Local hero centre of attention

Carlos Arredondo said he had the skills to help from being a Red Cross volunteer. Photo / AP

Just about everyone you can imagine stopped by Carlos Luis Arredondo's little brick row-house yesterday to hear what he had to say about the Boston Marathon bombing.

Reporters came from as far away as Paris, friends and neighbours strolled in, even two FBI agents visited.

Arredondo has turned into a living reminder of both the horror and bravery witnessed in Tuesday's double bombing at the finish line.

A peace activist and sometime cabbie and truck driver who was watching the race from the finish line, Arredondo rushed into the mass of mangled humanity, where a dramatic photo caught him pushing a wheelchair with a victim who lost most of his lower legs.

He said he had the necessary skills because he was a Red Cross volunteer trained in first aid.

Arredondo went to the marathon to meet a group of National Guardsmen and military families who were cheering the runners and handing out flags.

His cowboy hat and riveting comments to reporters, as well as the news photographs of him rescuing Jeff Bauman, quickly made him a sensation.

The FBI agents, he said, asked routine questions in search of mundane facts they hoped would help them solve the crime. Could he and his wife, Melida, verbally retrace their footsteps during the race? Where precisely were they when the bombs went off? What did they see? What did they do?

The agents left after about 40 minutes and said they would contact him again.

Boston police had already stopped by and asked for some personal belongings on behalf of the FBI. He gave them the shoes, pants and T-shirt he wore at the race, as well as four photographs he took immediately after the attack.

He was not specific about what investigators hoped to discover from his clothing, saying only that they took some items "they need to evaluate".

"We were very happy to help them in any way we can."

- AP