JEDDAH/WASHINGTON — Several Saudi students were apprehensive after reports emerged that a Saudi was being questioned over Monday's twin explosions in Boston that killed three people. Ibraheem Abdul Rahman, a Saudi student, said he was unnerved after reports that a Saudi was a suspect in the blasts. “We don't want to see 9/11 all over again. Students are warning each other to remain at home and to be careful when they are out. Although reports of Muslims being involved are not confirmed yet, we are still anxiously waiting to be cleared out of this,” he said. Sarah, another Saudi student who lives around Boylston area, was asked to evacuate her apartment building after police declared the area as crime scene. Sarah, who was in a state of shock, walked a few blocks until she found a friend to spend the day with. She had an exam the next day but it was postponed. Friends and families of Saudi students have also warned them against speaking to the media or police except in the presence of a lawyer. Jude Al-Dajani, a 26-year-old student of Emerson College, said Boston was quiet the day after the explosions. “It's a bit odd to see what we were never used to have here,” he said. As for fearing abuse or racial behavior, Al-Dajani said that Boston is not a place for that. “Boston doesn't have that kind of treatment especially that it's an education city. My university is close to the marathon area but I wasn't at university at that time and every year I go to watch the marathon but for some reason yesterday (Monday) I changed my mind at the last second,” he added. Al-Dajani was in a shock when he saw the news. Tuesday, he donated blood to help the victims of the bombings. Meanwhile, an official at the Saudi Embassy in Washington D.C. said no Saudi citizen was seriously injured in the twin explosions. Mohammad Al-Eisa, head of the Saudi Cultural Attaché, spoke to Saudi media and identified the lone Saudi casualty as Noura Al-Ajaji who was slightly injured by shrapnel. The Royal Court earlier said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the Kingdom's Ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir, had also assured Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah by telephone that no Saudi citizen had been injured or killed. Speculations on whether a Saudi student or a Muslim was involved in the bombing started going around after the New York Post reported that an injured Saudi suspect being investigated. The report was denied by the local police later. According to a CNN report, authorities including bomb experts searched an apartment in Revere, Massachusetts. It is not clear yet how the search may be linked to the bombing investigation. A law enforcement official said the search was not a suggestion that police may have a suspect. At this point there is no suspect and no leading theory on motive, the official said. The search was connected to a young Saudi visiting the US on a student visa and has been questioned, the official said. So far, the official told CNN, he has not heard of anything being found connecting the person to the bombings. Also, a source confirmed to FoxNews.com that the person of interest is Abdul Rahman Ali Al-Harbi, a 20-year-old Saudi. His Facebook page identifies him as a current or former student at the New England School of English. The source stressed that Al-Harbi is a person of interest, not a suspect, and said he suffered serious injuries in the explosion. Wael Moathen, a Saudi student in Boston, blogged about his experience during the explosions. Moathen wrote that he was there taking photos and waiting to meet his friend Mohammed Bokhari who was standing on the other side of the race. “We suddenly heard the sound of an explosion, a very loud sound not knowing where it came from,” he wrote. Moathen wrote that he was still on the phone with his friend when the other explosion occurred. He saw people running for their lives and smoke everywhere. “We ran the opposite direction of the marathon trying to reach the hotels and shops on the sides of Boylston St. and even the runners were jumping fences and running with us.” Moathen finally found a hotel where he saw children crying in panic two hours after the explosion, Moathen managed to rent a bike and go home. “Police and ambulances were everywhere searching and helping everyone on the street in a way I have never seen before,” he wrote.
