Bombing Suspect Called Mom Moments Before Deadly Shootout
By KIRIT RADIA and PIERRE THOMAS | Good Morning America
The mother of the Boston bombing suspects spoke to her eldest son
minutes before a violent standoff with police in the streets of
Watertown, Mass., she told ABC News.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, called his mother early Friday morning, alerting
her that police were following him and his younger brother and that
there had been a shooting.
"'The police, they have started shooting at us, they are chasing us,'"
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told ABC News in a telephone interview.
The conversation ended when Tsarnaev said, "'Mama, I love you,'" his mother said.
Tsarnaeva got frightened and started to cry and shout. He told her Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was with him before the line cut off.
Her daughter called later to say that Tamerlan had been killed.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors say they are expected to file formal
criminal charges, possibly today, against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that could
lead to the death penalty, a decision being left to U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder.
Tsarnaev could possibly be slapped with a "weapon of mass destruction"
charge, which carries a penalty of death. Authorities are using the
public safety exemption that gives authorities the legal bases to
question Tsarnaev without delivering Miranda rights. That's because
authorities believe there is imminent threat out there.
Law enforcement sources say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was awake and responding
sporadically in writing to questions Sunday night. They are asking about
any possible cell members and other unexploded bombs. There have been
no additional details yet on his answers.
Tsarnaev is being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in
Boston, where he is listed in serious but stable condition, with wounds
to the neck and throat area, according to sources.
Last week's twin bombing killed three, including an 8-year-old boy, and
wounded about 170. An MIT officer was allegedly killed by Tsarnaev and
his older brother Tamerlan, and a Boston transit cop was badly wounded
in a subsequent shootout.
New details emerged Sunday night about the dramatic capture after a
20-hour manhunt for Tsarnaev after he managed to escape a gunfight with
police in Watertown, Mass., that killed his older brother.
As police and federal agents closed in after a Watertown resident
reported there was a bloodied person hiding in his boat, a helicopter
beamed back thermal images of the outline of Tsarnaev's body.
The orders went out to do everything to capture the teen alive even after an initial exchange of gunfire.
Police quickly surrounded the boat and there was a brief but ferocious
volley of fire. Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau told ABC News
Sunday that negotiators demanded Tsarnaev show his hands and lift his
shirt. Authorities were worried Tsarnaev was wearing a suicide vest. He
was not.
"He was very slow and lethargic in every move that he made and they
could see that there was no device on his chest. They kept creeping
closer to him and then they felt it safe enough to pull him away from
the boat,"
From that point, Tsarnaev was raced to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center, where investigators hope to get answers to questions about
motive and the possibility of accomplices.
Nowhere were there more questions than at the University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth, where Tsarniev was known as just an ordinary
student.
"Literally, when I seen him he was just regular. He walked past me, we
had a brief conversation and then I asked him for a ride home and he
told me, 'Yeah,'" said Andrew Glasby, who lived at the same dormitory
where Tsarnaev was staying after the marathon bombings.
Another friend, Zach Bettencourt, even asked Tsarnaev about the bombings.
"I talked to him in the gym about the bombing and he was like, 'Yeah man, tragedies happen all the time,'" Bettencourt said.
The night after the bombing, Tsarnaev tweeted, "I'm a stress free kind of guy."
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