Give Now
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
  • Full Schedule
Watch Live

National

A Timeline Of The Boston Manhunt

By Catherine Laidlaw
Published April 19, 2013 at 6:38 AM PDT
This story was published more than 11 years ago.
Police with guns drawn search for one of the Boston Marathon suspects early Friday in Watertown, Mass.
Mario Tama
/
Getty Images
Police with guns drawn search for one of the Boston Marathon suspects early Friday in Watertown, Mass.

A timeline of how events unfolded overnight in the search for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. We'll update as new information is released.

  • Approximately 5:20 p.m. ET on Thursday: The FBI releases images of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings. Suspect No. 1 is wearing a black hat, and suspect No. 2 is wearing a white hat. The FBI urges people to call in with any information.

  • Approximately 10:20 p.m.: Reports of a robbery at a convenience store near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge.

    • Advertisement
    Become a KPBS sponsor
  • Approximately 10:30 p.m.: An MIT university police officer is found shot in his vehicle. Sean Collier, 26, is later pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital.

  • Reports of an armed carjacking in Cambridge. Police say the suspects commandeered a Mercedes SUV, and later released the owner unharmed at a gas station. Police searching for the SUV follow it to Watertown.

  • Approximately 1 a.m. Friday: Watertown residents report hearing gunfire and the sounds of explosion. Police say the suspects reportedly throw explosives and exchange gunfire with authorities in pursuit. The "black hat" suspect is wounded, and a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer is shot. The "white hat" suspect flees.

  • The wounded suspect is taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with "multiple traumatic injuries," according to doctors. He is later pronounced dead.

  • Mass transit is ordered shut down. Several Boston-area neighborhoods are locked down, and police tell residents to stay indoors. Classes at MIT, Harvard and other area schools are canceled for the day.

    • Advertisement
    Become a KPBS sponsor
  • Approximately 7 a.m.: Law enforcement officials identify the surviving Boston bomb suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass. They say the suspect who died is his brother.

  • Reports emerge that a third man, who authorities believe was an accomplice of the bombing suspects, has been arrested.

  • Approximately 7:55 a.m.: National Security Council officials identify the dead suspect as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26.

  • Approximately 8 a.m.: Officials extend the "shelter in place" advisory to the entire city of Boston. Taxi service in Boston is suspended about 30 minutes later.

  • Approximately 8:45 a.m.: Law enforcement officials converge on a house in Watertown. Media crews report hearing police on loudspeakers urge someone inside to come out. Police activity there later dissipated.

  • Approximately 9:45 a.m.: President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and the national security team hold a White House Situation Room briefing on the investigation and events in Boston and Watertown.

  • Approximately 10:45 a.m.: Boston police tweet that they have located a 1999 gray Honda CRV that has been linked to the investigation: "Car being processed for evidence by authorities."

  • Noon: Police continue to go door to door searching houses in Watertown.

  • Approximately 2 p.m.: FBI's Boston office tweets: "Bombing suspect may be driving 4-door, '99, green Honda Civic w/ Mass. plates reading: 116GC7."

  • Approximately 3:15 p.m.: FBI says it is no longer seeking 1999 Honda Civic.

  • Approximately 6:05 p.m.: At a news conference, Gov. Deval Patrick announces that the stay-in-place order has been lifted and mass transit service has resumed.

  • Col. Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, says the bombing suspects "do not appear to be" the individuals involved in the armed robbery at a convenience store overnight.

  • Approximately 7:05 p.m.: Gunshots have reportedly been heard in Watertown. Police have once again asked residents to stay indoors.

  • Approximately 7:30 p.m.: An FBI source tells NPR that police have located the suspect, but are proceeding with caution out of fear that the scene may be booby-trapped.

  • Approximately 8:45 p.m.: Boston police tweet that a suspect is in custody: "Suspect in custody. Officers sweeping the area. Stand by for further info."

  • Approximately 9:45 p.m.: At a news conference, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis says a call from a Watertown resident led to the apprehension of bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

  • Officials say the suspect has been taken to a hospital, in serious condition.

  • When asked about reports of others in custody and the possibility of aiding and abetting, Davis said he didn't have that information but that, "based upon our investigation at this point in time, the citizens in the city of boston in this area can be confident that the threat has been removed."

  • Approximately 10 p.m.: President Obama addresses the nation, saying that having the suspect in custody closes "an important chapter in this tragedy."

    • Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Tags

    National NPR Top Stories
    Catherine Laidlaw
    Catherine Laidlaw is the deputy chief of NPR's National Desk. Based in Washington, D.C., she oversees the desk's daily and long-term news-gathering operations for audio and digital platforms, working with journalists in bureaus across the U.S. The desk also works closely with hundreds of journalists across NPR's nationwide network of Member stations.
    More News