One Bombing Suspect Dead, One At Large After Chaotic Boston Night
Less than twelve hours after the FBI released photographs and video of two men they considered suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing attacks, police have confirmed that one of those suspects is dead after a chaotic night that began with the fatal shooting of an MIT Campus Police Officer:
WATERTOWN — Police this morning are searching a 20-block area here for one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects after a violent night during which an MIT Police officer lost his life and a Transit Police officer was seriously wounded in a firefight. The other Boston Marathon bombing suspect, who was wearing a black hat in photos released Thursday evening, is dead after firing bullets and launching explosives at police.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said the man now known as Marathon bombing Suspect #2, the man with the white baseball cap who actually dropped the bombs at the race finish line, is the person being sought by a massive collection of federal, state, and municipal police.
“We believe this to be a terrorist,” Davis told reporters about 4:30 a.m. today. “We believe this to be a man here to kill people.”
Police are warning residents in East Watertown to stay in their homes, and not to answer the door unless they see a uniformed police officer outside. They said drivers should not stop in the area roughly bounded by Dexter, Laurel, and Arsenal streets.
According to State Police Colonel Timothy Alben, the night’s outbreak of violence began about 10:30 p.m. police received reports of a robbery of a convenience store in Kendall Square near MIT. A few minutes later, an MIT police officer, who has not been identified, was shot multiple times while in his cruiser at Main and Vassar streets, near Building 32, better known as the renowned the Stata Center on the MIT campus.
The officer was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital.
A short time later, two men carjacked a Mercedes SUV at gunpoint, and the owner of that car was able to flee at a gas station on Memorial Drive. The SUV proceeded out Memorial Drive toward Watertown followed by a long train of police vehicles in pursuit.
At one point during the pursuit, the two suspects opened fire on Watertown police and a Transit Police officer, who was shot and who is now in critical condition at a Boston-area hospital this morning.
Watertown, Massachusetts is basically under lockdown at this hour, with police preparing to do door-to-door looking for the second suspect. During the night, there was some discussion, none of it official, about what the names of these people may or may not be but none of that has been confirmed. There were also rumors that one of the suspects may have been a Brown University student who went missing about a month ago, but that is now apparently not the case. NBC’s Pete Williams, who has been one of the few reporters who has been accurately on top of this story from the beginning, is reporting this morning that Federal officials believe that these two men may have international ties and foreign military training of some type, and that they may have been in the country legally for at least the past year. Whether they have confederates or not is a question that we don’t have an answer to at this point.
Update: From a local Boston television station, here’s video of the police shootout in Watertown, apparently the one that ended with the death of the first suspect:
Further updates from NBC News:
The two suspects in the Boston marathon bombing may have “international ties” and overseas military training, NBC is reporting Friday morning.
“We believe that these individuals have international connections, that they’re foreign nationals,” the network’s Michael Isikoff said on MSNBC.
The network also reported the suspects have been living legally in the United States for about a year.
“They believe that these two men came to the U.S. about a year ago and may have some overseas military experience,” NBC’s Pete Williams said. “We’re not positive where they came from. We don’t have positive identification on them.”
Suspect #2 remains at large.
Wow…what…over a hundred rounds?
Somewhere Wayne LaPierre touches himself in appropriately.
@C. Clavin: I can assure you, he is not alone.
WCVB TV from Boston is reporting them as Chechen brothers.
The WCBV TV live feed can be found at
http://livewire.wcvb.com/Event/117th_Running_of_Boston_Marathon
You don’t think these guys are right-Wing????
WTF?
They may not be tea-baggers…but they ain’t progressives, darlin’
@bill: Yes, but I’m sure they were able to get their hands on all their firepower and bullets completely legally.
The NRA must be proud.
This is certainly not American right wing concerned with domestic politics, contrary to all the pundits and OTBers who wanted to pin it on Tea Baggers and other fringe groups.
I am really wondering if these brothers were connected to anything larger. It would not surprise me if they acted alone.
@grumpy realist:
400,000 people in Boston are under lockdown. Probably 300,000 are wishing they had a gun right now to ensure the “suspect” stays on the run and not holed up holding their family hostage.
Yes…JKB…if only there was an NRA Patriot like you to take out this guy. Why hasn’t the FBI or Boston PD contacted you? This would be over is minutes you hero, you.
@JKB: Nope, most of my family and friends in Boston are chilling on facebook and trying to figure out if they should bother trying to get any telecommuting done today. A couple are pissed that didn’t stop at the store last night and are out of coffee and bagels. Only two are having wingnut panics over the overreaching police state and harboring their standard paranoia, but that’s just par for the course for them.
@C. Clavin:
You are a bit of a moron aren’t you?
Do you really think a locked door would protect you from this guy? How many people have steel doors and security windows on their homes?
If he shows up at someone’s house, seconds will count and the police, although flooding the area, will still be minutes away. Do you think the 911 isn’t overloaded and your call won’t be put on hold?
Outside this guy is a police matter but if he steps into your home, then having a firearm is all that stands between you and his ill intentions to you or your family. Shouldn’t people have a gun if it saves one life?
@Gromitt Gunn:
Are your Boston friends inside or outside the cordoned off area of the manhunt?
@JKB:
Do you actually believe that if someone called 911 and said that the terrorist was in front of their house, that the call would be put on hold?
Really?
How stupid are you?
@JKB: Both. For the first time in ages, I could pull up a map of metro Boston and tell you exactly where at least two dozen people are. it’s pretty crazy.
@grumpy realist: Yes, but I’m sure they were able to get their hands on all their firepower and bullets completely legally.
The NRA must be proud.
Let me interrupt your little hate-fest with some reality.
1) The suspects are foreign nationals, ages 26 and 19.
2) Under Massachusetts law, one must be 21 to have a gun permit. So the younger didn’t have a gun legally.
3) Under Massachusetts law, only lawful resident aliens can get a gun permit.
4) Massachusetts is a “may issue” state, meaning that the final decision on issuing a permit is at the discretion of local law enforcement.
My hunch is that it’s more likely that these two suspects are/were here under student visas than that they obtained their guns legally.
And shouldn’t we have a waiting period and a permitting process for pressure cookers?
@C. Clavin: Wow…what…over a hundred rounds?
Somewhere Wayne LaPierre touches himself in appropriately.
is that the best way you can handle your grief that it wasn’t some white supremacist, Tea Party, NRA member, who did it?
Hey, whatever gets you through the night. At least you have all those other cases of right-wing terrorism to keep you warm — the census taker in Kentucky, the guy who flew his plane into the IRS, the Pentagon shooter, the Times Square car bomber, the guy who stabbed the Muslim cabbie over the Ground Zero Mosque, the Discovery Channel hostage-taker, and the Tuscon shooting.
Oh, that’s right. All of those were initially blamed on right-wingers, and all of them were wrong.
Well, it’s bound to happen someday, I’m sure. You just keep hoping and rubbing yourself, and maybe it’ll come true.
@PJ:
Well, there is harried receptionist hold
But there is also, “All our operators are helping other people, your call is very important to us, your call will be answered in the order it was received”
Which do you think the 911 system has? Assuming the call gets through in the first place.
but still, you have to tell the operator, give your address, they have to issue the radio call the field. the field supervisor has to dispatch officers. All that happens in moments but…
All the while, the “suspect” just has to breaks some glass or kick in a door casing. And oh, he started before you pressed 9.
We should not do this just because we can.
JKB…you are a sad litle man…or lady…or maybe man-lady.
People should absolutely have guns.
Right after their backgroundsare checked and it is proven they are capable of handling them without harming the rest of us.
An intellect the level of yours would be an automatic disqualifier.
@JKB:
Typical right wing paranoia. Massachusetts is a liberal, pro-gun control state. The way they dealt with bombers is not by having gun toting vigilantes hunt down the guys, but through having a kick-ass, professional police force use modern technology and police techniques to track down and apprehend suspects. Those police officers don’t need help from self-appointed action heroes. They’d just prefer that you stay the hell home ,call them if you see anything, and let the professionals work.
Jenos…You are a fool with reading comprehension and anger problems.
I suggest professional help.
Obamcare will probably help you cover it if your mommy can’t pay.
You will have to come out of here basement.
Maybe change out of the onesy.
C’mon stonetools…
JKB is a man of action!!! He’ll get this guy!!! Just as soon as the guy walks into his house and finds him cowering in a closet.
@Jenos Idanian #13: McVeigh and Nicholls weren’t right-wing? Eric Rudolph wasn’t right-wing? The guy who shot up the Unitarian church in Tennessee wasn’t right-wing? The extreme pro-lifers who murdered Dr. Tillman and other abortion providers before them weren’t right-wing?
Acting like there isn’t a long history of right-wing violence in this country weakens the strength of any arguments you might otherwise successfully be able to make.
@stonetools:
Surely you see that the portion of my comment you quoted speaks of self defense in the home.
Yet, for some reason you and others here keep speaking of gun owners going out and acting as police. It seems to be a common affliction to those on the gun control side. Perhaps it is projection.
Please let me offer this distinction for your edification. Police are delegated arrest and investigatory powers to do their job. They carry firearms for self defense. The arrest and investigatory powers are distinct from the firearms. Just because on TV, police often draw their firearms when they arrest someone, the two are unrelated and serve different purposes. The arrest is to take someone against their will into custody pursuant to a warrant or probable cause. The firearm is a precautionary measure used based on the risk the individual will resist the arrest violently with imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury toward the officers.
As such, possession of a firearm does not delegate any authority. It is a tool. A tool used to stop an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.
The Gun Cult talks about armed teachers and being strapped in movie theaters so they can stop people like the Aurora shooter…carrying on University Campuses and in bars…but JKB is really only talking about self-defense in the home.
