Bill Richard expected to get home on Monday night exhausted after a family day out watching the Boston Marathon.
Instead he returned to his house in Dorchester, Massachusetts looking like 'the walking dead' as he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his eight-year-old son, Martin, and the horrific injuries suffered by his wife, Denise, and six-year-old daughter, Jane.
Martin had just got ice cream with his family and had returned to the finish line with them watching runners cross the finish line when he was killed by the second of two terrifying blasts that went off 12 seconds apart at the marathon's finish line just before 3 p.m. yesterday.
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Tragic: Martin Richard, 8, was among the at least three people killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon
Martin's younger sister, Jane, lost a leg in the explosion and his mother Denise is in hospital after undergoing brain surgery. Martin's older brother, 12-year-old Henry, escaped injury while his father suffered minor shrapnel wounds to his legs.
According to the Boston Globe, Martin may have cheated death after walking out to embrace his father who is an avid runner but wasn't competing in yesterday's marathon because of an injury.
But when Mr Richard walked on, the youngster turned back to rejoin his mother just as the bomb exploded.
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Neighbors told MailOnline about the moment Bill Richard returned home still wearing hospital scrubs on Monday night, struggling to come to terms with how, in a few seconds, his family had been ripped apart.
In a statement released on Tuesday, he said: 'My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries.
Peace: Eight-year-old Martin Richard from Dorchester, Massachusetts, was killed by the second of two bombs
Family torn apart: Martin Richard, bottom right, is pictured in an undated photo with his family. His mother, Denise, has undergone brain surgery and his six-year-old sister Jane lost a leg in the blast, while his older brother, Henry, 12, escaped injury
Solidarity: Mourners attend a candlelight vigil for eight-year-old Martin Richard at Garvey Park, near his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts after he was killed in the bombing
We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin.
'We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you.'
According to NBC News, the father told a local official that his daughter would have also died if not for the heroic efforts of first-responders.
The little girl had run in a children's race on Saturday, neighbor Beth Nagy told NBC. She had won a medal and was 'all excited,' Ms Nagy said.
Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts recounted what happened at the marathon after speaking to a traumatized Bill Richard.
'The kids were all up on the barrier' as runners flooded in, Lynch said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'
'They were all focused forward and the blast came from the back and the side.'
'The dad is a runner, but he wasn't running yesterday,' Lynch said. 'They were there to support some of their friends who were running.'
Neighbors of 8-year-old Boston bombings victims reflect
My dear son: In a statement released on Tuesday, Bill Richard thanked family, friends and well-wishers
Vigil: Neighbors lit a candle outside the Richard family home and wrote the word 'Peace' on the pavement after hearing of Martin's death
Mr Richard is a popular community leader in the Boston suburb. Martin was a keen baseball player, climber and runner and was a member of Savin Hill Little League team. On Twitter, Maeve O Brien called him 'the sweetest little boy I've ever met'.
In what seems now like a shocking joke, Martin appears in a picture on Facebook holding a sign that reads: 'No more hurting people. Peace.'
Martin was among at least three people killed in the bombings. Another 176 were injured with some 17 fighting for their lives. CNN reported that at least 10 victims have needed amputations.
At least nine of the wounded are thought to be children, including a two-year-old boy who suffered a head injury.
When Mr Richard got home on Monday evening he was unable to speak or even look at his friends and neighbors who were gathered because he was so upset at the death of his son, neighbors told MailOnline.
Jane Sherman, 64, said that Mr Richard came home for around 10 minutes at 10.30 p.m. to get some clothes.
Grief: Peace is written on the sidewalk in front of the Richard house in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston
Respects: Neighbors come to pay their respects at the Richard house as police stand watch
Memorial: Well-wishers left flowers and cards on the door step of eight-year-old Martin Richard's home in Dorchester
Support: 'Pray for Martin' is written in chalk at a park near the home of Martin Richard in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston
'He looked like the walking dead,' she said. 'If you just lost a child and your other daughter was in the hospital I don't think you would feel any differently.
'He didn't even look at me and his friend came over to tell me. He told me that Martin had died and that the others were in the hospital.'
Ms Sherman explained that Mr Richard is on the St Marks Area Main St Group, a local traders association, and his wife Denise is on the neighborhood watch board. The family are well known in the community and attend a nearby church.
Ms Richard also works at the local Neighborhood House Charter School, where Martin and Jane attended. The school's flag flew at half-mast on Tuesday.
