Car chase and shoot-out rock Boston in dramatic night of violence
'Bombers' ... police are hunting the 'white cap' suspect on the left. The 'black cap' is believed to have died
FBI
THE surviving Boston bomb suspect who fled police this morning after a dramatic shoot-out has been identified in US reports as a teenager from a Russian region near Chechnya.
The suspect - named in reports as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19 - is believed to be the brother of the other suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan who died earlier today in a gun battle with cops.Both are thought to have been living in the US for at least one year.
The man identified as Tsarnaev is still on the run after a university patrol cop was shot dead on campus last night before explosions and machine gunfire rocked the city's Watertown area.
Thousands of police and FBI agents are swarming around the city hunting for the surviving suspect, who was seen on CCTV wearing a white baseball cap and who reports suggest has received military training.
Police earlier warned that he is a "threat to anybody that might approach him" and have told Boston residents not to answer their doors to anyone.
Cops also confirmed earlier that the dead man and hunted man are "responsible for the bombings" on Monday which killed three people and wounded 176.
Lock-down ... grenade explosions and machine gun fire rocked Boston's Watertown suburbs
Killed ... 'Black hat' suspect died after police gunfight
FBI
Suspect ... police are hunting this man, said to be Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev
The city is now in lockdown as police hunted the second suspect through the streets, with all mass transit shut and residents warned to stay inside.
The night of violence was sparked when a convenience store on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus, near Boston, was robbed.
A police officer responded to the incident at around 10.30pm local time but was killed by multiple gunshots.
The suspects are then understood to have carjacked a black Mercedes, keeping its driver inside for 30 minutes as they discharged explosives at cops during a high-speed chase. The victim was released at a petrol station uninjured.
A fierce shoot-out then erupted as dozens of armed SWAT police and National Guard members flooded the Watertown suburb, some six miles from Boston.
Patrol ... armed police in Watertown near Boston this morning
Hunt ... Boston Police mobilise in the parking lot of the Watertown Mall
One of the suspects was killed, while a transport police officer - named as Officer Richard H. Donohue - was also shot and critically injured during the exchange before being taken to hospital.
The other suspect – pictured on CCTV from the day of the Boston bombing wearing a distinctive white cap – managed to escape and remains “at large”.
The first one was riddled with bullet wounds as well as "blast injuries" from a home-made bomb when he arrived at hospital at 1.20am, doctors revealed.
Swoop ... a cop and bombing suspect died in shoot-out
Conference ... police have branded the bomber suspects 'terrorists' and linked them to this morning's shoot-outs
Dr Richard Wolfe, chief of emergency medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - which also treated victims of the marathon bombing - said the patient arrived in "traumatic arrest" and could not be saved.
The medic said he was "unable to count" the number of injuries and added there were "signs of more than just gunshot wounds", including "shrapnel and thermal injuries" thought to be caused by "an explosive device".
He said: "It was pretty much throughout the trunk. It was multiple wounds."
Security ... police keep a man on the ground in Massachusetts following the shooting
Terror ... dozens of armed SWAT police and National Guard members flooded the area
A 20-block perimeter has been set up as police hunt down the remaining suspect and conduct door-to-door searches.
Armoured cars, bomb squads and hundreds of law enforcement officers have descended on the Watertown residential area.
A Boston official said: "We believe this to be a terrorist. We believe this to be a man who has come here to kill people."
US President Barack Obama has been briefed on the unfolding situation overnight,
Explosives and a pressure cooker were found at the Watertown crime scene, according to police sources. The bombs detonated at the Monday’s marathon were fashioned from pressure cookers.
Speed ... a SWAT van races through the streets of Boston
Gun battle ... Boston police and university officers take aim
Police have warned people to stay away from an industrial park and mall on Arsenal Street close to Watertown.
The precise address given - 480 Arsenal Street - matches the address of a datacentre owned by one of America's largest telecoms firm AT&T.
Meanwhile, 380,000 people have been asked to stay indoors as a result of the manhunt, according to an NBC News estimate, with residents receiving automated phone calls from police telling them to stay at home.
Cops also found a suspicious package on Memorial Drive, a long road that runs past the MIT campus, but have since said it "presents no danger".
In a statement, police said: “Police received reports of an armed carjacking by two males in the area of Third Street in Cambridge.
Alert ... cops near the scene at Massachusetts uni
EPA
“The victim was carjacked at gunpoint by two males and was kept in the car with the suspects for approximately a half hour. The victim was released on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. He was not injured.
“At that time, explosive devices were reportedly thrown from car by the suspects. The suspects and police also exchanged gunfire in the area of Dexter and Laurel streets.
“During this pursuit, an MBTA Police officer was seriously injured and transported to the hospital.
“One suspect was critically injured and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Manhunt ... armed cops in Boston last night
Warning ... university website
“An extensive manhunt is ongoing in the Watertown area for the second suspect, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.”
The drama unfolded just hours after the FBI released images of the two main Boston suspects.
Blurry but still detailed photos and video depict one young man in a dark cap and another in a white cap worn backwards.
Both wear backpacks while one is seen walking behind the other on the sidewalk near the finish line as marathon runners run by.
The FBI, which is leading the hunt for those behind the marathon attacks, is reportedly on the scene at Watertown.
Crime scene ... cops in Watertown following the dramatic night
Armed ... cops take aim from behind a Boston Police car
Reporters arriving there early this morning were told to turn off their mobile phones. One police officer reportedly told them: "If you want to live, turn off your cell phone."
Many witnesses described hearing booms and gunfire. One resident, 30-year-old Rebecca Carbone, said she heard a loud blast that "sounded like a car backfiring".
Television footage showed one man lying spread out on the ground, holding out his arms, surrounded by police. Later footage showed a naked man being led away by police.
MIT later issued a statement to say the campus is now safe but urged students to "remain vigilant".
Harvard University, in Cambridge near Boston, is today closed due to "safety concerns", has announced that it will be closed today as police hunt for the marathon bombing suspect.
Spotted ... 'Suspect 2' seen on CCTV wearing a white baseball cap after the bomb attack
ZUMA / Rex Features
Horrific ... the bloody aftermath of the twin bomb attack
No comments:
Post a Comment