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You are here: Home / Open Threads / What the bloody shit

What the bloody shit

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From what I can tell for sure, someone shot a cop multiple times on the MIT campus. Someone, maybe the same person(s), hijacked a SUV near MIT and got caught a short distance west in Watertown. A firefight is going on now involving automatic weapons and grenades.

Local media:

http://www1.whdh.com/video/7newslive
http://livewire.wcvb.com/Event/117th_Running_of_Boston_Marathon

Twitter has gone completely bonkers with people following the police scanner.

Tom Levenson and Anne, please stay safe. Jeebus.

Reader Interactions

314Comments

  3. 3.

    YellowJournalism

    The difference in coverage between the local feed and CNN late-night and CNN in normal daytime is amazing.

  4. 4.

    Mo

    I work for Harvard. Have been getting texts through the evening that there was a shooting at MIT, nothing to do with Harvard, but to remain indoors.

    About to go to bed an hour ago and heard explosions.

    CNN is running the news from Channel 5 in Boston, which is usually reliable.

  7. 7.

    YellowJournalism

    Oh, there’s the first connection on CNN to the bombing suspects….then they try to take that back.

  12. 12.

    Mo

    One thing about Boston area policing – if there is an officer down call – all officers from even from other towns are supposed to respond until told to stand down.

    This is a fairly dense residential neighborhood, 2 and three family homes with commercial shops on the main street – Mt. Auburn, which is a major street with overhead trolley lines. They are probably a mile or so from Harvard Square.

  13. 13.

    mouse tolliver

    MSNBC cut to a live feed of someone laying face down on the ground, not moving. They look dead. But not sure.

    This is unrelated to the marathon bomb?

    This is the week we find out the entire country is built over a hell mouth.

  15. 15.

    Comrade Mary

    @Tim F.: Tim, that’s from the scanner, and the cops there were saying not confirmed. So it’s a confirmed unconfirmed story, rather than CNNPostShit.

  17. 17.

    Violet

    Crap. I have a good friend who lives in Cambridge. Residential area. Hope he’s safe.

  20. 20.

    ? Martin

    @Mo:

    One thing about Boston area policing – if there is an officer down call – all officers from even from other towns are supposed to respond until told to stand down.

    Well, FBI and DHS are all over the damn place. Secret Service is likely still there. And Boston and surrounding PD are outstanding to begin with. Couldn’t have picked a worse place on earth to try something.

  22. 22.

    ? Martin

    @Comrade Mary: It’s too fast to be that. A controlled demolition takes a good hour or more to set up. They don’t do that lightly or hurriedly.

  24. 24.

    Anne Laurie

    I’ve been flipping thru the local channels for the past three hours (we’re a dozen miles from the area but the Spousal Unit works a few blocks from the original “incident” at the Strata Building).

    Only solid news at this point is that an MIT cop was shot multiple times around 10:50pm and later died at MGH.

    It’s been “searching for the gunman” ever since, ad it’s impossible to tell right now which of the several different incidents are connected to each other, much less whether any of them might have any connection to Monday’s bombings.

  25. 25.

    MikeJ

    @? Martin:

    Couldn’t have picked a worse place on earth to try something.

    NBC interviewed a local the other day who said that Boston was known for politics, sports, and revenge.

  27. 27.

    ? Martin

    Welp, doesn’t look like things are quite so calm any more (watching MSNBC). Everyone seemed to amp up all of a sudden.

    nvm. It was tape even though it says live.

  32. 32.

    Hill Dweller

    @? Martin: The WCVB reporter just described a guy being arrested right in front of him. But a by standard said it’s an innocent guy just getting off work.

  33. 33.

    Anne Laurie

    @? Martin:

    Well, FBI and DHS are all over the damn place. Secret Service is likely still there. And Boston and surrounding PD are outstanding to begin with. Couldn’t have picked a worse place on earth to try something.

    Second this. The news crews were all over this, in the first place, because they were doing “President Obama visited the Marathon victims today” live shots for the 11pm news when the first cruisers pulled up escorting the MIT trooper who’d been shot.

    There have been a dozen varieties of security officers all over the area since Monday, and none of them were feeling complacent about their assignments.

  34. 34.

    Mo

    It’s trash night there, so there are trash and recycling cans all over, don’t know why they would worry about packages.

