MOSCOW, April 18 (RAPSI), Ingrid Burke - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the second suspect sought for the Boston Marathon bombing which left three dead and upwards of 180 injured has been captured after a lengthy and intensive manhunt that left the greater Boston area in a state of virtual lockdown Friday, the FBI confirmed via a statement Friday evening local time.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller lauded the multiagency effort that led to Tsarnaev’s arrest: “During this long week, we have seen an extraordinary effort by law enforcement, intelligence, and public safety agencies. These collaborative efforts, with the help and cooperation of the public, resulted in the successful outcome we have seen tonight. The investigation will continue as part of our efforts to seek answers and justice, and there will be no pause in that effort. But tonight, I wish to thank all those who worked so tirelessly throughout the week in the pursuit of safety and justice.”
Special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division Rick DesLauriers said in a statement: “This truly was an absolutely intense investigation—and I do emphasize, a truly intense investigation. As a result of that, justice is being served for the victims of these terrible crimes.”
The Boston Police Department expressed its elation Friday via Twitter, proclaiming: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.”
Tsarnaev’s brother Tamerlan, his alleged co-accomplice in the Marathon bombing, was killed early Friday morning as the manhunt got underway.
The FBI revealed shortly after acknowledging Dzhokhar’s capture that an unspecified foreign government had submitted a request for information in 2011 on the elder Tamerlan. According to the statement, “The request stated that it was based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified underground groups.” After having interviewed Tamerlan and his family, the FBI concluded that there was no terrorist activity to report at the time, and responded to the foreign government accordingly.
With the manhunt underway Friday, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick reported that an order for everyone to remain indoors and not to open their doors for anyone other than officially identified police officers has been expanded to cover all of Boston as well as several surrounding cities, including Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, and Cambridge.
Two blasts occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, America’s most prestigious 26.2 mile race which boasts such stringent entry requirements that only the best of the best are entitled to compete. Three people have been confirmed dead, including an eight-year-old boy present to cheer on his father. The Boston Police Department tweeted in its latest casualty update Tuesday that 176 injured have gone to local hospitals. A large-scale, multi-agency investigation is presently underway.
Tamerlan’s death was reported on the heels of a late-night shootout on the Watertown campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the nation’s most prestigious universities. The Boston Globe reported that witnesses on the scene heard explosions, and that police on the scene were yelling about improvised explosives. The shootout left one MIT police officer dead.
The Boston Police Department tweeted earlier: “There is an active incident ongoing in Watertown. Residents in that area are advised to remain in their homes. More details when available.” Shortly thereafter, the department’s official Twitter account reiterated calls for a lockdown, and urged residents not to answer their doors for anyone other than police: “Residents of Watertown asked to stay indoors. Do not answer door unless instructed by a police officer.”
On Thursday the FBI announced that it had zeroed in on two suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing, and released video and photo footage of the two to the public. In releasing the footage, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division Richard DesLauriers called on the public to help in the investigation: “Today we are enlisting the public’s help to identify the two suspects.”
The somewhat grainy photos feature Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, both wearing baseball hats and carrying backpacks, as they wander through the crowd of marathon spectators.
On Tuesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) was treating the crime as an act of terror.
Holder declared, “As President Obama stated earlier today, we are treating this event as an act of terror. This morning, I met with the President and my fellow members of his national security team to discuss our continuing response. Although it is not yet clear who executed this attack, whether it was an individual or group, or whether it was carried out with support or involvement from a terrorist organization – either foreign or domestic – we will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Elaborating on his administration’s rationale in pegging the crime as terrorism from the start, US President Barrack Obama explained at a press briefing Tuesday: “This was a heinous and cowardly act. And given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism. Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror. What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual."