Boston SWAT officers who handcuffed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev say that they didn’t “have time to be afraid” as they inched toward his hiding spot on Friday.
The SWAT officers from the MBTA held a press conference on Monday, as they were officially recognized for their efforts in taking down Boston Marathon suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after an all-day manhunt in Watertown.
Watertown was gripped with fear as the sun went down on Friday, when pops of gunfire and the booms of flash grenades were heard – all focused on a boat parked in a Franklin Street driveway.
The well-trained SWAT team then approached David Henneberry’s boat, not knowing whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was armed or had rigged the vessel with the same bombs he allegedly used in the attack at the marathon days prior.
SWAT Officer Jeff Campbell – who pulled Dzhokhar Tsarnaev off the boat – noted how the officers had proceeded carefully, saying: “We had no idea if the boat was rigged with explosives. He could have done anything.”
The officers admitted that they were sitting ducks – out in the open in the backyard as they moved in.
Jeff Campbell told former FBI assistant director John Miller in a CBS interview airing on Tuesday: “As we’re approaching what we call the danger zone… That’s the danger zone because there’s no cover for us except that ballistic shield.”
But as they got closer, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev suddenly stood up in the boat, acknowledging that he was ready to surrender.
Officer Jeff Campbell noted that the suspect “looked weak” and was “shaky”.
Boston SWAT officers who handcuffed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at his hiding spot on Friday
He told John Miller: “[Dzhokhar Tsarnaev] appeared to be losing consciousness and did have some wounds to his body. You could see the blood on his body.”
Once the suspect was off the boat, Officer Saro Thompson said: “Officer [Kenny] Tran helped me secure the suspect along with other people from different teams that we do not know the names of.”
Sgt. Sean Reynolds, who is also part of the team, told reporters: “You don’t really have time to be afraid.”
Officer Saro Thompson added: “At a time like that, training kicks in. We don’t have emotion going into something like that.
“We ended up putting him in cuffs and we turned him over to the medics after we moved him away from the boat.”
When asked if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev spoke as he was arrested, Saro Thompson said: “I don’t think he had the energy to say anything. Once we got him on the ground, he was compliant and was going in and out of consciousness.”
One of their colleagues, transit police officer Richard H. Donahue, 33, was seriously injured during the wild shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers early on Friday morning.
Officer Saro Thompson said that when he visited Richard H. Donahue in the hospital on Monday, he proudly informed him: “We got him.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s older brother Tamerlan died in a hospital after that confrontation, likely from injuries sustained when he was run over by a stolen vehicle driven by Dzhokhar.
The interview with the SWAT officers came after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was read his Miranda Rights on Monday as he was charged with using weapons of mass destruction during an arraignment while he laid in his hospital bed.
During the proceedings in his Boston hospital bed, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev only uttered the word “no” when asked if he could afford a defense attorney.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was arraigned in his hospital bed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on Monday by a magistrate judge, court officials said.
A probable cause hearing in the case was then set for May 30.
[youtube 9NTbs2XcRYw]
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been captured alive in Watertown and taken into custody, police have said.
Gunfire was heard as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was reportedly found hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, had escaped on foot early on Friday after a police shootout that claimed the life of his elder brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Three people died and more than 180 were hurt in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings.
Boston Police Department tweeted: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.”
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press news agency that suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was covered in blood.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been captured alive in Watertown and taken into custody
Police helicopters buzzed overhead, and bomb squad vans and ambulances were in position around the house in Franklin Street in Watertown on Friday night.
CNN reported that a family of ten were removed from the scene and officers were seen carrying children.
The home reportedly belongs to Mr. Henneberry and Elizabeth Henneberry, a couple in their mid-sixties.
At one stage a series of about 15 explosions erupted, which local television channels speculated could have been flash-bang grenades used by the authorities.
A local resident, Anna Bedirian, told Reuters news agency: “There’s about 50 guys there with machine guns and they all got bulletproof vests on, some of them are holding shields.
“There are a couple of armored cars and they’re all standing around.”
Friday night’s breakthrough came less than an hour after authorities lifted a city-wide order for residents to stay indoors, and reopened the transport system, as the trail appeared to have gone cold.
Thousands of SWAT team officers scoured the streets all day in a manhunt that virtually shut down the city.
Officials had shut down all mass transit and warned close to one million people in Boston and some of its suburbs not to leave their homes.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a college student, had fled on foot following a gun battle that left 200 spent rounds and a car chase in which he and his brother hurled explosives at police, authorities said.
Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev also shot and killed an MIT policeman and severely wounded another officer late on Thursday, authorities said, hours after the FBI released images of marathon-bombing suspects.
Law enforcement officials and family members have identified Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev as ethnic Chechens who had been living in America for about a decade.
The FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 after a request from a foreign government, US law enforcements officials have confirmed. But agents closed the case after finding no reason for concern.
Boston Marathon attack killed Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23, a postgraduate student from China.
Authorities have taken three people into custody in connection with the Boston bombings in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 65 miles south of the city, the Boston Globe reports. It is unknown how they were connected to the case.
[youtube jUBKAjxc-aI]
A SWAT team was sent to Kris and Bruce Jenner’s California mansion on Friday afternoon; with at least two helicopters hovering up above as back up.
Reality star Kim Kardashian, 32, tweeted her panic from the Ivory Coast after being informed of the commotion, which was sparked by a bogus call to the police claiming a shooting had taken place at the Calabasas home.
Her younger sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner were less dramatic and saw the funny side of it all… as did patriarch Bruce, who posed for an Instagram with the police officers.
Kylie Jenner, 17, tweeted “my neighbors officially think I’m crazy” to which her sister Kendall replied: “Our whole household is crazy.”
She then posted a picture of her father merrily posing with officers in front of the mansion’s famous sweeping staircase; and of the squad cars lined up outside the home.
A SWAT team was sent to Kris and Bruce Jenner’s California mansion on Friday afternoon following bogus shooting
Kim Kardashian was a tad more dramatic, writing: “Just got a call from my mom telling me about this prank call that someone was shot in their home & 15 swat team & 3 helicopters showed up!”
She added: “These prank calls are not funny! People can get arrested for this! I hope they find out who is behind this. It’s dangerous & not a joke!”
Kendall Jenner wrote, alongside her montage of the events: “I love it when 8 police officers show up at my door and 10 cop cars are outside my house. just another casual Friday evening at the Jenner household. #nbd #EveryonesOk”
These pranks seem to be becoming more common.
Police were sent to Tom Cruise’s house following a report about an alleged armed intruder on the property on Thursday.
The call that alerted police is now believed to be a prank after Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived on the scene and found nothing suspicious.
The action star and his family were not at the mansion when the incident occurred Thursday afternoon.
[youtube d075RuTLhBM]