    As to the officer down – that is why there would be multiple jurisdictions involved. I’m noticing that on TV, but probably wouldn’t mean much to outsiders.

  35. 35.

    MikeJ

    OK, so earlier they had a suspect down, transported to Beth Israel. Then they took this guy in to custody, who may or may not be involved.

  36. 36.

    Comrade Mary

    @Hill Dweller: Yeah, could be walking while brown, or walking while brown with a backpack. I think my previous post has the picture of that arrest.

  37. 37.

    rb

    Absolute chaos. Explosions and rapid gunfire. But no one has any idea whether this is connected to the shooting at MIT but some media implying it may not be. Local media straining to avoid connecting this to the marathon events; no one knows anything.

  39. 39.

    ? Martin

    @Comrade Mary: Not sure this guy actually got arrested. Haven’t heard anything about him since we saw that video, and there were certainly enough cameras nearby.

  42. 42.

    Mo

    How dumb would you have to be to stick up a 7-11 in Cambridge these days.

    Almost like the guy who stuck up a Dunkin Donuts next to the Area B precinct station just before the shift change.

  43. 43.

    Hill Dweller

    Twitter: “Cops looking for clean cut middle eastern looking man wearing blue and white cap with snowflake decoration on it.”

  45. 45.

    kdaug

    @? Martin:

    Don’t fuck with us Irish.

    WTH? Fucking explosions now in Watertown?

    ETA: Not originally what I was going to say, but “breaking news”

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    IF (and this is a big if) this is all related to Monday’s bombing, my guess is that the bombers got panicked by having their photos released.

    Or a couple of idiots decided to do a garden-variety carjacking during a massive security crackdown.

  51. 51.

    Suffern ACE

    @Hill Dweller: well duh. But if that’s true we’ve got the dumbest terrorists working. That’s wearing the same clothes you were just plastered all over the tv wearing three days after the crime. What is that, a lucky hat?

  52. 52.

    MikeJ

    @mdblanche: Which is stupid. Mt Auburn hospital went on the radio and said, we’re done with emergencies for the night, shutting down. They called it “code black” and somebody overreacted.

  53. 53.

    Hill Dweller

    The WCVB reporter just said the cops released the innocent guy who just got off work they had cuffed earlier.

  54. 54.

    rb

    @Mnemosyne: Or a couple of idiots decided to do a garden-variety carjacking during a massive security crackdown.

    And on a day POTUS was in town. Would be amazing but not shocking, if you know what I mean.

  56. 56.

    Joel (Macho Man Randy Savage)

    @Mnemosyne: the pipe bombs and automatic gunfire seem to indicate more than your garden variety crook, but one never knows. sure as shit the local media is doing a much better job than CNN or any of the Murdoch rags are.

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    @rb:

    There’s always some idiot who doesn’t bother to watch the news and is surprised that so many cops tackle him for a liquor store robbery.

  59. 59.

    ? Martin

    @rb: I think it’s unlikely they were also armed in the manner being reported and willing to kill a police officer. I don’t think this was some common carjacking.

  61. 61.

    MikeJ

    BBC World referring to “Boston University Shooting” probably unaware of the existence of BU.

  62. 62.

    Mnemosyne

    I have to go to bed now. I would joke about us having an earthquake by morning, but I don’t want to push our luck.

  64. 64.

    Suffern ACE

    @MikeJ: they probably wanted to write shooting in Cambridge but realized that that might alarm their viewers.

  65. 65.

    mclaren

    Oh, come on, people. It’s just a copycat. Crazies like this come out of the woodwork whenever there’s a shooting or a bombing.
    Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

  67. 67.

    MikeJ

    @Mnemosyne:

    I have to go to bed now. I would joke about us having an earthquake by morning, but I don’t want to push our luck.

    7.0 off Japan.

  69. 69.

    ? Martin

    @mclaren:

    Crazies like this come out of the woodwork whenever there’s a shooting or a bombing.

    Name one time that has ever happened before.

  70. 70.

    Gwangung

    @mclaren: fuck off. One dead, two wounded. I repeat, fuck off and get a sense of empathy. And stop being so damn ignorant.

  71. 71.

    MattR

    @? Martin: My complete speculation is the media is outside a secondary perimeter while they search inside a tighter primary area that the police think/hope they have locked down.

  73. 73.

    rb

    @? Martin: in the manner being reported

    Agree.

    But note: “being reported.” Help yourself to a grain of salt.

    Also it’s not 100% clear that this is actually connected to the MIT shooting, even though law enforcement certainly seems to think so.

  74. 74.

    Calouste

    @MikeJ: They can’t use “Cambridge University Shooting”. No one is going to think of Harvard or MIT in the UK if you say Cambridge.

    The early colonists should have had a bit more creativity in naming places.

  77. 77.

    MikeJ

    @Calouste:

    They can’t use “Cambridge University Shooting”. No one is going to think of Harvard or MIT in the UK if you say Cambridge.

    My thought was less about Boston/Cambridge and more about “University in Boston area” v “Boston University”.

  79. 79.

    ? Martin

    @rb:

    Also it’s not 100% clear that this is actually connected to the MIT shooting, even though law enforcement certainly seems to think so.

    There hasn’t be a murder in that area in over a year. It’s a very low crime area. This is clearly all one event.

  81. 81.

    Comrade Mary

    Did anyone else just hear someone’s name and DOB read out on the scanner? Not printing it here in case it’s another red herring, but it seemed weird.

  85. 85.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Narcissus:

    The important thing is that John King and Leslie Blitzer need to remain confined to their comfy, comfy beds for the duration.

    With restraints, if necessary.

  86. 86.

    Narcissus

    Scanner: “Long guns fired at that scene, don’t know if it was good guys or bad guys”

  87. 87.

    Hill Dweller

    WCVB aired the Watertown man’s video again. There were 25 gun shots in his very short video.

    It was a gun fight on a residential street.

  89. 89.

    Joel (Macho Man Randy Savage)

    @Calouste: Not like their descendants were much better: seems like there’s a Boston, Newton, Watertown, and Lynn street in just about every city in the US.

  90. 90.

    Comrade Mary

    NY Times has a story up.

    Andrew Kitzenburg, 29, said he looked out of this third floor window to see two young men of slight build in jackets shooting at dozens of police officers from behind a black Mercedes SUV. The officers and the men were 70 yards apart, he said, and engaged in “constant gunfire.”

    A police SUV “drove towards the shooters,” he said, and was shot at until it was severely damaged. It rolled out of control, Mr. Kitzenberg said, and crashed into two cars in his driveway.

    The two shooters, he said, had a large and unwieldy bomb. “They lit it, still in the middle of the gunfire, and threw it. But it went 20 yards at most.” It exploded, he said, and one of the two men ran towards the gathered police officers. He was tackled, but it was not clear if he was shot, Mr. Kitzenberg said.

    The other, he said, got back into the SUV, turned it towards officers and “put the pedal to the metal.” The car “went right through the cops, broke right through and continued west.”

    The two men left “a few backpacks right by the car, and there is a bomb robot out there now.” Police had told residents to stay away from their windows, he said.

  91. 91.

    MikeJ

    Sounds like they’re pulling the cops from the surrounding areas. Cambridge, Boston cops heading back to their towns.

  93. 93.

    ? Martin

    @rb:

    But a lot of stuff that was “clearly” true over the past 48 hours has been retracted, no?

    We didn’t witness any of those things, though. We’re watching quite a lot of this in real time. We don’t need to trust Wolf Blitzer’s stupid fucking sources on this one.

  94. 94.

    poptaracus

    Like the song says “something happening here, what it is anit exactly clear” dont pay much attention to the media, rumour and speculation for the most part. Sad about the dead p.o.

  97. 97.

    penpen

    Jennifer Peter ‏@GlobeJenPeter 5m
    A marathon suspect is in custody as manhunt continues for another in Watertown, according to official with knowledge of the investigation.

  98. 98.

    ? Martin

    NYTimes:

    Andrew Kitzenburg, 29, said he looked out of this third floor window to see two young men of slight build in jackets shooting at dozens of police officers from behind a black Mercedes SUV. The officers and the men were 70 yards apart, he said, and engaged in “constant gunfire.”

    A police SUV “drove towards the shooters,” he said, and was shot at until it was severely damaged. It rolled out of control, Mr. Kitzenberg said, and crashed into two cars in his driveway.

