“Reports: Watertown, Mass.-area carjacking possibly related to MIT shooting, police chase, explosions, gunfight [pics],” at Twitchy.
If you’re reading this post shortly after it goes up, WCVB-Boston has a live video feed with ongoing details, including this: “Reporter Todd Wallace: seeing Homeland Security, heavily armed with semi or automatic weaponry in Watertown MA.”
Katie Zezima, an AP correspondent tweets, “In Watertown. Cop just said, ‘If you want to live, get off your cell phone.’”
Veteran blogger “Baseball Crank” tweets, “wow WHDH with video of the cops drawing guns on suspect spread eagle on the ground.”
NewsBreaker tweets: “BREAKING PHOTO: CNN affiliate WHDH showing this picture of guy on the ground in Watertown, Mass.”
WCVB journalist reports “loud boom,” possibly controlled detonation by authorities, reporter speculates.
WCVB journalist reports person being taken into custody, friend of person already arrested; not resisting.
10:47 PM PDT: WCVB now showing photos of crime scene — police cruisers, car with broken glass, that they pulled off Twitter, some from Andrew Kitzenberg’s Twitter feed, which is well worth checking out right now.
10:52 PM PDT: Veteran blogger Dan Riehl tweets, “scanner — looking for clean shaven middle eastern male w/ cap of some kind. ‘Christmas cap’??” Michelle Malkin adds, “Female officer on scanner describes ‘Middle Eastern’ looking male, clean shaven, w/’Christmas’ style cap with snowflake.”
10:57 PM PDT: WCVB-5 has video of cop telling suspect something along the lines of “Don’t f*** around.”Anchorman says that bomb removal robot is on scene.
Ace is also doing rolling updates here, if you’re looking for more late night coverage.
10:59 PM PDT: Former editor of Breaking News Online tweets, “MIT: Police have determined that the suspect in this evening’s shooting is no longer on campus. It is now safe to resume normal activities.”
11:01 PM PDT: WCVB running footage shot from cell phone camera of multiple shootings from earlier in the night. And multiple F-bombs that went over the air. Anchorwoman describes counting 25 gunshots, with at least one suspect and police officer shot.
11:03 PM PDT: Eric Moskowitz of Boston Globe tweets: “NEMLEC Swat suiting up on Mt Auburn http://t.co/j9zCdg1ZJT”
Boston Globe is live blogging crime scene with photos.
11:07 PM PDT: At Dan Riehl’s blog, “Image of Alleged Watertown Suspect.” And Michelle Malkin tweets, “Police requesting helicopter spotlights on abandoned black SUV in #Watertown; low visibility, copters can’t stay up for long.”
11:09 PM PDT: “This is either (a) the apprehension of terrorists, or (b) an extreme overreaction by law enforcement stressed out to the max,” Stacy McCain tweets.
11:11 PM PDT: “Sudden swarm of police filing down dexter ave,” Jaclyn Reiss of the Boston Globe tweets.
This Tweet perfectly sums up the last hour:
Tonight one of the oldest mediums (Police Scanner) paired with one of the newest (Twitter) and beat the crap out of television.
— Bob McGovern (@BobMcGovernJr) April 19, 2013
11:16 PM PDT: “Police ‘making entry’ into house on 14 Hazel,” Michelle Malkin tweets. The New York Times now has an article on the (still ongoing) incident:
Two young men, armed with guns and explosives in what appeared to be backpacks, engaged in a violent standoff with dozens of police on a street in Watertown, Mass., Thursday night, a resident said.
Andrew Kitzenburg, 29, said he looked out of this third floor window to see two young men of slight build in jackets shooting at dozens of police officers from behind a black Mercedes SUV. The officers and the men were 70 yards apart, he said, and engaged in “constant gunfire.”
A police SUV “drove towards the shooters,” he said, and was shot at until it was severely damaged. It rolled out of control, Mr. Kitzenberg said, and crashed into two cars in his driveway.
The two shooters, he said, had a large and unwieldy bomb. “They lit it, still in the middle of the gunfire, and threw it. But it went 20 yards at most.” It exploded, he said, and one of the two men ran towards the gathered police officers. He was tackled, but it was not clear if he was shot, Mr. Kitzenberg said.
The other, he said, got back into the SUV, turned it towards officers and “put the pedal to the metal.” The car “went right through the cops, broke right through and continued west.”
The two men left “a few backpacks right by the car, and there is a bomb robot out there now.” Police had told residents to stay away from their windows, he said.
The standoff came within hours of an incident at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which a campus police officer was shot and killed.
More as it comes in.
11:22 PM PDT: Ezra Dulis is liveblogging the incident for Breitbart News.
Andrew Kitzenberg, who was mentioned in the NY Times article above tweets, “Bullet hole through our wall and the chair on the second floor, slug beside.” Click over for the photo.
11:27 PM PDT: For what it’s worth, the Boston Globe is currently reporting. “One Marathon bombing suspect has been caught, and another is on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police, officials said.”
11:35 PM PDT: Jon of the Exurban League blog tweets, “WHDH reporting that one suspect has been shot and killed. Second person at large.” Sean Kelly of WCVB tweets, “Official comment from State Police is ‘We cannot say rt now’ if tied to marathon.” That doesn’t stop the Boston Globe from running this:
11:51 PM PDT: “WHDH reporting Watertown suspect taken to hospital dead, one at large,” Dan Riehl blogs.
11:57 PM PDT: Ian Smith of Pittsburgh’s KDKA tweets, “#BREAKING: Scanner report said suspect at large in Watertown is missing #Brown student Sunil Tripathi & is also suspect #2 from bombings.”
12:01 AM PDT: Kevin Schiffman tweets, “BPD scanner has identified the names : Suspect 1: Mike Mulugeta Suspect 2: Sunil Tripathi #BostonMarathon #FBI”
And Sunil Tripathi was named in this ABC report: “Sunil Tripathi: Missing Ivy League Student Seen in New Surveillance Video.”
12:06 AM PDT: Jason Howerton of the Blaze tweets, “WHDH now reporting that these are the Boston bombing suspects. Keep in mind, still not compeltely confirmed.” And Tammy Bruce tweets this:
Click to enlarge.
WCVB now also reporting likelihood of connection between incident they’ve been reporting and Marathon bombing.
12:20 AM PDT: Ace tweets, “Tomorrow the left will be echoing Alex Jones– Che Guevera t-shirt? #FALSEFLAG”
12:32 AM PDT: “Explosives, pressure cooker found at crime scene in Watertown, sources tell @PeteWilliamsNBC,” NBC tweets.
12:38 AM PDT: Blogger SooperMexican has an animated gif comparing Sunil Tripathi with the FBI photos from the Boston marathon.
12:43 AM PDT: “MBTA spokesman: A transit officer is being treated at a local hospital for gunshot wounds,” Jennifer Peter of the Boston Globe tweets. “To be clear, the shooting of the transit officer is related to the rest of the mayhem this evening.”
12:47 AM PDT: “Police will be going door by door, street by street, in and around Watertown…. It is a fluid situation,” the Massachusetts State Police tweets. “Residents of Watertown asked to stay indoors. Do not answer door unless instructed by a police officer,” they add.
12:50 AM PDT: “One suspect apprehended, another remains on the loose,” the Boston Globe reports on their primary Website:
One suspect in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings has been apprehended, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation. Another appears to remain on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police. A 20-block perimeter was established as authorities searched for him.
A scene of chaos descended on Cambridge and Watertown late Thursday night and early Friday morning, as police confirmed an MIT police officer was shot and killed, and an apparent carjacking led police on a frenetic chase into Watertown. Hundreds of police officer flooded Cambridge and Watertown.
A spokesman for the MBTA said that a transit officer had been shot and was in serious condition.
Witnesses in Watertown said they heard explosions. Police officers were screaming about improvised explosive devices.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said early Friday that the violent events at MIT and Watertown appeared to be connected, and that federal authorities were investigating whether the violence of Thursday night and Friday was connected to the marathon bombings.
At least one of the suspects in Watertown appeared to be a man in his 20s.
FBI agents were on the scene.
“We are aware of the situation, we are being involved, and we are monitoring,” said an FBI representative who requested anonymity because of not being authorized to speak publicly. The FBI source said early Friday it is “too early to speculate” on a relation to the Marathon bombing.
WCVB is reporting that there will shortly be a controlled detonation of a captured IED by law enforcement officials in Watertown. It will “take place near Dexter and Laurel Sts shortly. There will be air horn before blast,” Dan Riehl adds, from the same report.
“FOX NEWS NOW REPORTING #BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT NUMBER ONE HAS BEEN PRONOUNCED DEAD AT HOSPITAL,” Stacy McCain tweets. That’s the suspect in the black hat in the FBI photos. “White hat suspect at large,” Edward Davis, Boston Police Commissioner, adds.
