emerging is that they were deadly but crude. a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the boston bomb investigation tells cnn, the bombs were hidden in bags. among items partially recovered are pieces of black nylon which could be from a backpack and what appears to be fragments of bebes and nails thought to be contained a pressure cooker device. reporter: it is likely but not certain that a timing device was used to set off the bomb. and doctors say that the bomb was meant to kill or maim as many people as possible. due to the number of sharp objects that we found inside people this bomb possibly had metallic fragments in them and we removed pellets and nails. reporter: mike buchard is a former top official with the
created this. the picture of the bombs now starting to emerge is that they were deadly but crude. a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the boston bomb investigation tells cnn the bombs were hidden in bags inside a metal pressure cooker. a law enforcement source also told cnn that it s likely but not certain that a timing device was used to detonate the bomb. emergency room doctors said they believed the bombs contained bbs and nails intended by the bomber to kill or maim as many people as possible. there were a variety of sharp objects that we found in their bodies, probably this bomb had multiple metallic fragments in them and we removed them. mike bouchard is a former top official with the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. it could be a relatively simple device but that s all you need.
so any one shot, any one frame could hold the clue to help investigators break this case open. every angle of these explosions has the potential to tell us what happened. the runner were right there, but many of them just kept on running to the finish line. right. the runners seemed to have been shielded by all the individuals who were standing around the device. reporter: michael bowshard said the bombs were likely placed on the ground or two to three feet above it. but there s no windows blown out. and no crater. and that tells bowshard this was not a high-intensity bomb to destroy buildings. with a low-grade explosives and small amount of explosives, you won t really see a crater. reporter: but all of that power suggests something was used to maximize the blast.
reporter: 24 hours after this event, erin, we don t have a possible description of a suspect, a car a motive, anybody claiming responsibility. it really was stunning to hear and see all those law enforcement officers basically asking for the public s help in trying to solve this. they are working hard, they re trying to piece together the bomb, the fragments, the residue, etc., all taken to quantico, trying to re-enact the bomb, that s kind of standard procedure and also they mentioned the pressure cook never one of the black nylon bags, then a possible pressure cooker was as strong as they could determine that to be. drew griffin, thank you very much. certainly amazing, kind of brings back to me, i remember talking to former press secretary leon panetta who said his biggest fear was a lone wolf attack would be the hardest thing to track and that s what