Five days of confusion and terror lead to the capture of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
After the two brothers petrified Boston with two explosions, killing three and harming more than 170, they continued their acts of violence late Thursday night. At around 10:48 p.m., an MIT police officer arrived at the scene as the brothers attempted to seize one of the university’s buildings.
Dzhokhar and Tamerlan proceeded to fatally shoot MIT police officer Sean Collier.
“The best guy got shot down,” said Collier’s roommate to the Boston Globe.
Two days prior, however, the two were not even suspects in the case. In the days and hours following the Boston bombings, the FBI sifted through countless videos sent to the tip line from the public. Eventually, the agency discovered a surveillance video with promising intelligence. They released the video highlighting the potential suspects to the public in hopes that someone might recognize the two.
Fortunately, that is exactly what happened.
The investigating parties were given the names of the individuals they believed to be responsible for the marathon tragedy, and the hunt began.
Whether the brothers were aware of this discovery or not is known. Thursday brought their second attack on the city.
After Dzhokhar and Tamerlan killed Collier, they fled the university to a gas station, where they carjacked an SUV and kidnapped its driver, eventually leaving the driver unharmed.
In what has been compared to a war zone, a massive police chase and shootout followed. The chaos eventually came to a head in Watertown, Mass. The brothers were said to be throwing grenade and pipe bomb-like devices out their car window in the direction of the police. Eventually, the police gained slightly more control over Tamerlan, until Dzhokhar used the stolen vehicle to mow over his own brother. Tamerlan was dragged for a few feet and pronounced dead in a nearby hospital.
Dzhokhar managed to escape, sending the city of Boston into an intense lockdown. Throughout Friday, April 19th, every news station was following the search for Dzhokhar. Tanks could be seen patrolling the area, police and SWAT teams were knocking door to door, and every city service was shut down.
Meanwhile, as various units searched for the 19-year-old suspect, questions began to arise regarding the background and motives behind the brothers. Information continued to be released about the boys all day. The basics: the brothers were born in the Chechnya region of Russia. They came to America in 2002, where Dzhokhar eventually earned himself a scholarship to attend the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
The 26-year-old Tamerlan was more enigmatic. According to various sources, the older brother was investigated by the FBI in 2011 for possible radical connections in Chechnya. However, the agency did not find anything significant and released him. In 2009, Tamerlan claimed to have no American friends because, “I don’t understand them.”
An event that has caused some of the most controversy in the case is Tamerlan’s return to Russia for six months after his release from interrogation. Speculation has occurred as to whether he received training with respect to how to craft bombs, or instruction from an outside source regarding this attack.
Additionally, Tamerlan’s Youtube channel was discovered, featuring several videos promoting terrorism. A particularly chilling video consisted of a foreign voice screaming eerily while depicting soldiers smirking and dead bodies covered in blood. “Congratulations to you those who suffer for, who go through martyrdom of Alla illaha ill Allah.”
A second video featured a Block Mccloud song labeled “End of Days.” The video begins with the phrase, “We are in a country and in a world being run by unbelievably sick people.”
Tamerlan’s last words were in a desperate phone call to his mother: “I love you, mama.”
At around 5 p.m. on Friday, police discovered Dzhokhar in a backyard huddled in a boat. He was captured and taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Dzhokhar is currently unable to speak due to wounds he sustained to the back of his throat. However, he has been officially charged with conspiring to and using weapons of mass destruction and excessive vandalism to property. The justice system continues to work carefully to fulfill a just trial in hopes of charging Dzhokhar for all the crimes he committed.
Emily may be reached at [email protected]