    The two shooters, he said, had a large and unwieldy bomb. “They lit it, still in the middle of the gunfire, and threw it. But it went 20 yards at most.” It exploded, he said, and one of the two men ran towards the gathered police officers. He was tackled, but it was not clear if he was shot, Mr. Kitzenberg said.

    The other, he said, got back into the SUV, turned it toward the officers and “put the pedal to the metal.” The car “went right through the cops, broke right through and continued west.”

    The two men left “a few backpacks right by the car, and there is a bomb robot out there now.” Police had told residents to stay away from their windows, he said.

  99. 99.

    max

    Jennifer Peter ‏@GlobeJenPeter 6m
    A marathon suspect is in custody as manhunt continues for another in Watertown, according to official with knowledge of the investigation

    Well, there’s a lot of shooting.

    max
    [‘If they stuck around, man, they’re dumb.’]

  103. 103.

    ? Martin

    @max:

    [‘If they stuck around, man, they’re dumb.’]

    Maybe they weren’t finished. Dorner stuck around for precisely that reason.

  108. 108.

    ? Martin

    Wondering if those Senators are now having second thoughts about their votes yesterday. This is going to turn the heat under the gun debate up to 11. They’re going to look like the biggest fucking tools on earth when all of the details of this unwind.

  114. 114.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @? Martin:

    Lucky for them Reid changed his vote to “no” in order to bring it up for another vote.

    They can change their votes, too.

  116. 116.

    Comrade Mary

    @Villago Delenda Est: Honestly, they could be almost anything: Western European, Euro-Mediterranean, North African, Jewish, Arab, South Asian …

    I used to have a (German) brother in law. Everyone else in his family was fair skinned and blue eyed with light brown hair. He had dark olive skin, dark eyes and hair, and facial features that made him look Arab or Indian. No, he was not adopted.

    I’m still waiting and seeing.

  118. 118.

    AA+ Bonds

    Boston Globe seems mighty sure of itself on its front page right now

    Who the fuck knows nowadays

  120. 120.

    MikeJ

    Loud bangs coming out of the Star Market, they think it was trucks backfiring, hence the “15 shots at Aberdeen & Mt Auburn”.

  123. 123.

    MattR

    From the twitter:

    Likely staging area will be Arsenal Mall. Two suspects accounted for. Explosive devices believe used. Multiple scenes, haven’t cleared all.

  125. 125.

    NotMax

    Seems pretty solid that we can rule out frat house hijinks.

    The locals being dragged (or pushing themselves) in front of the cameras are almost all case studies of why eyewitness testimony is so often unreliable.

  126. 126.

    ? Martin

    @Pooh: No it’s not. I’m pissed about that vote. Everyone should be. The NRA wants this country to look like fucking Syria and it’s playing out before our eyes. Is more guns really the answer? Is there any goddamn place in the country that has more guns and law enforcement on heightened status than Boston right now? How’s that working out?

  127. 127.

    Joel (Macho Man Randy Savage)

    @Pooh: They’ve been solid this week, so yeah, they are more credible. But you still have to take flash responses with a hefty grain of salt.

  129. 129.

    max

    @? Martin: Maybe they weren’t finished. Dorner stuck around for precisely that reason.

    Sure. But why Boston? Why not move on and hit some other place?

    max
    [‘Saying two suspects in custody.’]

  134. 134.

    Anne Laurie

    Channel 7 now saying one suspect taken into custody before he died, another suspect still on the run, police doing sweeps in a (mostly residential) area, where the Normal People are of course long since abed.

  136. 136.

    Hill Dweller

    The Boston police scanner is saying there are two pipe bombs in the street(one is being neutralized).

  137. 137.

    max

    Ok, a cop gets shot at MIT. Then there’s a carjacking with a hostage, and then there’s a shootout of some sort, and one guy bails, and they apparently caught one guy. Then they caught (?) the other guy. Some bomb-throwing was involved.

    max
    [‘”Kids playing with fireworks…”‘]

  139. 139.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Well, as always, initial reports suck. It will take some time (yes, I know this drives the idiots at CNN batty, but fuck them) to figure out what has happened and is happening in Boston tonight.

    Even with police scanner reports, you’re only getting a fraction of the information needed to paint the picture.

    Ah, to be a fly on the wall in the command center.

  140. 140.

    trollhattan

    Jesus Christ, I thought the Dorner thing was nuts….