For those keeping score at home, Ace blogs:
CLAIM: I’m hearing that the Scanner has confirmed that White Hat was indeed Sumil Tripathi, a Brown student who walked away from his life last month and disappeared. Who is the guy the internet has been buzzing about. I think people at Reddit first forwarded him as a suspect.
12:58 AM PDT: “BREAKING: NBC’s Kerry Sanders reports SWAT teams responding to building in Watertown because multiple motion detectors have gone off,” NewsBreaker tweets. Another Twitter user adds, “NBC’s Kerry Sanders reports 2nd suspect may be inside Watertown building where motion detectors have gone off; SWAT on the way.”
WCVB reporting that the building is lit-up with police spotlights.
1:20 AM PDT: From CBS-Boston, “Here is the latest information in a press release from the Middlesex District Attorney:”
Police are investigating a fatal shooting of MIT campus police officer by two men who then committed an armed carjacking in Cambridge, Middlesex Acting District Attorney Michael Pelgro, Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas, and MIT Police Chief John DiFava announced this evening.
At approximately 10:20 p.m. April 18, police received reports of shots fired on the MIT campus. At 10:30 p.m., an MIT campus police officer was found shot in his vehicle in the area of Vassar and Main streets. According to authorities, the officer was found evidencing multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced deceased.
Authorities launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the shooting. The investigation determined that two males were involved in this shooting.
A short time later, police received reports of an armed carjacking by two males in the area of Third Street in Cambridge. The victim was carjacked at gunpoint by two males and was kept in the car with the suspects for approximately a half hour. The victim was released at a gas station on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. He was not injured.
Police immediately began a search for the vehicle and were in pursuit of the vehicle into Watertown. At that time, explosive devices were reportedly thrown from car by the suspects. The suspects and police also exchanged gunfire in the area of Dexter and Laurel streets. During this pursuit, an MBTA Police officer was seriously injured and transported to the hospital.
During the pursuit, one suspect was critically injured and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. An extensive manhunt is ongoing in the Watertown area for the second suspect, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.
The case is being investigated by local, state and federal authorities working in cooperation. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad is assessing and removing any potentially explosive devices that may have been thrown on the street in Watertown by the suspects.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
No further information is available at this time.
“Authorities have not officially said if those incidents are related to the Marathon suspects, but the Boston Globe reported that one bombing suspect is in custody and investigators are still looking for the second one,” CBS-Boston adds.
WCVB is currently running a press conference with law enforcement officials who say that no controlled detonation will be taking place.
“Suspect #1 robbed convenience store tonight,” the Boston Globe tweets.
1:40 AM PDT: PJM contributor Matt Vespa tweets that the police scanner is reporting that an “IED was found on suspect that has been declared deceased.”
From Michael Walsh, here’s a Google map of the Watertown area.
1:50 AM PDT: “NBC’s PETE WILLIAMS: ‘Authorities say these people came from overseas… had overseas military training… been here about a year,’” Dylan Byers of the Politico tweets. “If this is true, CNN, NPR, and Salon all going to have very bad days tomorrow,” Alex Marlow of Breitbart.com quips.
“NBC: — suspects ambushed a cop, carjacked someone, led police on a chase, got out w/ bomb strapped to chest, started shooting,” NewsBreaker adds.
1:58 AM PDT: Peter Shankman, a TED speaker tweets, “Early fliers watch the news at LaGuardia Airport as suspects’ images flash on tv.” Follow link to photo.
1:59 AM PDT: From Twitchy, “Police scanner reports ’3 injured officers’ at Arsenal command post; ‘man with backpack’ spotted in vicinity.”
2:00 AM PDT: I’m wrapping this up due to the late hour; stop by Instapundit and the PJ Tatler later this morning for continuous updates to this ongoing story.
2:16 AM PDT: Here’s the first of what will be numerous updates to this story at the Tatler.
10:25 AM PDT: I’m going to start a new post on this, but naturally, some of the early details in this breaking story were wrong, not the least of which was the suspect’s name. “AP: Surviving Boston bombing suspect ID’d as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19; Update: Dead suspect ID’d as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26; ‘I don’t have a single American friend’ [photos, online accounts]:”
One suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing was reportedly killed. The second suspect is now being identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev of Cambridge, Mass., and is reportedly still at large.
The two suspects are reportedly brothers from an area near Chechnya, and lived in the United States for at least a year.
Earlier police scanner activity identified missing Brown University student Sunil Tripathi as a possible suspect. NBC reports that he is not a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.
More in a new post.
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