The two bombs that went off 12 seconds apart during the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured 176. At least 10 people have had a limb amputated as a result.

This is a tragedy and devastating to those directly and indirectly impacted.

Watching the news and seeing the pictures was very upsetting to watch.

However, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an anti-gay and anti-Semitic group, celebrated the bombings, tweeting, “God sent the Boston Marathon Bombs for the sin of Massachusetts passing same-sex marriage.”

This is not the first time the group has caused controversy amid a tragic event.

WBC has picketed at fallen soldiers’ funerals, funerals of those killed by a tornado in Joplin, Mo. and even threatened to picket at the funerals of Sandy Hook.

I do not believe the bombs in Boston were an act of God. I believe this to be an act of an evil-minded person or persons. Some families have lost loved ones or sustained severe, life-changing injuries because of the bombings and for a group of people to celebrate the bombings is very disheartening.

As a person who just gets to watch from afar, I would hope that people are keeping those affected in their thoughts and prayers.

How can members of any church celebrate the loss of an 8-year-old boy?

It is not WBC’s job to condemn anyone for any reason.

It seems that WBC is just trying to spread hate and not God’s message of love, the opposite of what a church should do.