    As if that weren’t enough, the West, Texas body count is climbing.

    I miss boring.

  142. 142.

    Joel (Macho Man Randy Savage)

    Scanner reports “assault rifle and explosives” on second suspect.

  143. 143.

    ? Martin

    @max: Without knowing their motivation, no way of knowing. Hell, maybe they were pissed at Boston for some reason.

    Hoping they get at least one of these guys alive so we can find out.

  144. 144.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @trollhattan:

    I miss boring.

    We need a quote here from John or Soonergrunt about how boring sucks, but sucks much less than excitement in a combat zone.

  145. 145.

    MikeJ

    Just gave description over radio. White male, curly hair, grey hoody, possibly with assault rifle and explosives.

  146. 146.

    Comrade Mary

    I think the cop shooting at MIT was horrible but unrelated. I think they arrested some guy in a cowboy hat over that. This current mess started with a car-jacking in a totally different neighbourhood.

    Putting out scanner bulletin re white male with black curly hair, assumed armed with explosives and assault rifle.

  147. 147.

    max

    @MattR: MIT students (or dropouts) who thought they were smarter than the authorities?

    That’s what I’m wondering. One of those guys (marathon bombers) looks like a bro version of Fonzie, and the other guy looks like some random dude.

    https://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/large/759765692.jpg

    That guy above lying in the street doesn’t look like either marathon dude, and not ‘Middle-eastern’ either.

    max
    [‘Strange.’]

  149. 149.

    Narcissus

    Scanner: “White male, gray hoodie, curly hair, should be considered armed and dangerous”

  150. 150.

    MattR

    If the guy just interviewed on WCVB is accurate, they arrested someone about 40 minutes ago, which is long after the first guy we saw on CNN, etc.

  151. 151.

    ? Martin

    @Pooh: The video of the gunfight with police isn’t enough? Or are you under the impression this is some sort of hunting accident/misunderstanding?

  155. 155.

    Pooh

    @? Martin: My point is, neither of us know shit yet and going off half-cocked is a decent way for us to look like idiots and end up hurting our side. It’s not like waiting the hours it takes for the developing situation to resolve is going to somehow make the AR-15 a better idea.

  158. 158.

    MikeJ

    Radio says the party with the white hat in the photos is the one that’s still at large.

  160. 160.

    David Koch

    @MikeJ:

    White male, curly hair, grey hoody, possibly with assault rifle and explosives.

    sounds like rand paul

  162. 162.

    Anne Laurie

    Not sure I should even say this, but Watertown has one of the largest Armenian communities in the country, so there are a LOT of swarthy young men in that area. Which would make it a great place for evildoers to blend in, but also means there’s a lot of potential for mistaken identifications…

  163. 163.

    Comrade Mary

    What you guys said. Whoa. White hat — the guy who fucking looked Jeff Bauman in the eyes before dropping off the bomb right next to him — is the one they’re looking for now.

  164. 164.

    GregB

    @Comrade Mary:

    I’m not willing to separate the two or three matters. It is possible that the nights’ events started in Cambridge and headed west as it developed.

    We will see.

  165. 165.

    Suffern ACE

    Ok. How do you carjack a car with all these weapons and unwieldy explosive devices.

  168. 168.

    ? Martin

    @Narcissus:

    “Is the man still naked?”

    CNN certainly knows how to focus like a laser on the most important facts in any situation.

  173. 173.

    trollhattan

    Globe is saying one suspect is in custody.

    One suspect in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings has been captured, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation. Another remains on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police. Authorities have established a 20-block perimeter as they search for him.

  175. 175.

    Hill Dweller

    @Suffern ACE:

    How do you carjack a car with all these weapons and unwieldy explosive devices.

    If they do turn out to be the marathon bombers, where were they storing all this stuff?

  177. 177.

    AA+ Bonds

    They just gave out a phone number over a channel with an online feed and about a million listeners right now :/ Here’s hoping a bunch of idiots don’t flood it

  179. 179.

    Hill Dweller

    @? Martin: In my experience, local reporters are generally better than national reporters, especially in larger urban areas.

  180. 180.

    Narcissus

    Cnn said a “Middle eastern” guy was arrested so who knows what the fuck is going on.

  182. 182.

