy the results of his handiwork, and to conduct a damage assessment.


I mean, I would do it from someplace with a TV, hundreds of miles away, but that's just me.

[Richard D]

19. Someone had to do it

[Courtesy Flush]

24. Um, yeah, but that was the second explosion

You can see the smoke from the first one in the background.

[longship]

22. Nah! That's the Boston Sasquatch.

They're common in that neighborhood.

No worries.

[Skip Intro]

30. How can it be a conspiracy theory when we don't know the truth yet?

All we have a theories at this point, with very little fact.

[frazzled]

32. I'm often alone on my rooftop

People who live in low-rise apartments often have rooftop decks. (This is quite as true in Boston, where I used to live, as it is in Chicago, where I live now.) Maybe he was out checking if the chives are up yet.