Police pursued two men
early Friday who shot a police officer to death, stole a vehicle and
threw explosives at law officers pursuing them. Authorities believe they
are the same two men sought in the marathon attacks.
One died of injuries
suffered while battling police early Friday, and the other is on the run
in a nearby suburb, authorities said.
Both men allegedly killed
one police officer late Thursday, wounded another early Friday and used
explosives against police pursuing them.
Police believe the man at
large is "suspect number 2" in Monday's bombing. Federal, state and
local law officers are swarming through the Boston suburb
of Watertown,
going door-to-door to track him down, said transit police spokesman Paul
MacMillan.
Police warned Watertown residents to lock their homes and stay away from their windows and doors.
A surveillance image of
the fugitive resembles photos of one of the suspects sought for alleged
involvement in the marathon attacks that killed three.
The image of the man with
bushy, wavy black hair, a pronounced chin and nose, and a slight build
matches photos circulated of the man in the white cap, carrying a
backpack near the scene of Monday's bombing.
Due to the strong
similarity of the two images, police believe the fugitive may be
"suspect number 2" in the marathon terror attack, MacMillan said.
The other suspect was
injured in a a shootout with transit police and pronounced dead at a
local hospital, according to a statement from the Massachusetts district
attorney.
Police believe he is suspect number 1 in the marathon attack.
Boston's public transit
authority has sent city buses to Watertown to evacuate residents while
bomb experts comb the surroundings for possible live explosives.
Night of terror
The violence erupted
when a college police officer was shot and killed late Thursday. The
events that followed sent sirens howling through the night, and
emergency lights shattering the darkness, as police chased after two
suspects who tossed explosives at them.
Still on edge from
Monday's deadly bombings, local, state and federal law officers
responded to reports of a shooting on the campus of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge directly across from e
Did suspects use timer or remote?
At the time, they did not know of possible connections to the bomb attacks.
News media from across the country -- in Boston to cover the investigation into the marathon terror -- flocked to MIT's campus.
Two men had shot and
killed the university policeman, while he sat in his car, the district
attorney's office later said. State police and the FBI found the officer
there with multiple gunshot wounds.
He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The same two suspects
then hijacked a car at gunpoint in Cambridge and initially held the
vehicle's driver in the car with them, the district attorney said. They
released him half an hour later at a gas station unharmed.
Police encountered the
stolen vehicle and gave chase. Suspects threw explosives out the window
at the officers in a futile attempt to elude capture. "The suspects and
police also exchanged gunfire," the statement read.
A transit police officer was "seriously injured" and taken to hospital.
Showdown in Watertown
Police cornered the
vehicle in the suburb of Watertown and set up a perimeter, as
reinforcements and emergency vehicles poured into the area.
Officers quickly locked down the streets of the Watertown neighborhood after isolating the vehicle.
Police carrying assault rifles ran down the streets, according to a report.
One of the suspects --
the man who could be suspect number 1 -- had been wounded during the
pursuit. He was taken to Beth Israel hospital, where Doctors pronounced
him dead after unsuccessful attempts to reanimate him, a hospital
spokesman from said.
He had bullet wounds and injuries from an explosion.
"Police were in a
standoff with the vehicle just down the hill," Ramirez said. They
ordered one suspect out and commanded him to strip down completely naked
before putting him in a patrol car, which did not leave the scene.
The man was later released and is not a suspect in the case.
But while the man was
being held, FBI agents approached the squad car, and police ordered the
man back out of the car. FBI agents questioned him -- still fully
undressed -- on the sidewalk.
In an early phase of the
lock down, a man could be seen lying face down on the street with his
hands outstretched in front of him and his legs crossed. It is unclear
whether this was the man who was arrested and ordered to undress.
Explosives once more
Police requested that
people in the lockdown area turn off their cell phones. Authorities
suspect cell phones were used to detonate the bombs that flung metal
through the crowds at the marathon Monday.
Dozens of police from
various units arrived in Watertown, some in SWAT uniforms, others
wearing helmets. Large crowds gathered around a trove of emergency
vehicles that had congregated in the neighborhood, WCVB reported.
Police also said they were going door-to-door, street by street, searching the Watertown area.
Area residents have been
on edge after two bombs ripped through the crowd near the finish line
of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 178 others.
Federal, state and local agencies are still investigating the marathon bombing.
Police, who were seeking two suspects in the attack, now believe they have found them.
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