    David Koch

    Suspects identified over scanner as Mike Mulugeta Suspect and Sunil Tripathi (he’s a student from Brown University).

  183. 183.

    MattR

    A correction by police from a previous tweet: “One more suspect at large. Two accounted for should be revised. One accounted for. One at large.” – state police PIO.

  186. 186.

    rb

    Local NBC affiliate now joining the Globe in reporting that the two gunmen are the bombing suspects in the FBI photos.

  188. 188.

    MikeJ

    @David Koch:

    Sunil Tripathi (he’s a student from Brown University).

    They’ve been looking for him for weeks since he vanished, google says.

  194. 194.

    MattR

    @MikeJ: Here is an article about explosions in the Brown area in the days before Tripathi disappeared.

    (EDIT: Actually not sure if this is near Brown at all or where Tripathi disappeared from. 3 am and making bad decisions. Time for bed)

  199. 199.

    Hill Dweller

    Pete Williams said the FBI was very interested in the Watertown area even before tonight. He also hinted, but wouldn’t say explicitly, that the marathon bombers had help from people in Watertown.

  200. 200.

    Comrade Mary

    Have the cops said Mulugeta is a suspect? I know I heard his name on the scanner, but Googling suggested his name was Ethiopian, and when you look at his Twitter picture, he doesn’t look like either FBI picture.

    I think this was the guy stopped bent over the car trunk earlier. I don’t think he’s one of the bombers we’ve been alerted to.

  202. 202.

    David Koch

    racist CNN insisting Brown student is Middle Eastern, even though he was born in the United State and has an Indian name, and India isn’t in the Middle East.

  203. 203.

    ? Martin

    From local reporter:

    Black swat tanks loaded with military personnel just rushed onto the scene at Quimby and Nichols

    That’s new.

  209. 209.

    JPL

    @AA+ Bonds: He doesn’t look like the same person. Unfortunately, his tweet is odd
    You have enemies, good because that means you stood up for something

    The other name shocks me because I can remember his family members putting up posters looking for him.

  217. 217.

    AA+ Bonds

    “lot of officers . . . different agencies . . . some in plain clothes . . . need to make sure we’re not engaging each other” -voice ID’d as “chief” on the scanner

  219. 219.

    AA+ Bonds

    “we’re gonna start abandoning some of the houses here because of the devices”, calling for school buses to evacuate people

  222. 222.

    Anne Laurie

    @MikeJ:

    Sunil Tripathi (he’s a student from Brown University)

    Damn, his family has been putting up pictures of him & petitioning local media since late March. They talked obliquely about “no matter what you think, Suni, we know you’ve been having some problems, we love you and we’re worried about you”… the undercurrent at the time was that they worried that the kid had gone off to commit suicide.

  223. 223.

    karen

    The only thing I will say is, if it turns out that they’re white and christian, the word “terrorist” will suddenly never be used. That’s the rules after all.

  224. 224.

    JPL

    @Anne Laurie: The odds are that the FBI was able to match the picture to him. Reddit had a post up shortly after the FBI released the picture according to google.

  225. 225.

    David Koch

    lol – okay, this tweet was funny

    BREAKING: Huffington Post Reports One Suspect Showing Baby Bump. #Watertown

  227. 227.

    David Koch

    MSNBC playing amateur video of the firefight- sounds like the famed clip of US embassy being seized during the Tet Offensive

  230. 230.

    AA+ Bonds

    Again, if you have a scanner and are in Boston, 460.250 mHz is probably where you want to be right now

  231. 231.

    AA+ Bonds

    they’re giving a description right now: dark-complexioned/Middle Eastern male, charcoal grey hoodie

    “Did anyone see him tonight is all I’m asking”

    “He was seen tonight with the charcoal grey sweatshirt on”

    They are tying this with “the photo from the store”

  232. 232.

    mdblanche

    Law enforcement now saying these are the marathon bombers and confirming suspect 1 is dead.

  234. 234.

    AA+ Bonds

    “we are going to fall back to the mall, task out from there, go street by street, we are encouraging people to stay inside . . . wait for daylight until the advantage is ours” -paraphrase from scanner

  237. 237.

    Hill Dweller

    Law enforcement has lined both sides of Arsenal St. for two miles. They’re about to do sweeps.

  239. 239.