In a statement, the school described the young boy as 'a bright, energetic' boy who had 'big dreams' for his future.
'The Neighborhood House Charter School is mourning today the loss of our beloved student Martin Richard, during the tragic events at the Boston Marathon yesterday,' the statement read. 'He was a bright, energetic young boy who had big dreams and high hopes for his future. We are heartbroken by this loss.
School mourns: The flag flies at half staff in front of the Neighborhood House Charter School in the Dorchester where Denise Richard works and Martin attended
Close-knit community: Neighbors hug outside the home of the Richard family as they try to come to terms with the tragedy
Tears: A local family comforts each other after placing flowers at the Richard family home in Dorchester
Prayers: A father and daughter take time to reflect on the horror that left an innocent family torn to pieces
'We are also praying for his mother Denise, our school librarian and sister Jane, another Neighborhood House Charter student, who were seriously injured yesterday. Our thoughts are with his father Bill Richard... and older brother Henry. They are a wonderful family and represent the very best this city has to offer.'
Martin was a former student at the nearby Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy.
In a statement today, the school said: 'The Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy community is offering its every prayer for the Richard family during this heartbreaking time. Martin was a former student of the Academy and was a kind, caring, and loving young boy who had great excitement for learning. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy.'
Grief-stricken, Ms Sherman described eight-year-old Martin as a child full of life who was part of a very close-knit family.
'There are no words to describe this whole situation,' she said. 'They have lived in the neighborhood for 20 years and... I've seen those boys grow up. They are a wonderful family and this is a horrific tragedy. I don't know if they are ever going to get over this.'
Taped off: A police line was put up in front of the Richard family home in Dorchester, Mass., where Martin, an eight-year-old boy who was killed in the Boston Marathon Bombings, lived
Drawings: Neighborhood children drew chalk drawings for Martin outside his Dorchester home
Flowers: Two young girls leave flowers on the steps outside the home of eight-year-old Martin Richards who was killed in one of the two explosions at the finish of the Boston Marathon
Tragic: The 2013 Boston Marathon was marked with tragedy when two bombs exploded simultaneously at the finish line in Downtown Boston on Boylston, St.
Another neighbor, Christina Keefe, described the boy as 'older than his years.'
'He was so polite, composed, older than his years really,' she said of Martin on Tuesday. 'I can see him now, holding his mom's arm as she took them on their walks around the neighborhood.'
Mourners and well-wishers have left flowers and messages of hope outside the Richard family home on Monday night and today. Children drew chalk drawings for Martin on the pavement outside his home, and one distraught neighbor scrawled the word 'PEACE' in capitals on the Richard's driveway.
The family was a 'typical, all-American, lovely family,' neighbor Margaret Admirand told NBC News as she choked back tears.
'It's devastating. He was an adorable little boy,' Admirand said. 'It's very hard to talk about. He was a sweet little kid.'
A vigil was scheduled to be held at the family's parish of St. Ann’s in Dorchester at 7:30 p.m. this evening.
A COMMUNITY'S GRIEF: FAMILY AND FRIENDS MOURN LOSS OF 'KIND, CARING, AND LOVING' BOY WHOSE LIFE WAS CUT SHORT IN BLAST
Bill Richard released a statement to the media mourning the tragic and sudden loss of his son Martin, 8, who had been cheering on runners at the finish line of the Boston Marathon when he was killed by the second of two blasts.
The heartbreaking statement reads: 'My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries.
'We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you.'
Local Neighborhood House Charter School, where Martin and Jane attended and their mother, Denise, was a librarian also released a statement as they lowered the school's flag to half-mast.
The statement reads: 'The Neighborhood House Charter School is mourning today the loss of our beloved student Martin Richard, during the tragic events at the Boston Marathon yesterday. He was a bright, energetic young boy who had big dreams and high hopes for his future. We are heartbroken by this loss.
'We are also praying for his mother Denise, our school librarian and sister Jane, another Neighborhood House Charter student, who were seriously injured yesterday. Our thoughts are with his father Bill Richard... and older brother Henry. They are a wonderful family and represent the very best this city has to offer.'
A third statement was released on Tuesday by Martin's former school Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy, describing him as a 'kind, caring' young boy.
The school statement reads: 'The Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy community is offering its every prayer for the Richard family during this heartbreaking time.
'Martin was a former student of the Academy and was a kind, caring, and loving young boy who had great excitement for learning. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy.'