Boston bombing suspect dead as manhunt continues for second after MIT shootout that killed police officer

One of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers was killed in a shootout with police, and the other remains on the loose in Watertown Friday morning, authorities said.

Both men were involved in the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer before carjacking a Mercedes SUV and driving it into Watertown, where police pursued and confronted them in a residential neighborhood, Col. Timothy Alban Massachusetts State Police.

"There was an exchange of gunfire" and " several explosive devices," were directed at the officers, some of them detonated and some did not, Alban said. At that point one of the suspects was struck and taken into custody, while the other fled. The Middlesex County district attorney's office
reported that the suspect in custody had died.

Davis urged Watertown residents to stay in their homes.

"We believe this to be a terrorist," Boston police commissioner Ed Davis said. "We believe this to be a man whose come here to kill people. He's a threat to anybody who might approach him."

The drama began Thursday night on the campus of MIT, in the Cambridge section of Boston. A male MIT police officer responding to the report of a disturbance was shot multiple times, according to the Middlesex district attorney’s office, and was later pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The suspects carjacked the Mercedes SUV, officials said. Authorities encountered the SUV and a high-speed chase ensued through the usually quiet Cambridge streets and into the commercial district of Watertown about four miles away.

State police said the carjacked Mercedes stopped and the suspects opened fire on the pursuing police officers. A fierce firefight ensued, and one of the suspects lit what officials described as an explosive and threw it in the officers’ direction, police said.

Gunfire and explosions pierced the night in two usually quiet Boston-area communities late Thursday and early Friday as an MIT campus police officer was shot and killed and law enforcement officers pursued two suspects in a high-speed chase after they had reportedly carjacked a vehicle.

State police said the carjacked Mercedes came to a stop in Watertown and the suspects opened fire on the pursuing police officers. One of the suspects lit what officials described as an explosive and threw it in the officers’ direction, police said. 

A state police spokesman, Dave Procopio, confirms explosives have been involved in this ongoing situation.

The suspect then advanced on officers and was tackled and taken into custody as was the other suspect, officials said. One of the suspects was ordered to strip naked and was interviewed on the street.

CNN and local TV station News7 WDHD reported that two suspects were in police custody early Friday after the gunfire in Watertown, just outside Boston and about four miles from the Cambridge-based MIT.

A source told Newsday there were reports of multiple "explosive devices" on the scene in Watertown, where witnesses reported hearing blasts and smelling gunpowder or explosive powder.

The rapid response of so many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies coming just about seven hours after the FBI released photos of two young male suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings led to speculation Friday morning’s events were connected to the Monday attacks. But as of 3 a.m., authorities had not said there was a connection to the Monday attacks.

Earlier Thursday night, the male MIT police officer was shot multiple times and was later pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital, officials said. He was responding to a report of a disturbance in the area of Building 32 near Vassar and Main streets when he was shot, according to the Middlesex district attorney’s office.
Police asked students to stay inside and for the public to stay away. They gave an all-clear for the MIT campus around 2 a.m.

WHDH, citing a law enforcement source, said the incident apparently began as an armed robbery of a 7-11 in the Boston area. A Mercedes was carjacked after the officer was shot, officials said.

Sometime after the carjacking, authorities encountered the carjacked Mercedes and a high-speed chase ensued through the usually quiet Cambridge streets and into the commercial district of Watertown about four miles away.

The chase seemed to end as fast as it began.

At about 3 a.m., CNN showed a nude man, handcuffed behind his back, escorted through darkened Watertown streets surrounded by a phalanx of law enforcement officers and placed in the back of a police vehicle.
Authorities told journalists and anyone else in the area to turn off their cell phones to prevent the potential detonation of explosives.

Earlier, Watertown’s main commercial district was closed to anyone but law enforcement. Multiple gunshots in rapid fire could be heard and police tried to disperse crowds while looking for additional suspects. Witnesses had reported hearing three separate explosions as police descended on the area.

The male MIT police officer was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital, officials said. He was responding to a report of a disturbance in the area of Building 32 near Vassar and Main streets when he was shot, according to the Middlesex district attorney’s office.

Police asked students to stay inside and for the public to stay away. They gave an all-clear for the MIT campus around 2 a.m.

The rapid burst of activity on the normally quiet campus and the massive show of force of from federal, state and local law enforcement kept many residents unsettled early Friday.

“Everyone’s on edge,” Cambridge resident Joe Ryan said. “Boston is definitely under siege. It’s scary.”

Gabriel Chipie said he was in his apartment on Prentiss Street in Watertown when he heard gunfire and what sounded like an explosion.

“It was a big boom,” he said. “I can't even believe what’s happening.”