US officials have brought charges against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzohkhar Tsarnaev while he lay in his hospital bed, a federal court official said.
“There has been a sealed complaint filed,” said Gary Wente, circuit executive for the US Courts for the First Circuit, who said that a magistrate judge was present when Tsarnaev was charged at his bed in Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital on Monday.
He was charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and one count of malicious destruction of property resulting in death.
Officials say Tsarnaev and his older brother and suspected co-conspirator, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, set off the twin explosions at the marathon one week ago, killing three people and injuring more than 180 others.
“We got him!” That was heard on the streets of Boston Friday night as police captured the second suspect in the Boston marathon bombings. The mayor was heard congratulating police over their two-way radios. And the tension that gripped Boston since Monday’s blasts changed to celebration.
Jubilation erupted in the streets of Watertown, Massachusetts.
Suspect number 2 in the marathon bombings rode inside this ambulance, injured, on the way to the hospital and jail.
“When I saw the guy’s face in the ambulance, I thought, ‘They got him alive.’ That’s really important,” said Anthony Pelton, a Watertown taxidriver.
Police found 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev inside a boat in the backyard of a house, not too far from where he lived.
The capture brings to an end five unsettling days since the double bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed and more than 170 injured.
Bryan Kennedy, a Watertown resident, heard the final gunshots when he was walking nearby.
“It rattles you. It definitely makes you put your head on a swivel and look around and see everything around you,” he said.
Suspect number 1, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a gunbattle with police Thursday night in the same town. But the younger Tsarnaev escaped. Thousands of police began a massive manhunt, blocking streets in the neighborhood and ordering residents to stay in their homes.
The two brothers are ethnic Chechens who have lived legally in the United States for about 10 years. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, two years ago a foreign government requested information on Tamerlan Tsarnaev based on information he was a follower of radical Islam. The FBI found no evidence of terrorist activity at that time.
“Whatever they thought they could ultimately achieve, they’ve already failed,” said President Obama spoke from the White House, after a long day monitoring developments in Boston.
“It’s been a rough week. What happened on Monday is going to change that day forever for all of us,” said Watertown resident Amy Wrynn.
Police say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was on a cell phone during the first bombing. Then he left a backpack at the site of the second bombing, which occurred just seconds later. He is seen on this surveillance video walking through the crowds behind his brother. The massive manhunt brought Boston and surrounding areas to a standstill Thursday and Friday.
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The Leal family huddled inside their Watertown home. “We knew that he was lose and we knew it wasn’t safe because he had bombs,” recalled 8-year-old Ashley Leal.
Bedtime was interrupted when they heard the news and ran outside.
Boston’s five-day nightmare is over. As one resident said, they can finally come out of their houses and feel safe.