WHAT F’ING BS
Let me repeat that.
WHAT F’ING BS
You think you are an action hero;.
Own it.
So, instead of thinking, oh I don’t know, “WHY THE HELL ARE CHECHEN NATIONALS SHOOTING UP BOSTON”, you all start arguing about gun control. Every one of you is a fool.
that was a typo…not a stupid emoticon
@ CB…
That’s unknowable at this point. Anything is speculation.
What isn’t speculation is that what we saw in Watertown last night…with hundreds of rounds being fired…is the world the gun cult pines for…shoot outs in the street…in kindergartens…in movie theaters…and in malls.
Let us examine this warning from the Boston Police Commissioner.
There is a terrorist on the loose
who wants to kill people
So what sage advice does the head of the Boston police offer his citizens?
not to open their doors
What might one find useful if the magic door proved inadequate to keep the terrorist who is on the loose and wants to kill people out of your home?
@JKB:
Oh, I’m sorry, let me put this in the common gun controller’s claim:
What might one “need” should the terrorist pick your home?
@ JKB
It’s worth noting that the Boston police have not told the citizens to arm themselves and stand ready.
But then you have told us many times just how little you think of cops. You know, cops. Like the one that was killed last night in the line of duty.
Everyone keep in mind that JKB is spinning a yarn about something that hasn’t happened.
It’s called paranoia.
He’s also concerned about zombies.
Well actually it did happen…to the MIT cop.
It definitely would be better if 300,000 people were out on the streets ready to shoot anything that moves, like the other 300,000 people.
@Jenos Idanian #13: They were both US citizens so there goes the right’s favorite student visa immigration hole.
@Gromitt Gunn: You forgot the guy in Wisconsin that shot up the Sikh temple. He was technically a skin head but i am guessing that likely didn’t deter him from the party of Lincoln.
@Gromitt Gunn: McVeigh and Nicholls weren’t right-wing? Eric Rudolph wasn’t right-wing? The guy who shot up the Unitarian church in Tennessee wasn’t right-wing? The extreme pro-lifers who murdered Dr. Tillman and other abortion providers before them weren’t right-wing?
I was citing recent incidents where your side immediately started shouting and pointing fingers, and ended up looking stupid. You’re citing incidents from 1995 and 1998, along with 2008 and 2009 shootings.
And let’s not forget those prosecutors in Texas who were killed by
white supremacistsa disgruntled ex-Justice of the Peace.But buck up, chump. I’m sure there will be another right-wing-inspired violent crime some day. You just keep accusing, and I’m sure you’ll be right one of those times. Just because your side’s been completely wrong on so many occasions really doesn’t count, right?
@Gromitt Gunn: And oh, what the hell, a spelling flame, only because you’re so concerned about right-wing violence:
It’s Terry Nichols and Dr. George Tiller, Not “Nicholls” and “Tillman.” If you’re going to obsess over nutjobs, you should at least get their names right.
And note that McVeigh is currently feeding the worms and Nichols is serving life without parole, not a professor at an Ivy League school. Why don’t left-wing terrorists get the same kind of treatment as right-wing terrorists?
Since it appears that there is at least some connection between Islam and this attack which killed three people, I think we can expect loud, ongoing demands from the right that “something be done” to “keep us safe.”
As opposed to the repeated chorus of “nothing can be done” from the right after twenty six people died in the Sandy Hook massacre.
@anjin-san: Here, chum, beat them to the punch: put forth your ideas on what should be done in response to each case.
Go ahead, put your own notions out for all to see and learn from your enlightened wisdom. I’m begging you.
And doing it in vain.
Loser.
@anjin-san: Let me show you my surprised face. So, is it you aren’t smart enough to have ideas, or aren’t brave enough to put them forward?
My money’s on both.
@ Gromitt Gunn
I was a bartender for a long time. Jenos is the cyber equivalent to the boring drunk who won’t shut up, and won’t leave.
But, if we all ignore him, he will probably give up, move on, and ruin some other blog.
@anjin-san: Since it appears that there is at least some connection between Islam and this attack which killed three people, I think we can expect loud, ongoing demands from the right that “something be done” to “keep us safe.”
As opposed to the repeated chorus of “nothing can be done” from the right after twenty six people died in the Sandy Hook massacre.
And you won’t elaborate on this. You’re more interested in insulting people than solving the problems.
Man, my shocked face is getting a hell of a workout tonight.
Yes do focus on the bullets and the guns and not what they actually used to injure and kill the vast majority of people with…
@ bill
Why don’t you walk up to a couple of Muslim guys and try out your line about “Muslim scum” in real life – not hiding behind a computer? See how it works out for you.
No? Did not think so…
Yes, these guys are scum. But scum comes in all races, creeds, and colors. By going down this road, you are putting yourself on a moral level that is closer to that of the people you despise than you apparently realize.