MA Police Briefing Sheds Little Light on Whereabouts of Surviving Boston Bomber (Update: 'Suspect in Custody')

During a press conference this afternoon, authorities lifted the lockdown that had been in place across Boston all day. Police indicated that 8 hours of searching had proved “fruitless,” and said that they had no information on Dzhokar Tsarnaev’s current whereabouts. They do believe that he is still in Massachusetts.

Police did clear up one mystery. The brothers, it turns out, did not rob a 7-11 last night as has been widely reported. They were in the convenience store when it was robbed, by some unknown third party not believed to be connected to the bombers at all. Following that, they carjacked the Mercedes with the “COEXIST” bumper sticker on the back, kept the owner of it with them for a half hour before releasing him unharmed, and then got into the bomb and firefight with police that resulted in the older brother’s death. Police today said that the younger brother fled “on foot,” conflicting with other reports that he ran over his brother with the stolen car as he escaped. A photo of Tamerlan’s body has shown up online, which does show extensive wounding, but does not rule in or out whether he was run over by a car.

Despite thousands of law enforcement and intelligence officials converging on the Boston area to hunt the bombers down, using aircraft and ground military vehicles and technology, the 19-year-old managed to survive the battle and give them all the slip. It is still unknown whether the two and the bombs that they built and the weapons they procured were part of any larger conspiracy.

Update: Media now reporting 30 shots fired in Watertown. A woman called police after finding blood near a boat shed on her property. Police responded, shots fired, and “Suspect is down” was heard on police radio. Now a robot is being sent in to determine of any explosives are present.

Update: WFXT reporting that the suspect is still alive, hiding in a boat under its canopy. He is reportedly surrounded but not yet apprehended.

Update: 7:43 PM Central: Moments ago police on radio said “Suspect in custody, suspect in custody…We got him.” Police called for a medic to deal with Tsarnaev’s wounds. He has been taken alive. Other reports indicate that three college-aged males were taken into custody in this evening in connection with the Boston bombing.