    Tripod

    I like that MSNBC has no compunction in telling that idiot to get some sweet laptop camera footage of the UXB robot working down on the street.

  240. 240.

    Todd

    @Anne Laurie:

    Damn, his family has been putting up pictures of him & petitioning local media since late March. They talked obliquely about “no matter what you think, Suni, we know you’ve been having some problems, we love you and we’re worried about you”… the undercurrent at the time was that they worried that the kid had gone off to commit suicide.

    Made me physically ill to read that he is a philosophy major.

    I’ve got one kid who fell under the thrall of philosophers thanks to an emo drama queen high school boyfriend and it has caused me no end of grief to watch her squander opportunity while calling herself a “free thinker”. Kid is unwilling to see Western philosophy as so much bullshit masquerading as brilliance, or to see that most of their concepts are merely justifications by life failures for laziness, mental sloth, racial cruelty, class cruelty or a way to shuck seeking solutions because solutions are hard. I had a very upsetting conversation with her this afternoon (hence my insomnia) where she’s talking about leaving her college (she “needs a break, and college is bullshit which I don’t need to be happy because I’m a freethinker and don’t need regular work to be happy and I want to hike the Appalachian trail and commune with nature…”). She’s quick to find and latch on to every bullshit theory that crosses her Facebook feed, and wants to argue in favor of the outlandish because “all thought has validity”.

    Really feel for that family.

  242. 242.

    ? Martin

    Mass State Police telling people on twitter to hunker down, lock doors. They’re clearly still searching.

  244. 244.

    ? Martin

    Ok, I loled:

    When an Elvis impersonator trying to kill the President is the least interesting news story of the week, you know some shit went down.

  248. 248.

    scav

    @daverave: That is entirely confusing, how a walking naked guy is suddenly dead, I’d really think they’d try to keep him alive, what with the high profile and the other guy still on the loose and, I would certainly hope, professionalism. foggy.

  252. 252.

    Todd

    @AA+ Bonds:

    Can it, real shit is going down

    Yes, my observation of sympathy regarding the family of a suspect (because I see some relevance to an issue I’ve had with a child who may have some similar interests in bullshit philosophy) will completely derail the vital discussion being held by other insomniacs here.

  253. 253.

    ? Martin

    Interesting. The location for the press conference (Target) can’t be more than 500′ from the area they say is locked down.

  254. 254.

    Davis X. Machina

    My sister lives in Nonantum (Newton/Watertown line), just SMS’d the clan. It’s a zoo. Galen St. a constant stream of vehicles with flashers…. woke her up.

    I’m going back to bed.

  255. 255.

    scav

    Comments 250 and 251, so there’s a confirmed third suspect? or naked guy confirmed in the clear? still foggy for me at least, what have I missed?

  258. 258.

    ? Martin

    Reporting they’re going to sound an alarm and then detonate a device (Dexter/Laurel)

  259. 259.

    AA+ Bonds

    @Todd:

    Philosophy BA here, going to work as a consultant for a Fortune 100 company this fall; and again: can it

  261. 261.

    MikeJ

    @David Koch:

    i’m not sure because everyone is reporting that they’re still scouring house to house for suspect 2

    The naked guy was just a guy trying to get home. Unrelated, wrong place, wrong time. They’re still looking for what the Boston cops say is the guy in the white cap from the Marathon pics.

  265. 265.

    David Koch

    Okay, another funny tweet:

    CNN has just positively confirmed that watertown is in Massachusetts.

  268. 268.

    Todd

    @AA+ Bonds:

    Philosophy BA here, going to work as a consultant for a Fortune 100 company this fall; and again: can it

    Hrmph, it figures. As a bullshit artist/standup philosopher (h/t Mel Brooks), you’re predisposed by education to justify sociopathy and cruelty in the name of ideology. It fits that a member of the Fortune 100 would desire your consultancy on some subject or another – probably coming up with positive arguments for devouring live puppies as a marketing ploy or something like that

    Anyway, I am going to can it (not because of your command – you can go pound sand up your ass on that one) because I’m going to try and resume sleep in light of the insomnia caused by the distressing talk I mentioned earlier.

  269. 269.

    JPL

    Suspect 2 is the one that might be or not Sunil Tripathi but it’s not yet verified. I am John King and I approved this message.

  270. 270.

