Joey McIntyre narrowly missed Boston Marathon explosion, other celebs tweet support

For many runners, the Boston Marathon is the crowing achievement of their careers. This year, a day that should have been rewarding was horribly marred as two orchestrated explosions went off near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race. CNN reports at least 110 were injured and two have been confirmed dead, one of whom is an 8-year-old girl.

New Kids on the Block singer Joey McIntyre was one of thousands running the race. Shortly after the explosion, McIntyre tweeted that he narrowly missed the disaster.

There was an explosion by the finish line about 5 minutes after I finished- I’m ok but I’m sure there are many hurt.

— Joey McIntyre (@joeymcintyre) April 15, 2013

McIntyre was among the many who qualified for the elite race because of a charity pledges rather than qualifying time. He was raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Survivor winner Ethan Zohn was also running the race to raise money for cancer research, a cause which is near and dear to the two-time cancer survivor’s heart.

I’m OK. Most importantly, praying for those injured and affected by this. Still don’t have a lot of info. Thanks for your love and concern

— Ethan Zohn (@EthanZohn) April 15, 2013

As news of the attack spread, the hashtag #prayersforBoston quickly started trending worldwide. Celebrities were among the million tweeting encouragement for victims.

Justin Timberlake: My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the city of Boston and all of those affected by this terrible incident.

Dane Cook: My prayers with everyone in Boston right now after this atrocious act of violence!!

Lindsay Lohan: Sending prayers to everyone who was/is at the #bostonmarathon

Victoria Beckham: Just seen the news, my thoughts are with the people of Boston x vb

Alicia Keys: Shaken… My thoughts and prayers are with the city of Boston and those affected by this tragedy.

Olivia Wilde: Oh for f**** sake. I’m so disturbed by the reports from Boston. This is horrible.

Kim Kardashian: My heart is breaking for everyone effected or injured in the explosion at the Boston Marathon. God bless you all! My prayers are with you!

President Obama also held a press conference, where he commented, “On days like this there are no Republicans or Democrats—we are Americans, united in concern for our fellow citizens… All Americans stand with the people of Boston.”