Boston and the surrounding areas of Watertown, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge and Waltham remain on lockdown with all public transportation suspended as SWAT teams and police officers carry out a house to house search for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The 19-year-old is considered armed and very dangerous. He may have explosives strapped to his body.
The manhunt for the bombing suspects intensified last night after the FBI publicly identified Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26. Soon after their names and pictures were released to the media, the brothers robbed a 7/11 convenience store. Authorities say the pair then made their way to Cambridge where they are believed to have shot and killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, 26. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan then hijacked a car in Cambridge. Authorities caught up to them soon after they released the driver of the stolen car at a gas station, and a shootout ensued. The brothers fired at officers and tossed explosives at them.
Transit system police officer Richard H. Donohue Jr., 33, was wounded in the shootout along with Tamerlan, who the FBI calls suspect No. 1. Tamerlan, who also sustained wounds from an explosion, died at Beth Israel Hospital. Police sources say he was wearing an explosive device when he was apprehended. Dzhokhar fled on foot and is believed to be in the Watertown area.
Residents have been instructed to remain indoors, lock all doors, stay away from windows and only answer doors for authorities. Some Watertown residents have been evacuated in city buses.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman Col. Timothy Alben called the situation “very grave.” "We need more time," he said. "We're making significant progress up there. But it may take hours to do this."
The brothers, originally from Chechnya, lived in Kazakhstan before moving to the United States with family members around 2002 or 2003. Tamerlan, who hoped to become an engineer, had previously attended Bunker Hill Community College. Dzhokhar, who reportedly wanted to be a doctor, attended Cambridge Rindge & Latin public high school.
In video footage of the Boston Marathon, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar are seen near the finish line where one of the bombs exploded. Tamerlan is shown wearing a dark hat, sunglasses and a backpack while Dzhokhar is show wearing a white hat, a dark coat and a backpack.
The explosions killed 3 people, including an 8-year-old boy, and wounded more than 170 others.
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