Boston Bombing Suspect’s Mom Recounts Last Discussion with Son
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Obtained by ABC News(NEW YORK) — The mother of the Boston bombing suspects spoke to her eldest son minutes before a violent standoff with police in the streets of Watertown, Mass., she told ABC News.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, called his mother early Friday morning, alerting her that police were following him and his younger brother and that there had been a shooting.
“‘The police, they have started shooting at us, they are chasing us,'” Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told ABC News in a telephone interview.
The conversation ended when Tsarnaev said, “‘Mama, I love you,'” his mother said.
Tsarnaeva got frightened and started to cry and shout. He told her Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was with him before the line cut off.
Her daughter called later to say that Dzhokhar had been killed.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors say they are expected to file formal criminal charges, possibly on Monday, against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that could lead to the death penalty, a decision being left to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Dzhokhar could possibly be slapped with a “weapon of mass destruction” charge, which carries a penalty of death. Authorities are using the public safety exemption that gives authorities the legal bases to question Dzhokhar without delivering Miranda rights. That’s because authorities believe there is imminent threat out there.
Law enforcement sources say Dzhokhar was awake and responding sporadically in writing to questions Sunday night. They are asking about any possible cell members and other unexploded bombs. There have been no additional details yet on his answers.
Dzhokhar is being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he is listed in serious but stable condition, with wounds to the neck and throat area, according to sources.
Last week’s twin bombing killed three, including an 8-year-old boy, and wounded about 170 others. An MIT officer was allegedly killed by Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan, and a Boston transit cop was badly wounded in a subsequent shootout.
New details emerged Sunday night about the dramatic capture following a 20-hour manhunt for Dzhokhar after he managed to escape a gunfight with police in Watertown, Mass., that killed his older brother.
As police and federal agents closed in after a Watertown resident reported there was a bloodied person hiding in his boat, a helicopter beamed back thermal images of the outline of Dzhokhar’s body. The orders went out to do everything to capture the teen alive even after an initial exchange of gunfire.
Police quickly surrounded the boat and there was a brief but ferocious volley of fire. Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau told ABC News on Sunday that negotiators demanded Dzhokhar show his hands and lift his shirt. Authorities were worried Dzhokhar was wearing a suicide vest. He was not.
“He was very slow and lethargic in every move that he made and they could see that there was no device on his chest. They kept creeping closer to him and then they felt it safe enough to pull him away from the boat,” Deveau told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz.
From that point, Dzhokhar was raced to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where investigators hope to get answers to questions about motive and the possibility of accomplices.
Nowhere were there more questions than at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar was known as just an ordinary student.
“Literally, when I seen him he was just regular. He walked past me, we had a brief conversation and then I asked him for a ride home and he told me, ‘Yeah,'” said Andrew Glasby, who lived at the same dormitory where Dzhokhar was staying after the marathon bombings.
Another friend, Zach Bettencourt, even asked Dzhokhar about the bombings.
“I talked to him in the gym about the bombing and he was like, ‘Yeah man, tragedies happen all the time,'” Bettencourt said.
The night after the bombing, Dzhokhar tweeted, “I’m a stress free kind of guy.”
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