North Texas Daily

Staff Reports

In a televised press conference Friday night, authorities said Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was taken into custody and is in serious condition at a local hospital.

The other suspect, who is said to be his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died early Friday morning in a shooting at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge after refusing to negotiate with authorities.

Boston police commissioner Ed Davis told CBS that the brothers “executed” MIT police officer Sean Collier around 10:30 p.m. Thursday night. A shootout followed with an exchange of more than 200 rounds. Tamerlan died and Dzhokhar escaped in an S.U.V.

Boston residents were then told to stay indoors on Friday as police conducted a door-to-door search to find Dzhokar.

Boston police said a Watertown resident’s telephone call led to the arrest of Dzhokar, who was hiding in a boat. Dzhokar and police exchanged fire shots at the scene and he was later taken to a hospital.

Davis said Dzhokar was shot twice, once in the leg and in the neck, and that he is in critical condition. Davis also said he does not know if Dzhokar was shot in the first or second shootout with the police.

Mayor Tom Menino said he was proud of all the first responders.

Tthanks to them, the people of Boston will sleep well tonight,” he said.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman Col. Timothy Alben said he was grateful to bring closure and justice to this case.

“We’re exhausted folks, but we have a victory here tonight,” Alben said.

Afterward, President Barack Obama held a press conference to address the nation.

“When a tragedy like this happens, with public safety at risk and the stakes so high, it’s important we do this right,” Obama said. “They [the suspects] failed because we will not waiver from the character, compassion and values that define us as a country.”

He said questions remained, including whether the suspects had received any help and if they are associated with any terroristic associations.

In his speech, Obama also addressed the residents of West, Texas, where an explosion at a fertilizer plant killed 13 people and injured more than 200, as ABC News reports.

Obama said of the residents, “you will not be forgotten.”

“All in all, this has been a tough week,” he said. “But we have seen the character of our country.”

(MCT) Superintendent and Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police Timothy Alben speaks during a press conference Friday night about the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing case. Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis (left) said Tsarnaev is in critical condition at a hospital.