POLICE NAB SUSPECT #2, CAPPING AN EXTRAORDINARY 24-HOUR FRENZY … ACTIONS BRING UP MANY QUESTIONS
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY, APRIL 19-20, 2013) — As THE PLANET writes, we have just learned from an ABC News report that suspect #2 in the Boston Marathon bombing, “White Hat,” has been taken alive into custody. They caught him hiding in a boat.
The event culminates an extraordinary week, especially its last two days, in which, for the first time ever, the government ordered a major metropolis, Boston, to be shutdown. As the massive manhunt went on throughout Thursday and Friday, one could not help feeling awestruck at the sheer size of the official response at all levels of government as a literal army of police officers, SWAT teams, commandos, vehicles, helicopters, dogs, and the like held Boston under siege and moved into the Watertown area.
Rundown of Key Moments and Events
Here’s an Associated Press recap of key moments from this extraordinary 24-hour period:
— At 5:10 p.m. Thursday, investigators of the bombings release photographs and video of two suspects. They ask for the public’s help in identifying the men.
— Around 10:20 p.m., shots are fired on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, just outside Boston.
— At 10:30 p.m., an MIT campus police officer who was responding to a disturbance is found shot multiple times in his vehicle, apparently in a confrontation with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. He is later pronounced dead.
— Shortly afterward, two armed men reportedly carjack a Mercedes SUV in Cambridge. A man who was in the vehicle is held for about a half hour and then released unharmed at a gas station on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.
— Police soon pursue the carjacked vehicle in Watertown, just west of Cambridge.
— Some kind of explosive devices are thrown from the vehicle in an apparent attempt to stop police. The carjackers and police exchange gunfire. A transit police officer is seriously injured. One suspect, later identified as Suspect No. 1 in the marathon bombings, is critically injured and later pronounced dead.
— Authorities launch a manhunt for the other suspect.
— Around 1 a.m. Friday, gunshots and explosions are heard in Watertown. Dozens of police officers and FBI agents converge on a Watertown neighborhood. A helicopter circles overhead.
— Around 4:30 a.m., Massachusetts state and Boston police tell people living in that section of eastern Watertown to stay in their homes. They identify the carjackers as the same men suspected in the marathon bombings. Overnight, police also release a photograph of a man believed to be Suspect No. 2 wearing a gray hoodie-style sweatshirt. The image apparently is from surveillance video taken at a gas station.
— Around 5:50 a.m. authorities urge residents in Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, Arlington and the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston to stay indoors. All mass transit is shut down.
— Around 6:35 a.m., The Associated Press reports that the bomb suspects are from a Russian region near Chechnya and lived in the United States for at least a year.
— Around 6:45 a.m., The Associated Press identifies the surviving Boston bomb suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, who has been living in Cambridge.
— Around 8 a.m., Boston’s police commissioner says all of Boston must stay in their homes as the search for the surviving suspect in the bombings continues.
— Around 8:40 a.m., a U.S. law enforcement official and the uncle of the suspects confirm that the name of the slain suspect is Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s older brother.
— Around 10:20 a.m., Connecticut State Police say a car believed to be linked to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been recovered in Boston. They initially call it a Honda CRV, but authorities later say it was a Honda Civic.
— Around 10:35 a.m., the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth says it closed its campus and ordered an evacuation after confirming that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is registered there. The school says it closed the campus “out of an abundance of caution” as the search continued.
— Around 11:30 a.m., Massachusetts State Police explain that the brothers suspected in the bombings were in the Honda when they carjacked the Mercedes SUV. For a while, each drove one of the two vehicles, but then ditched the Honda and reunited in the Mercedes.
— Around 12:35 p.m., state police in Watertown say officers are searching door-to-door but still have not found the bombing suspect.
— Around 6:30 p.m., Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announces that mass transit is resuming and the “stay indoors” order is being lifted even though one suspect remains on the lam. State police say that suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, fled on foot and there is indication he has a vehicle. They believe he is still in the state because of his ties to the area.
