5 Temecula Residents Registered for Boston Marathon; 2 Explosions Reported

Updated at 9:31 p.m.

There were reports of two bomb explosions Monday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, a race with five registrants from Temecula.

It's not yet clear whether all of the registrants from Temecula were actually in the race and if they were injured during Monday's race.

In a statement on its Facebook page, The Boston Marathon said, "There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today's Boston Marathon. We are working with law enforcement to understand what exactly has happened."

Many media outlets have speculated on the cause of the explosions, but no official cause has been announced. Several gruesome photos from the scene of the explosion have been shared on Twitter from reporters and runners who said they were there, some appearing to show individuals missing limbs and blood splattered across the sidewalk.

According to the athlete tracker on the Boston Marathon website, five people registered for the race are from Temecula.

One of the more than two dozen Riverside County residents registered for today's Boston Marathon was confirmed safe in the wake of explosions near the finish line that killed two people and injured scores of others.

Riverside city officials posted on Twitter that city firefighter Brian Guzzetta and his family were safe in the aftermath of the bombings. Riverside city spokeswoman Cindie Perry said she didn't have any more information on Guzzetta, 37.

Twenty-eight other county residents -- nine from Corona, six from Riverside, five from Temecula, four from Murrieta and one each from Canyon Lake, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City -- were registered in the marathon, according to its website.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy John Anderson said the department is "always on alert for any suspicious activity or devices. We take every threat seriously and thoroughly investigate each and every one."

The department has a full-time hazardous device team, four dogs trained in bomb detection and works with other agencies on alerts and developing information related to terrorism, he said.

Palm Springs police Lt. Mike Kovaleff said that while there was no information "to suggest at this time that there is any relationship between the incidents in Boston to the city of Palm Springs, PSPD will be remain extra vigilant and sensitive to any calls for service or events that can be targeted. The Palm Springs Police Department's thoughts and prayers are extended to all of the victims, their families and the Boston Police Department."

Palm Springs International Airport executive director Tom Nolan declined to discuss airport security specifics in light of what occurred in Boston, other than to say that "any time there is an incident nationally or within a region, we always take that very seriously."

Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez, D-Coachella, said he was "deeply saddened" by the bombings.

"As a former graduate student at Harvard University, I spent afternoons and evenings around Copley Square," he said. "My thoughts and prayers are with the Boston community, runners, spectators and first responders."

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, said his thoughts and prayers were with the victims. He said local residents seeking help in contacting a loved one in Boston can call his office at 951-222-0203.

Stay tuned for updates.

—City News Service contributed to this report.