‘We Got the Call, and We Got the Guy’
A call from a Watertown resident led to the capture of the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, officials said at a Friday evening press conference. “We asked you to maintain vigilance and you did,” Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said. “We got the call, and we got the guy.” A man had exited his home after being inside all day per the shelter-in-place policy instituted during the manhunt and lifted earlier this evening, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said. The man saw blood on a boat in his backyard, lifted the tarp over the boat and saw a man covered in blood, and immediately went back inside his home and called the police. “Over the course of the next hour or so we exchanged gunfire with the suspect inside the boat,” Davis said. “The hostage rescue team made entry and removed the suspect still in the boat.” The hostage rescue team tried to negotiate to get the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to exit the boat, but Davis said that Tsarnaev was not communicative. Davis said officials had no information indicating Tsarnaev remained in the 20-block search area of Watertown, leading to officials listing the shelter-in-place policy, and shortly thereafter they received the call from the homeowner. The boat where Tsarnaev was found sat “just slightly” outside of the perimeter that law enforcement officials had set up and had not been searched earlier, Davis said, explaining how he managed to elude officers throughout the day. Officers found blood in the car after the gunfight earlier tonight, behind a house within the perimeter, but no indications that Tsarnaev had gotten outside the perimeter, Deveau said. No explosives were found on Tsarnaev at the time of his capture, Davis said, who added that in the post-midnight gunfight during which first bombing suspect and Tsarnaev’s brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev suffered fatal injuries, there were improvised explosives and homemade grenades thrown at police officers, along with over 200 rounds of gunfire. “It’s almost unheard of,” he said. Tsarnaev was taken to a hospital in serious condition, covered in blood. Davis said officials assumed his injured occured during the evening before—shots were fired at the boat, but officials did not know if Tsarnaev was hit. “We always want to take all the suspects alive, so we can find out what happened, why it happened and hold them for justice,” Davis said. Based on the investigation, citizens of Greater Boston can be “confident that the threat has been removed,” Davis added. Investigation Continues U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said it remains an active an ongoing investigation and that “the journey continues” as officials sort through the details and evidence before filing […]
Bus Attack Leads to Call to Better Protect MBTA Drivers
The president of the MBTA operator’s union is calling for increased efforts on part of police, prosecutors and lawmakers in the wake of a 15-person attack on a bus driver in Dorchester Saturday. Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589 John Lee said in a statement published on the union’s website March 10 that such attacks deserve immediate attention by state lawmakers. “The Boston Carmen’s Union ATU Local 589 is relieved and thankful that the Bus Driver, attacked in the early morning hours, was not more seriously injured,” the statement said. “However this assault by a reported mob on an isolated Local 589 member simply doing his job illustrates the need for public safety officials and the legislature to act quickly before a transit worker is killed.” The Boston Globe reported Sunday that there have been 22 reported cases of MBTA drivers who have been assaulted or threatened in 2013 and 18 cases during the same period in 2012. Lee calls for new recognition by lawmakers on House Bill 1508/Senate Bill 718 “An Act to Authorize the Arrest for Assault and Battery on a Public Employee,” which would make it possible for police to arrest a suspect without a warrant should there be sufficient probable cause, according to the language of the bill. The bill was referred to the joint committee on the judiciary Jan. 23 by both the house and senate, though there are no hearings immediately scheduled. “MBTA and RTA workers, male and female, are on the job in the early morning hours and late into the night,” Lee’s post continued. “They are often isolated while working in buses, trolleys and transit stations and are increasing becoming the target of violence. It is well passed time for a crackdown on the thugs that target working women and men on any public transit job.” SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch