A Bostonian’s reflection on the marathon bombings (VIDEO)

BOSTON — A moment of silence stopped Boston Monday at precisely 2:50 pm to remember the horrific events that unfolded one week ago when two bombs ripped through a crowd at the finish line of the Marathon and tore the heart of the city, killing three young people and wounding more than 175.

The pause to reflect on an intense and emotional aftermath of the bombing was also in honor of the security officer killed in the shootout that occurred amid the manhunt for the two brothers, whom police say carried out the attacks.

Church bells tolled across the city. Mothers pushing strollers stood in silence. Construction workers with dusty Red Sox caps over their hearts stared down at the ground in reflection. A lone man in a suit with a briefcase stood on Park Street in quiet reflection as the bells rang around him.

They were Boston faces framed against a clear, blue sky. Some on the sidewalks prayed. Some brushed away a tear. And some seemed to forget, as the streets were still speckled with people walking briskly, traffic still flowing and a few car horns beeping and bus brakes screeching.

A large crowd packed Boylston Street, where the bombs were set by two Chechen brothers who had come of age in Cambridge where they went to high school, and on to college before, police allege, something snapped and they decided to attack the community that had welcomed them as immigrants.

Rich Salcedo, 51, a lawyer, was born and raised in Watertown, which was the focus of the manhunt that led to the arrest of the 19-year old suspect, Dzhohkar Tsarnaev and and the shooting death of his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan.

“I just wanted to be here to connect with people. It feels like a show of strength and a way to pull together,” he said.

In the Boston Common, a crowd clustered around an orchestra from the New England Conservatory of Music. Immediately following the silence, the musicians played the “funeral march” of Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, Movement 2.

More from GlobalPost: Boston Marathon attack: When home is the target