During the annual Boston Marathon, someone set off two bombs that killed three people and injured 180.

My gut reaction, after being disgusted at all the senseless violence, was hoping that America would be patient, patient with waiting on the authorities to discover who was responsible for the crimes and not rushing to conclusions.

Some say it’s human nature to look for someone to blame. Maybe it is just our desire to assign blame so we can make sure justice is served.

Or maybe that’s just an excuse. Regardless, it would be foolish to jump to a conclusion based off an emotional reaction and without thinking logically.

I know it’s the age of instant updates in news thanks to social media like Twitter, but sometimes we must be patient.

It’s nice that we usually find out about who did what soon after the event—as the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings were identified shortly after the bombing—but that’s not always the case.

Every case isn’t like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, where the main perpetrator is caught within two hours of the crime.

When cases are so wide open, and take place in such a public, crowded area, the FBI usually asks for tips from the community as a way to assist them and social media sites often respond quickly.

For instance, sites like Reddit and 4chan responded quickly during the Boston Marathon bombings.

At the beginning of the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings, the FBI found a picture of a man, in a blue jacket, carrying a backpack resembling one that could’ve contained a bomb.

But it’s not fair to assume he is the criminal yet. It would be a shame to paint someone as a criminal simply because he choose to wear the wrong backpack on Patriots’ Day.

And to Reddit’s credit, there were users who echoed the same thing.

In cases where there is so much mystery, we must learn to wait for the evidence to come in before making assumptions.

Otherwise you’ll be like Erik Murphy, a Fox News guest commentator. Only a few hours after the bombings he tweeted out, “Everybody do the National Security Ankle Grab! Let’s bring more Saudis in without screening them! C’mon! #bostonmarathon.”

This tweet was followed with a response suggesting we kill all Muslims when someone asked him if he was serious.

He later claimed to be joking but based on past history, which includes writing a column called “Yes, Islam is the enemy,” it makes me skeptical.

Not to mention his follow up tweets calling people who defended Muslims “vermin.”

Ever since Sept. 11, many automatically associate bombings with Muslims.

But let’s not forget the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings were carried out by white men. Any race can have terrorists.

So in the mean time, we must try to remain patient amidst terrorism.

I know it’s not easy to wait. And I know we all want to see justice served, but rushing to assign blame never helped speed up any case. Be patient, it can make all the difference.