Boston residents celebrate manhunt's end
Masses flood Boston's streets chanting 'U-S-A' after suspect's capture; 'We didn't really know him,' state family of killed suspect's wife
Boston residents took to the streets Saturday night in celebration of the end of the manhunt for the two suspects in Monday's Marathon Bombing.
Following the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the death of his older brother Tamarlen in a police shootout, Bostoners hoisted American flags, sang the anthem and cried out in joy after passing police vehicles.
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The younger brother is currently hospitalized in the Beth Israel hospital, and is in serious condition. FBI agents are standing at his bedside.
Celebrations in Boston
Crowds gathered around one of Boston's many universities, chanting "U-S-A!" many covering themselves with American flags and wearing the national colors.Spontaneous celebrations also erupted in Watertown, where the younger brother was captured.
Youth celebrating in Boston after arrest (Photo: AP)
Mary Sullivan, a Watertown resident, said: "I'm glad it's over. The city and the people have gone through so much pain over these irrational decisions of these young men."
Cheering police in Boston (Photo: AFP)
US President Barack Obama appeared in the White House briefing room and thanked the Boston security forces for their successful operations.
(Photo: AFP)
"Obviously tonight there are still many unanswered questions. Among them: why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and country resort to such violence? How did they plan and carry out these attacks, and did they receive any help?" Obama said.
Friend of suspect: I could never expect this
Further details about the dead suspect were revealed Saturday, among them that he was married and father to a child.The family of Katherine Russell, wife of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, released a statement in which they confirm the couple have a child.
According to CNN, the family stated that: "We cannot begin to comprehend how this horrible tragedy occurred. In the aftermath of the Patriot's Day horror, we know that we never really knew Tamerlane Tsarnaev. Our hearts are sickened by the knowledge of the horror he has inflicted."
Basel Nasri, friend of younger brother Dzhokhar, said he never expressed anti-American views.
The two last met a week before the bombing, when Tsarnaev drove him to a football game. He said Tsarnaev seemed perfectly normal.
"I never would expect him to do something like this," he said.
Relatives of those killed in the bombing reacted calmly to the manhunt's end.
The family of Martin Richard, an eight-year-old boy killed in the bombing, thanked the authorities and added that it continues to "pray for healing and for comfort" for the rest of the victims on their road to recovery.
The manhunt after Tsarnaev came to a suprising climax a short while after 6 pm Friday, after the curfew for million residents of the area was cancelled.
Police vehicles were seen rushing to 67 Franklin Street in Watertown, where the suspect was hiding in the backyard in a speed boat.
At that point, police have already went door-to-door on 60 streets, but Franklin was two streets outside the search radius.
The police chief said that Tsarnaev was discovered by a neighbor who noticed a blood trail in the backyard, followed it to the boat, raised the canopy and found the bleeding suspect inside.
He notified the police, which sent a SWAT team, which managed, after a two-hour long shootout, to apprehend the suspect alive.
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