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Many Questions Remain from this Extraordinary Week
This furious turn of events brought up many questions, including:
* Was the massive police response an overreaction? Authorities thought so, and given the symbolic importance of bringing justice to bear, one could defend the time and expense as the right call. On the other hand, when you boil this down, you had two young suspects on the loose, undoubtedly without an escape plan, making it up as they went along. They didn’t appear to be professional terrorists or militarily trained. Local police departments face worse cases that are jurisdictional. The police are left on their own and well capable of handling the situation.
* Was it necessary to close down an entire city? Who reimburses private businesses for their losses? Who justifies to hundreds of thousands of people the imposition of an iron curtain of lock-down security?
* Was the massive expense of public money necessary? Think of the cost of sending in all that manpower.
* Can Islam fairly be blamed? There has been discussion about the effects of radicalization and, as a a possible cause, the international violent jihadist movement.
* Have we reached a tipping point for freedom in America?
* Who or what will place the proper checks and balances on what will be an inevitable call for increased security over all aspects of our public, private, and personal lives?
* Is terrorism ever justified?
* Is there something about America that is radicalizing much of the rest of the world, especially countries and individuals who are among the “have nots?” In other words, has America brought this upon itself?
* What is it about America that so alienates young men? Marc Ambinder asks this question in The Week.
* Is it possible to provide total security to the general public, safety from the few-and-far-between hate mongers, nut jobs, terrorists, and the rest of that gang of idiots?
* Is there something about the fast pace of present day Western society, with its overabundance of portable technology and overflow of information, “that loosens the moorings that prevent us from acting on our deepest, ugliest thoughts” (Ambinder).
We invite you to give us your thoughts. In doing so, REFRAIN FROM NAME CALLING! Be adults. Let’s show we can have lively, even venomous debate without dipping into the gutter. THE PLANET welcomes your views.
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“The naked earth is warm with spring, / And with green grass and bursting trees / Leans to the sun’s gaze glorifying, / And quivers in the sunny breeze; / And life is color and warmth and light, / And a striving evermore for these; / And he is dead who will not fight; / And who dies fighting has increase.” — Rupert Brooke
Dan, TWO people caused this much chaos imagine…
Mr. Valenti,
A far more important and far-reaching question both you and Marc Ambinder fail to ask is what is it about radical Islam that attracts so many young men?
The promise of a hundred virgins waiting at the pearly gates…
I always thought it was 72 virgins. Is it known if the virgins are male or female? Lets hope in this case it extremely well endowed male virgins.
Joe blow good one! I’m not sure the exact number I just know those fools are crazy and I think it’s kind of lame when white people embrace Islam I don’t know I guess anyone can get brainwashed by any cult it’s weird.
I don’t really have a problem with Islam itself but it is time for their leaders to denounce the radicals.I think there are many good Muslims in the world but the radicals have hijacked the religion. What burns my ass is we took them in as refuges, educated them and from what I read housed them. If they hate us so much why the F are they here? I hope these events but the brakes on the so called immigration reform talks going on in Washington.
Dan The way the people of Watertown were clapping for all the law enforcement after the capture Id say the don’t think it was a overreaction .USA USA
I don’t think it was an over reaction I like to see law enforcement used in that manner I can’t get over how hard it was to get these two idiots. I’m wondering if their pistols were legal or whatever weapon they had. Also the FBI was investigating these clowns that kind of pisses me off it goes to show how much leeway criminals have with the law so if they did obtain weapons by legal means that is messed up.
I agree that it was not an overreaction. Law enforcement had to assume that these scumbags were prepared to blow themselves up, and they also had to assume that there were other people involved, and that other explosives were rigged to explode.
And, this was a singular event. Not even on 9/11 did NYC lock the entire City down. While it certainly was an imposition on businesses, what were the alternatives? From an economic perspective, it really wasn’t all that different from a blizzard.
But, In the Know, you need to dial down your name calling.
Relax. What name calling?
