'CAPTURED!!!' Jubilation and relief swell Boston after bomb-suspect arrest.
It's been a roller coaster week in the Boston area. After the capture of marathon-bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Friday night, people lined the streets to cheer each passing police car.
Taylor Richard of Belmont, Mass., and Alyssa Kohler of Cambridge, Mass., wrap themselves in the American Flag in Watertown, Mass., Friday evening after police captured marathon-bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Craig Ruttle/AP
Boston
It’s been a roller-coaster week that included distress, shock, and a tense "shelter at home" lockdown during a manhunt, but Bostonians are now relishing other emotions: joy and relief.
After the capture of marathon-bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Friday night, city residents lined some streets to cheer for each passing police car, and many made their way to pay respects or share hugs at a makeshift memorial to victims near the scene of the Monday explosions.
“USA, USA, USA,” some cheered.
Sighs of relief also spread via social media.
“CAPTURED!!!” began one Twitter post from the Boston Police Department after Mr. Tsarnaev, a 19-year-old immigrant of Chechen heritage who authorities believe set two bombs near the race’s finish line.
“Teamwork,” tweeted Mayor Thomas Menino.
"I am so proud of all our first responders,” he said separately. “Thanks to them – the people of Boston will sleep well tonight.”
True enough. The day-long hunt had blocked a few residents from their homes and kept many more locked inside their homes – on edge knowing only that the man initially labeled “Suspect #2” by the FBI was on the loose somewhere in the area.
He had last been seen, after a Friday shootout that killed his brother – “Suspect #1” Tamerlan Tsarnaev – in the Boston suburb of Watertown. That’s where he was eventually captured.
Sadly, after bombs that claimed three lives and left more than 170 injured, another person was killed in the manhunt – Sean Collier, a campus police officer at MIT. Transit officer Richard Donahue was severely injured.
The lifting of a lockdown, early Friday evening, aided in the apprehension of Suspect #2, as one Watertown resident emerged from his home to notice a trail of blood leading to the boat parked on his property. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found inside.
The arrest took some time, as police took precaution against possible explosives on the scene.
But residents were able to rest easy by bedtime, and to go about life as usual on Saturday.
An investigation by the FBI continues, preparing for a high-profile prosecution, even as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being treated for wounds in a local hospital.