Students Saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev On UMass-Dartmouth Campus After Bombings
DARTMOUTH (CBS) - The UMass Dartmouth campus was evacuated on Friday out of an abundance of caution after the school learned that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombings suspects, was a sophomore there and lived on campus.
University officials confirmed that Tsarnaev lived in a dorm on campus.
Fellow students described Tsarnaev as both a "pothead" and a soccer fanatic. Two of his classmates told WBZ-TV that he was on the soccer team, but missed practice on Monday and they hadn't heard from him since.
Two other students, however, said they had seen him on campus after the bombings – once on Tuesday, and once on Wednesday.
One student actually asked him for a ride home because he lived in the same Cambridge area as the student.
That student said Tsarnaev agreed to give him a ride.
Students said Tsarnaev had a reputation as being a terrible driver and some were afraid to ride around campus with him.
He was also described as quiet and studious. Classmates say he never talked politics.
UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Dr. Divina Grossman released this statement Friday afternoon:
"The Boston Marathon tragedy has touched our University in many ways. On Tuesday, we drew strength from a campus vigil that attracted hundreds of people in remembrance of the victims, and today we learned that a suspect is one of our students. We closed and evacuated the campus to assure the safety of our students, faculty and staff.
"The safety of our campus is always our top priority. I want to thank all of the law enforcement personnel for their courageous and professional response. I also want to commend our students, faculty and staff for their calm and orderly actions during this very difficult situation. We will provide more information as we are able."