    Suffern ACE

    If naked guy isn’t a suspect, please tell CNN so they stop plastering his naked body on the tv

  275. 275.

    JPL

    Sunil Tripathi is Indian I believe. I wonder if this will hurt Jindal’s chances or can we only profile Arabs?

  278. 278.

    David Koch

    White Hat is apparently hiding in a office building. 2 swat teams have the building surrounded.

  279. 279.

    Comrade Mary

    Shooting at MIT. Carjacking at MIT down to Watertown.

    Shootout and several explosive devices thrown at officers. One suspect shot during fight and arrested. Other has fled and is being searched.

    MBTA officer also shot, in critical condition in hospital.

    For public safety: stay in place. Don’t leave home. See something, say something: call 911 if anything suspicious. Motorists shouldn’t stop and pick up anyone on road.

    Looking for white capped suspect #2. Have picture and video from 7-11 in Cambridge: light skinned or Caucasian male with long curly hair. Armed and extremely dangerous.

  281. 281.

    Comrade Mary

    Press conference continued:

    Stay at home, stay safe, call 911 if anything odd. No planned controlled blasts in Watertown area.

    Not prepared to talk about identifications. Was one of the reasons videos were released yesterday. “We don’t have the names at this point”.

  282. 282.

    mouse tolliver

    Wayne LaPierre and the gun ghouls he represents are thrilled that the Boston marathon terrorists turned a residential neighborhood into a war zone. Because whatever guns they used tonight will be flying off the shelves tomorrow.

  283. 283.

    ? Martin

    Bad news for the NRA that this shit went down in the neighborhood for damn near every future Supreme Court Justice.

  285. 285.

    Persia

    @MikeJ: Cops just used the word ‘Caucasian.’ I wonder if this will stop people from bitching about…no. No it won’t.

  292. 292.

    MikeJ

    First suspect had explosives strapped to his chest and detonated when captured. Cautioning cops about possible explosives on second suspect.

  296. 296.

    ? Martin

    @MikeJ: That doesn’t sound right. You don’t take someone strapped with explosives to the hospital. You let them die in the street and clear the area.

    I’ve seen nothing to that extent, and Middlesex DA mentioned no such thing in their statement.

  297. 297.

    JPL

    @MikeJ: ugh
    As mentioned IF it is the missing Brown student, I feel for his family as well as the families who he brought harm to.

  300. 300.

    Hill Dweller

    @? Martin: MikeJ is right. They put out an all points bulletin telling officers to use caution when apprehending suspect #2, because he could have explosives strapped to his chest like like suspect #1.

  301. 301.

    Thoughtcrime

    reporters on the scene say there are several undetonated explosives in residential neighborhoods in watertown.

  303. 303.

    scav

    @MikeJ: if guy lying on the road is just some unlucky guy, it would explain why they made him strip as that was post suspect #1, no? at least makes it more explicable. not that we entirely know what is SOP,in these instances.

  304. 304.

    Thoughtcrime

    Sick fucks:

    Comment from GOS:

    Apparently there’s more explosive divices hidden in the bushes.

    They may have set these things out all over the place. Not just Watertown. Not necessarily the ones they were tossing out as they fled. They found bomb materials in a car parked nearby. Not the car they hijacked.

    There are about a dozen areas being searched right now. Not all are in Watertown.

  306. 306.

    Suffern ACE

    @? Martin: I mean if he’s strapped with explosives because he doesn’t want to be taken alive, just end it. Does he think he can wear explosives the rest of his life?

  307. 307.

    ? Martin

    @Thoughtcrime: There was a mention earlier that police seemed to suspect the bombers got help from someone in Middletown. Haven’t heard anything much since then, but the ‘terrorists came here to kill people’ seem to hint toward that.

  309. 309.

    oldster

    @293–

    Wow–the pic of the guy in the gas station is so clearly the same damned kid, i.e. white-hat.

    Why didn’t someone tell him a long time ago that his face is just too distinctive for a successful life of crime?

    But to my eyes, gas-station kid does not look like Tripathi. (Though who knows).

  310. 310.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    Fucking Mayan calendar must have a glitch in it.

  313. 313.

    Xenos

    @? Martin: In this case the International Terrorists appear to have come from New Hampshire. The could also be outside-495 Massholes, which is also like another country.

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