A massive manhunt is underway in Watertown, Massachusetts, for one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. One suspect was shot dead in a firefight with the police. The two suspects are brothers from the Russian republic of Chechnya.
Authorities are searching for Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, a government official said Friday morning.
Police have surrounded a home and car in Watertown, where law enforcement has reportedly cordoned off a two-block area.
“We were woken up at 3 am by a reverse 911 call. The police told all the residents to stay put and not leave the house. Looking out of our window we saw masses of SWAT teams and police agents scouring all the backyards, bushes and streets. There are helicopters. The police seem to have isolated one particular area. The police were looking and talking to the suspect through a megaphone – this is where we are right now,” Firaz Gliel, a nearby resident and eyewitness, told RT.
Residents have been asked to stay in their homes, and all public transport has been shut down. Police have asked media to refrain from showing live pictures at the scene, especially of police positions.
“Everybody is tense. No one can leave their house, all the businesses around here are closed. And we had a bomb threat yesterday, and then the marathon explosion before, so everyone is jittery. Everyone is in shock that something like this could happen in a relatively safe place, but the community has pulled together. People are helping each other out. So, there are both positives and negatives to what is going on right now,” Gliel said.
The firefight, which involved explosives, ensued after an MIT police officer was shot and killed on Friday morning, and fellow officers followed the lead of an apparent carjacking.
The killed suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was wounded during the gun exchange with the police and was apprehended, police said. He later succumbed to the injuries.
The suspect remaining at large is the FBI’s Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombing, the so-called ‘white hat suspect’. Police called the man a terrorist, who is armed and dangerous.
A 20-block perimeter was established as the manhunt for the second suspect continues.
