FBI may have Identified Suspect in Boston Bombings from Videotape

[Samstwitch]

CNN Reports: FBI may have Identified Suspect in Boston Bombings from Videotape

Authorities may have identified a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, CNN reports.

The FBI is holding a press conference at 5:00 p.m. and may announce the news then. CNN attributed the news to an unnamed source, and reported that the breakthrough in the investigation came from analyzing department store surveillance video and video from a news station.

The Boston Globe reported that officials have found an image of "a suspect carrying, and perhaps dropping, a black bag at the second bombing scene."

An FBI spokesman in Boston declined to comment on the reports to Yahoo News.

 

[Samstwitch]

Image shows suspect carrying, perhaps dropping, black bag

Investigators are ‘very close’ in the investigation, said the official, who declined to be named

An official briefed on the Boston Marathon bombing investigation said today that authorities have an image of a suspect carrying, and perhaps dropping, a black bag at the second bombing scene on Boylston Street, outside of the Forum restaurant.

Investigators are “very close” in the investigation, said the official, who declined to be named.

That official said authorities may publicize their finding as early as this afternoon.

The same official also said a surveillance camera at Lord & Taylor, located directly across the street, has provided clear video of the area, though it was unclear whether the image of the suspect was taken from that camera.

Authorities planned to brief the media on the progress of the investigation at 5 p.m. today.

“The camera from Lord & Taylor is the best source of video so far,” said Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “All I know is that they are making progress.”

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said shortly before noon after leaving FBI headquarters that investigators were “working hard and there’s a lot going on,” but he had no comment on whether progress had been made. No arrests were reported this morning.

Authorities had appealed to the public for video and photographs of the area near the bombing scene at the finish line of the marathon, noting that many people among the crowd were likely to have taken photos of the conclusion of the world-renowned event.

Two bombs exploded within seconds of each other at 2:50 p.m. Monday near the Boylston Street finish line, killing three people and injuring 176, many of whom suffered major trauma from flying shrapnel, including nails and ball bearings that authorities have said were stuffed into the explosive devices by their makers.

A massive investigation is underway, involving local, state, and federal law enforcement, and officials have promised to go to the “ends of the earth” to find the culprit or culprits.

A spokesman for President Obama said at a Washington media briefing that the president would bring a message of “resolve” and “commonality” when he travels to the city Thursday for an interfaith service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

“The way that the people of Boston and the city of Boston responded reminds us — and reminds the world — of just who we are as a people,” Jay Carney said in a media briefing in Washington, where he was also questioned about poisoned letters sent to the president and a senator.

Asked whether the letters and the bombs were considered linked, Carney deferred to an FBI statement that said there was no indication of a connection.

The bombings killed Martin Richard, 8, of Dorchester; Krystle Campbell, 29, of Arlington, and Boston University graduate student Lingzu Lu, a native of Shenyang, China, who was in her 20s.

The Globe reported today that investigators had found evidence that timing devices were used to detonate the bombs. Working at the city’s largest-ever crime scene, investigators also determined that bombs were probably fashioned from 6-liter pressure cookers, filled with nails and small ball bearings, like buckshot, to increase the carnage, and then hidden in black nylon bags or backpacks and left on the ground.

CNN and the Associated Press reported this morning that the lid of one of the pressure cookers was located on the rooftop of a nearby building.

FBI bomb experts at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., will try to rebuild the devices from fragments that include a circuit board that indicated the bombs were detonated on a timer, rather than remote control.

The FBI, which is leading the investigation into the bombing, had asked the public for tips on anyone who may have been lugging a heavy black bag near the finish line.

 

[Samstwitch]

BREAKING NEWS: A Suspect has been identified and arrested in the Boston bombings! FBI is holding a press conference at 5:00 p.m.to announce details.

 

[Samstwitch]

CONFLICTING REPORTS: Some reports say Suspect has been identified & arrested; other reports are coming in saying they have Photos but not ID'D the suspect and NO arrest has been made.

 

[Samstwitch]

Here is an article that brings some clarity to the conflicting reports!

Source: Officials see potential suspect in bombing

BOSTON (AP) — Investigators poring over photos and video from the Boston Marathon have an image of a potential suspect in the deadly bombing but do not know his name and have not questioned him, a law enforcement official said Wednesday.

The news came with Boston in a state of high excitement over a possible breakthrough in the case and conflicting information over whether a suspect was in custody. Police and reporters converged on the federal courthouse in the afternoon.

Several news organizations reported earlier in the day that a suspect had been identified from surveillance video taken at a department store midway between the sites of Monday's two bomb blasts, which killed three people and wounded more than 170.

A law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to discuss the case publicly confirmed only that investigators had an image of a potential suspect and had not established his identity.

Also Wednesday, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told the AP that a suspect was in custody. The official, who was not authorized to divulge details of the investigation, said the suspect was expected in federal court.

But the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said no arrests had been made.

"Contrary to widespread reporting, there have been no arrests made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack," the FBI said in a statement. "Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate. Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting."

The official who spoke to the AP about someone being taken into custody stood by the information even after it was disputed.

A bomb threat forced the evacuation of the courthouse in mid-afternoon, the U.S. Marshals Service said, and security officials were sweeping the area. Workers were allowed back into the courthouse a short time later.

Law enforcement agencies have pleaded for the public to come forward with photos, videos or any information that might help them solve the case. Police also gathered surveillance video from businesses.

Multiple news organizations, citing unidentified sources, reported Wednesday that a video surveillance camera at a Lord & Taylor department store showed a suspect with a backpack near the finish line.

Investigators have said they believe the bombs were fashioned out of ordinary kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards. They suspect the bombs were hidden in duffel bags and left on the ground.

The bombs exploded 10 or more seconds apart, tearing off limbs and spattering streets with blood.

Scores of victims remained hospitalized, many with grievous injuries. Fourteen were listed in critical condition. Doctors who treated the wounded corroborated reports that the bombs were packed with shrapnel.

The trauma surgery chief at Boston Medical Center said most of the injuries his hospital treated were to the legs.

"We have a lot of lower extremity injuries, so I think the damage was low to the ground and wasn't up," Dr. Peter Burke said. "The patients who do have head injuries were blown into things or were hit by fragments that went up."

The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard of Boston and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell of Medford. The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run Chinese newspaper, identified the third victim as Lu Lingzi. She was a graduate student at Boston University.