Written by Matthew Harper and DM by Bobby Williams.
Mere days after the heinous attack on the Boston Marathon that caught all of America off-guard and left a city in a worrisome state, the two brothers responsible have been identified, tracked down, and apprehended.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who moved to the United States in 2001, were identified by pictures released to the public by the FBI and, after a dramatic two-day search in Watertown, Massachussetts, were captured. Tamerlan was caught but succumbed to injuries resulting from multiple gunfights and an explosive device on his chest that detonated. Dzhokhar, who escaped the gunfights and disappeared into Watertown, was later found hiding in a boat in a citizen of the town’s backyard mere hours after police announced that the search had been unsuccessful for the day and that residents could return to their regular business.
Dzhokhar was badly injured and remains in the hospital under police supervision. According to BBC News, he is thus far unable to speak, and Tom Menino, the mayor of Boston, states that authorities aren’t positive he will ever be able to be questioned. The charges to be filed against the living brother have not yet been determined, but there has been much controversy over whether or not to try him as an enemy combatant to the United States or not.
A timeline released by Reuters gives a clearer indication of just how the Boston police were able to track their suspects down. Thursday night police discovered the body of an MIT police officer who was killed by the brothers. After killing the officer in his car, the Tsarnaevs hijacked a car and held a hostage for a short time, forcing the man to withdraw money from an ATM. They released the man at this point and headed for Watertown, where police caught up to them. At that point the first gunfight took place and both suspects were injured.
Many stayed up late Thursday night into Friday morning listening to an online stream of the Boston police scanner which kept any interested party in the loop. Social media sites, such as Twitter and Reddit, were filled with people trying to help the police in any way that they could, though there were some situations in which false information was spread by people just trying to do their part and not fact-checking every bit of news they came across.
Now that the men responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing have been apprehended, a time for healing for Boston and the surrounding area will begin. There were celebrations in the street when the news of the final suspect’s arrest broke, and for once the police are being praised in the way they deserved. It is surely the wish of every Bostonian that this horrible chapter in their history can be placed behind them and a new chapter can begin.