Calling people “Planuts” is immature and unnecessary. You want to debate an issue, fine, but we can do without the name calling. Stick with Topix if you want to engage in juvenalia.
Relax. So it’s ok for Dan to call people names, but I call the faithful Planuts that’s wrong?
While I often disagree with Dan, he does not call people names. There’s a difference between calling an idea idiotic, and calling someone an idiot.
And, I’d be careful here. You have the same name as a notorious local troll.
Juvenalia… wow… classic duel… I learned something new
I recommend that all posters disregard the contributions of the reader who goes by “In the Know.”
I learned today that he is a notorious local troll known as “Flobaeker”, who posts all manner of smut and bile on the site dedicated to mean-spirited nonsense known as Topix. He also uses the name “in the know” on Topix, among others. And, he has been thrown off Disqus for his constant insults.
Getting back to the topic at hand, I find all this caterwauling over the lockdown of Boston to be so much nonsense. Again, this was a singular event. Law enforcement acted prudently in protecting the public, and brought these thugs to justice less than 24 hours after the FBI released their photographs.
RELAX
Thanks. We monitor the comments on this site as carefully as we can without turning it into a police state. “In the Know” is being closely watched. He has run out of mistakes.
Dan,
You’re welcome. While I’m all for spirited debate, “In the Know” is one of the most foul trolls around. He will, in short order, try to poison any discussion he joins.
These issues are critically important, and we do not need someone of his ilk poisoning the well.
Well said, my friend. I welcome your participation to our deliberations, debates, and discussions because of the manner in which you do it — That is worthy of respect.
There definitely exists excesses of law enforcement and the news media, sort of like the Richard Jewell theory of reporting. Remember the 1996 Summer Olympics.? Yet, Pittsfield willingly responds by sending 4 police officers, to add to the ranks of the circus and the media relentless attempted to try the case before the court of public opinion, along with the politicians to the point of Ad nauseam , playing to the cameras from the President on down to Mayor Mumbles Menino and the want to be U.S. Senate candidates looking for that precious photo opt, buckle your seat belts the best is yet to come.
How much in overtime and dangerous-duty pay plus expenses related to food, lodging, and transportation did it cost Pittsfield’s taxpayers to support the Mayor’s generous offer to supply the City of Boston with four Pittsfield officers?
Will Pittsfield now be reimbursed by the state or by Boston for these expenses?
I found the Eagles story with Chief Wynn comical he has anti terror training and sent a swat team in when some half wit called and said her boyfriend was in the attic with a pistol but he couldn’t figure out if the large scale response for a bombing was necessary. Whatever, I watch some media coverage it baffles me people waste so much time glued to the tv subjecting themselves to that crap.
Dan, I’m wondering if you watched the video of the people in Boston looting the merch. stands? A bomb has just gone off and these “people” are taking time to steal the right size jacket. I’ve been to concerts were this kind of looting has gone on and my instinct has always been to go in the opposite direction. I’ve never understood the mob mentality. Helping themselves instead of helping other….disgusting! There are many faces clearly visible and when police finish the bombing investigation they should find these idiots.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4d6_1366073888
I agree and that despicable behavior shouldn’t overshadow the ones who helped despite the danger and put their safety aside to help people in need those people are real Americans and Patriots.
I don’t think it can overshadows the heroes who ran towards the explosions. It shows for all off the heroes there are a equal number of zeros
DV you ask good questions here. I have to say it was an overreaction but that’s a sign of these crAZY times. I liked the timeline you included. Thanks for this site.
Why no report s on the firearms the terrorists , Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were carrying, I’m certain that must have been licensed to carry a concealed weapons in Massachusetts?
All I can say says is that I personally watched as scores of first responders ran into the smoke filled street in the minutes following the explosions. The fact that the Police/FBI identified, tracked down and killed or captured both suspects by Friday is something to be proud of. While many questions of motive still exist, there should be more than a moment to reflect upon the actions of the brave men and women who answered the call of duty.
I felt tremendous pride in the actions of our public safety officials, including the Mayor and the Governor. Also, the cooperation of the many Citizen’s who listened to the requests to stay home so that our public officials could methodically search the area. To the Citizens who called in the information which lead to the apprehension of suspect #2, I say, thank you!
We should all reflect on our own good fortune to be here with our health, our families and friends. There are many injured who will surely never be the same. To the families who will never be “whole again” I say that we should never forget them. Their healing will go well beyond the days and weeks ahead.
Boston Strong!
Thanks, J-LO. Well said.
I agree with you to a point but I think as always the FBI could have done more and I know they have protocal to abide by so that gives these cooks a tremendous advantage and I would also like to know if the guns they had were registered and obtained by legal means any media outlet worth anything would ask that question and having Feinstein on FOX as a voice for DHS I am curious why they wouldn’t ask her tough questions especially since she has an anti gun agenda.
According to ABC News, neither terrorist had an LTC.
Well just pass another law I’m sure the next terrorist will follow it! If we pass just one more law that will work yeah…
In my opinion the Mayor and the Governor looked pathetic and weak. We were warned about the older brother but the F.B.I gave him the all clear. These scumbags went right back to there normal life after the bombing. Jlo says we should be proud to capture or kill them in 5 days? The older brother should be the first person they talked too. Somewhere along the line the system failed and failed miserably. I can only imagine the laws Washington is going to enact to “protect us”….shoes off when you goto Fenway…..naked body scanners at S.P.A.C…martial law for snowstorms..O wait we already did that.
* Was the massive police response an overreaction?
BEING AS HOW THERE WERE SECONDARY EXPLOSIVE DEVICES FOUND, NO IT WAS NOT AN OVERREATION
* Was it necessary to close down an entire city? Who reimburses private businesses for their losses? Who justifies to hundreds of thousands of people the imposition of an iron curtain of lock-down security? SEE ABOVE, YES IT WAS NEEDED. NO ONE REIMBURSES THEM, COST OF DOING BUSINESS AND LIVING IN THIS COUNTRY
* Was the massive expense of public money necessary? Think of the cost of sending in all that manpower. IF IT SAVED MORE LIVES, WHICH IT CAN BE ARGUED IT DID, THEN YES THE PUBLIC MONEY SPENT WAS WORTH IT
* Can Islam fairly be blamed? There has been discussion about the effects of radicalization and, as a a possible cause, the international violent jihadist movement.
ISLAM AND “RADICAL” ISLAM AND TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS…YES RADICAL ISLAM IS PART OF THE PROBLEM
* Have we reached a tipping point for freedom in America? YES
* Who or what will place the proper checks and balances on what will be an inevitable call for increased security over all aspects of our public, private, and personal lives? HOPEFULLY “WE THE PEOPLE”
* Is terrorism ever justified? DEPENDS ON YOUR DEFINITION OF TERRORISM AND WHO YOU ARE TERRORIZING
* Is there something about America that is radicalizing much of the rest of the world, especially countries and individuals who are among the “have nots?” In other words, has America brought this upon itself? IN SOME WAYS YES, PEOPLE ARE JEALOUS OF US AND OUR FOREGIN POLICY MOVES BRING THIS STUFF ON
* What is it about America that so alienates young men? Marc Ambinder asks this question in The Week. JEALOUSLY
* Is it possible to provide total security to the general public, safety from the few-and-far-between hate mongers, nut jobs, terrorists, and the rest of that gang of idiots?
NO
* Is there something about the fast pace of present day Western society, with its overabundance of portable technology and overflow of information, “that loosens the moorings that prevent us from acting on our deepest, ugliest thoughts”
HUH?
HILLY
Thanks for tackling these questions. The last one requires the most thought. THE PLANET finds a direct correlation with the speed and pace of life (mostly via portable hand-held technology such as smart phones) and the inability of people to find the necessary amount of “down” time that, alone, allows self examination and rational thought. This “eternal hurry” will lead to an erosion of moral value. From there … Ka-BLAM!
Then shouldn’t it read “…that encourage us to act on our deepest, ugliest thoughts”??