Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Bombing Manhunt Suspect, Remains At Large; Police Respond To Reports Of Shots Fired

Boston's Lockdown Ends; Suspect Still At Large

Reports of gunshots fired around 7:00 p.m., approximately one hour after authorities told the public that the lockdown had been lifted, sent law enforcement officials scrambling to a crime scene in Watertown, Mass.

The Boston Police Department told residents in the area to "remain inside."

Watertown residents near where the police are converging tell HuffPost reporters Christina Wilkie and Michael McLaughlin that a living and injured body was found in a boat on pylons. It is unclear if the body is the suspect connected to the marathon bombing. They say 15 gunshots were heard near a 7-Eleven on Mount. Auburn in Watertown. The scene is very close to last night's burst of violence.

A State police officer is warning members of the public that it is "extremely dangerous to be out here." Unlike Thursday, when the sound of loud explosions attracted large crowds, the area near the crime scene on Mount Auburn Street is empty.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for more updates.

CLICK HERE for live updates

More from the Associated Press:

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, MEGHAN BARR AND KATIE ZEZIMA

WATERTOWN, Mass. — The sound of gunfire has been reported in Watertown, Mass., where authorities have been searching for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Television footage is showing emergency and military vehicles speeding through town Friday evening.

It wasn't immediately clear whether authorities had found 19-year-old college student Dzhokar Tsarnaev ((JOH'-kahr tsahr-NY'-ev).

Authorities are telling residents of the area to stay indoors.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PHOTOS:

Suspects 1 and 2

Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects

SWAT teams in armored vehicles swarmed the tense and locked-down streets of Boston and its suburbs Friday in an all-out hunt for the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect after his older brother died in a desperate getaway attempt. But as evening fell, police had come up empty-handed.

State Police Col. Timothy Alben said at a news conference that he believed 19-year-old college student Dzhokar Tsarnaev was still in Massachusetts because of his ties to the area. But authorities lifted the stay-indoors warning for people in the Boston area, and the transit system started running again by evening.

"We can't continue to lockdown an entire city or an entire state," Alben said. At the same time, he and other authorities warned that Tsarnaev is a killer and that people should be vigilant.

Tsarnaev fled on foot after a furious overnight gun battle that left 200 spent rounds behind and after a wild car chase in which he and his brother hurled explosives at police, authorities said. His brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died in the shootout, run over by his younger brother in a car as he lay wounded, according to investigators.

During the overnight spasm of violence, the brothers also shot and killed an MIT policeman and severely wounded another officer, authorities said.

Law enforcement officials and family members identified the brothers as ethnic Chechens who came to the U.S. from Russia. They lived near Boston and had been in the U.S. for about a decade, an uncle said.

Around midday, as the manhunt dragged on, the suspects' uncle Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Md., pleaded on television: "Dzhokhar, if you are alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness."

___________

Sullivan and Associated Press writer Stephen Braun reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Pat Eaton-Robb in Boston and Jeff Donn in Cambridge, Mass., contributed to this report.

LIVE UPDATES

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot