"University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach Ali Stevenson
told Local 15 News, “They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”
The news station also reports that Stevenson “thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.”
Stevenson then describes hearing the explosions as he ran away from the scene, having just completed the marathon.
If this report is accurate, it clearly suggests there could have been some degree of prior knowledge of the bombing, which killed two people and injured at least 23.
The fact that the explosions were preceded and overlapped by a”drill” of an almost identical nature mirrors other major terror attacks, such as the 7/7 bombings in London.