Boston police fatally shot a man Tuesday that was part of a terrorism investigation.
An official with the U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force says the slain man was part of a terror investigation involving Islamist extremists who were under surveillance and tracking. The man was shot after coming toward police and federal agents with a military-style knife.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said the man was specifically under investigation for threats against police officers. Details on those threats were not released to the media.
“Unfortunately, he came at the officers and, you know, they do what they were trained to do and, unfortunately, they had to take a life,” Evans said.
The suspect died at an area hospital.
Two officers who were involved in the incident were examined for stress at the hospital but did not suffer any physical injuries.
The shooting is still under official investigation.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two brothers who carried out an Islamic terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon April 15, 2013, has been found guilty of multiple charges.
The conviction included charges that can bring the death penalty such as conspiracy and use of a weapon of mass destruction.
The conviction was not unexpected as his lawyers admitted he participated in the attack. The defense had stated their goal was to put doubt in the minds of the jury regarding his motivations in an attempt to spare him the death penalty. The defense painted Dzhokhar as being brainwashed by his older brother Tamerlan into radical Islam.
“If not for Tamerlan, [the bombing] would not have happened,” Clarke told the jury during closing arguments.
The trial now moves to the punishment phase with the same jurors from the initial phase of the trial.
Prosecutors will be focusing on the fact that extremist Jihadi websites were found on both brother’s computers. They also showed the writings of Dzhokhar on the boat where he was captured that read “stop killing our innocent people and we will stop.”
Defense attorney Judy Clarke has worked with other high-profile clients to have them spared the death penalty. She worked to keep the Unabomber and Susan Smith, who drowned her children, from being sent to death row.
The city of Boston is preparing to be hit again with a massive winter storm after having over 70 inches of snow in the last few weeks.
The latest storm will strike this weekend with up to 15 inches of fresh snow. The storm could also bring 60 mile per hour wins and coastal flooding with waves of 20 feet or higher.
The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for the Massachusetts coast through Sunday night. A winter storm watch has also been put in place for non-coastal areas. Those non-coastal areas could see a foot of snow.
The temperatures are also causing problems with average highs around 15 degrees and wind chills as low as -22 in some areas. Officials say that if the storm brings power outages, elderly folks and shut-ins could face problems with freezing in their homes.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said the city’s public transit system, already under heavy criticism for poor performance during the previous storms, would be shut down over the weekend during the new storm.
At least 170 pieces of snow removal equipment from other states has come to the Boston area to assist government workers.
A judge on Wednesday denied attempts by lawyers for the Boston Marathon terrorism suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to delay the start of his trial.
The decision by U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole, Jr. means that jury selection will begin Monday in Boston federal court.
Lawyers for Tsarnaev tried to make the case that it would impossible to find an impartial jury in Massachusetts because of the amount of publicity given to the case. They also said they needed more time to examine the large amounts of discovery turned over my prosecutors.
The lawyers tried to use the example of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh whose trial was moved to Denver because of media attention.
Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges that could bring the death penalty if he is convicted.
Jury selection in the case is expected to take weeks because of the intense media coverage and the number of local residents impacted in some way because of the bombings. Also, jurors who object to the death penalty could also be excluded from the case.
A massive winter storm that has brought snow over New England for the last 36 hours will end up dumping as much as 30 inches of snow in parts of Boston.
The storm has also brought temperatures in the dangerous range.
Most communities across the northeast are reporting temperatures that are topping out in the single digits above zero with wind chills significantly below zero.
New York City told residents to stay home until the storm ends. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said the wind chill through the northeast corridor is so low that exposed skin could start to freeze in 15 minutes.
School districts across the region were closed to keep children safe.
Officials believe that temperatures will rise into the 40s on Sunday with rain helping to clear roads.
Friday night, less than a week after killing three people and injuring over 170 others in a terrorist bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is the custody of FBI and Boston police officials.
Tsarnaev, 19, identified as “suspect two” in the photographs released by the FBI this week, was discovered hiding inside a boat in the backyard of a home in Watertown, Massachusetts. The homeowner had been in his backyard earlier in the day and saw nothing but as evening approached noticed something amiss about the boat just after the police order to stay inside had been lifted by Governor Deval Patrick. Continue reading →
The man identified in FBI photos as “suspect number one”, Tamerian Tsarnaev, is dead.
“Suspect Two”, Dzhokhar Tsarnavev, the brother of suspect one, is on the run and the police around Watertown, Massachusetts are going door-to-door to find him. Continue reading →
The FBI has released images of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. The suspects are described as “armed and extremely dangerous.” The FBI warned citizens to not attempt to apprehend the suspects if they spot them but to immediately call law enforcement.
The FBI has video of the second suspect dropping a bag before the second bomb detonated and that the two men “appear to be associated.” Continue reading →
The FBI has photos of two people who are suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing but has not released the photos to the press.
A Fox News reporter who saw the photos said they are very clear photos of the men. The photos have been distributed only to law enforcement.
According to the reporter, the photo shows one of men with a backpack that appears to match one of the bags used in the attack. The FBI is asking news organizations not to use the photos because they don’t want to risk the investigation.
According to a bulletin released by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, the shrapnel released by the bomb caused the deaths of three people. The shrapnel has been identified as nails, BBs and ball bearings.
The bombs are similar in design to IEDs in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan and have been featured in Al-Qaeda writings.
The FBI is vowing a worldwide investigation into the Boston bombing but admitted that they have no suspects in the attack.
“At this time there are no claims of responsibility,” FBI officials said in a press conference Tuesday. “The range of suspects and motives remains wide open.” Continue reading →