PHOTOS: Boston Celebrates Bombing Suspect’s Capture
After a long day trapped indoors under a citywide lockdown, Boston residents were eager to hit the streets Friday night to celebrate the apprehension of the two suspects believed responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing and to celebrate the end of what many called a “very long week.” By 11 p.m., Boston Common was filled with hundreds of people, many college-aged, who stood around in clusters wearing and waving American flags, cheering and breaking into song—“God Bless America,” “The Star-Spangled Banner” and that old Boston favorite, “Sweet Caroline.” A huge group of people filled the Common’s bandstand, climbing the poles and one another’s shoulders, hanging over the edge and leading chants of “USA, USA!” and “BPD! BPD!” Another chant: “We got him!” Others lined up to shake the hands of Boston police officers who stood off to the side keeping an eye on the crowd, while others shouted, “Thank you! God bless!” at them. Drivers honked and blared patriotic music as they drove down streets that had mostly been deserted all day, while pedestrians let out whoops and shouts of “USA!” as they walked. New Haven, CT resident Mauris Nnamani drove up Friday night to check on his girlfriend, who lives on Beacon Hill. He was on the road when he heard that police had apprehended the second bombing suspect in Waterford. “It’s great. I think it’s great for us to celebrate. We just apprehended the suspect in this tragic event,” Nnamani said. But he also felt it was too soon for people to become complacent about safety. “I think that we all should take care and we should make sure that everything is safe. We don’t know if they had accomplices that are still around,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for everybody to come in a big crowd yet until we actually get all the information and know what’s going on.” A group of students from Boston Conservatory said they had partied on campus and decided to venture out to see what the rest of the city was up to. They wandered down to the Prudential Center side of Copley Square to watch CNN’s Anderson Cooper and other TV people report from the edge of what is still blocked off as a crime scene. Asked what it was like to go through the lockdown, student Matthew Rodin said, “It was a long, hard day. It was a long, hard week. But this is the perfect way to end a Friday night.” “It’s such a blessing just to know that we can finally sleep and feel totally at ease for the first time this […]
Elation: Scene of Watertown Capture of Marathon Bombing Suspect
It took a few minutes, but when reality sank in that the second Boston Marathon bomber had been captured in Watertown – their town – the crowd’s mood changed; it became like a victory parade for a Red Sox world championship. After watching the scene in the chilly damp night, being up all night and cooped up all day made, it was extra sweet when the words “suspect in custody” came over the police radio. Two hours earlier, I had been contemplating a second helping of chicken stirfry when the words rarely heard in Watertown came crackling over the scanner: “Shots fired.” My wife, Jen, and I froze and then went into a frenzy. We grabbed our coats and every camera we could get our hands on and jumped in the car. The scene was just two blocks away. Mt. Auburn Street — Watertown’s main thoroughfare — was already blocked off when we got there. Dozens of police talked nervously. Then came a “pop, pop.” Then another, followed by a few more. It was not clear whether they were gas canisters, gun shots, or both. The crowd hushed. I wondered what was happening on the other side of the houses I had stared at, seemingly for several hours. Police cars came and went. Men in heavy body armor and helmets began heading up the street. Then nothing. Everyone seemed nervous. Would the suspect be caputred dead or alive? Would he hurt or even kill an officer – possibly one I know personally? Eventually, word got out — but people didn’t quite seem ready to believe it. A crowd gathered around a car with its radio tuned to a news channel. People clapped when reports that the suspect was subdued and being put into an ambulance. The chill quickly disappeared as the excitement rose. First one police car left – met with some clapping from the crowd. Then more cars rolled by, and finally one police officer waved and yelled “God Bless America! God Bless America!” That was it – the celebration was on. People crowded in, cheering louder and louder and yelling “Good job!” and “Thank You!” A man turned to another and yelled “This is our town!” Being a journalist, I do my best to remove emotion and concentrate on the story. But it was no use; the mood was infectious. Eventally I put down my camera and just watched. I didn’t want to leave the scene, but stories had to be written. It was an added bonus that I was able to share the moment with my wife, an ex-journalist. As we headed back […]
With Capture of Second Bomber, Week of Terror Comes to End
After 102 hours of terror, mourning, striving and struggle, police have killed one and captured the second marathon bomber suspects. With both of the bombers accounted for, law enforcement believe they have nabbed the men responsible for the deadliest domestic bombing attack in the 21st century. A hair-raising Friday night chase and firefight led to the death of MIT police officer Sean Collier, the shooting of Transit Police officer Richard Donohue, a dead suspect and another in handcuffs. Along the way, nearly one million greater Boston residents were trapped in their homes as the suspects tossed explosives engaged in heavy arms fire with police, and finally (after one was killed) the survivor barricaded himself in a Watertown house. The deadly night started on the MIT campus, when Collier was shot and killed after responding to an armed robbery at a 7-Eleven. The officer reportedly sustained multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office. The campus was placed in lock down around midnight. Also around midnight, two men reportedly carjacked a Mercedes, taking the owner for a short ride before dumping him on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. The LoJack on the car located it in Watertown, where police responded. That led to chaos in the streets as the suspects tossed explosives out of the car and then engaged police in an extended firefight, caught on video by Watertown residents in their homes. The exchange with police included explosions, according to police scanner transmissions. The seriously injured Donohue was taken to a local hospital and treated for a gun shot wound, according to a statement by the MBTA. As Boston police, the FBI, ATF and Homeland Security swarmed in Watertown, local police struggled to keep residents in their homes and media away from the active scene. NBC’s Pete Williams reported that one of the explosives found by police was fashioned out of a pressure cooker, similar to the bombs used Marathon Monday. That was later corroborated by law enforcement officials, who said the suspects also had pipe bombs and grenades. In the wee hours of the morning, the names of the two suspects were released: Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, two brothers originally from Chechnya. Tamerlan was killed in the Watertown gunfight, though its unclear if he was killed by police, blow himself up with a bomb vest, or was run over by his younger brother as Dzokhar frantically tried to escape capture. By Friday morning, a terrible stasis developed in Watertown, with police converging a home near Dexter and Quimby streets. Watertown itself was completely locked down, with residents told to stay behind locked doors, and no car travel allowed in or out of the community. All […]