Boston bombings shootout
The gunfight, which saw the detonation of another pressure cooker bomb, left one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, dead. The younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsanaev, managed to elude capture and was the subject of a massive manhunt which virtually shut down the city of Boston. Later that evening he was apprehended hiding out in a boat in a residential backyard.
Kitzenberg writes: "On Thursday night [early Friday morning, April 19, 2013] at 12:45am EST. I was in my living room working on my computer when I heard multiple 'pops' coming from outside. At that point, I had no idea that I was about to become an eye witness to the biggest news story in the country."
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"When I looked outside my window, I could clearly see two people (the Tsarnaev brothers) taking cover behind an SUV and engaging in gunfire. After witnessing shots being fired I promptly ran up the stairs to my 3rd floor bedroom to distance myself a little further away from the gunfire. As I ran into my room, overwhelmed by shock, adrenaline, and curiosity, I jumped onto my bed to stay below the windows but also have a clear view at the shooters and photograph the event. As soon as I was laying safely on my bed I started taking pictures with my iPhone 5 and captured the following images that documented the terrifying shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers, which then led to an overnight citywide manhunt."
"Here are the two brothers taking cover behind the black Mercedes SUV and shooting towards Watertown Police officers." (Taken at 12:46:11AM)
"The shooters were also driving the green sedan on the left. They had the back passenger door open and were going back into the car where they had additional supplies (assumingly [sic.], more ammunition and explosives). They also had backpacks at their feet where they also had additional supplies."
"This is a view from the west-facing window in my bedroom and at the end of the block (Laurel St.) you can see multiple police vehicles. These vehicles were about 75-80 yards from the shooters." (Taken at 12:46:25AM)
"Here it's clear to see the brothers taking aim and firing on the officers." (Taken at 12:47:57AM)
"This is a zoomed in view from the last image. The red circle highlights the pressure cooker bomb that was used just moments after this photo was taken. The use of this explosive created an enormous cloud of smoke that covered the entire street. While the street was still cloudy with smoke one of the brothers started running down the street towards the officers, while still engaging them in gunshots. As he got closer to the officers, within 10-15 yards of them he was taken down. From my vantage point I did not see whether he was tackled to the ground or brought down by gunshots."
"As the one brother was running toward the officers the second got back into the SUV, turned it around in the street and proceeded to accelerate at the vehicle barricade. This image shows the black SUV charging the officer vehicles." (Taken 12:50:57AM)
"This is a zoom-in from the last image and the red circle highlights where one of the brothers was taken down and still laying in the street. The black SUV proceeded to accelerate towards the officers and drove in between the two cars at the top of the picture. The SUV side swiped both cars taking out doors and windows and ultimately broke through the vehicle barricade and continued driving west on Laurel St. This was the last I saw of the black SUV."
"This image was taken from the east-facing window. As soon as the black SUV had left the street officers rushed toward the green sedan and the spot of the shooting. As soon as officers got to the vehicle they started alerting all others on scene that there were 'IEDs' on the street and for everyone examining the scene to clear the entire street. Also pictured at the bottom of the image is a Watertown Police SUV that had crashed in our driveway at the start of the gunfight and had many of its windows shot out." (Taken 12:57:52AM)
"At the bottom of this image is the blast mark from the pressure cooker bomb that exploded in the middle of the street. At the top of the image, the bright light is a bomb detecting robot that was moving toward the blast mark." (Taken at 1:20:10AM)
"Here bomb squad personnel inspect the blast mark of the large explosion." (Taken 1:39:22AM)
"Here heavily armed agents are still in search of the suspect on Laurel St." (Taken 2:14:54AM)
"Here is the bomb detecting robot inspecting the vehicle from the back right passenger seat." (Taken at 2:49:19AM)
"After shooting had stopped my roommate found a bullet hole that penetrated his west-facing wall and continued to pierce through his desk chair. His room is on the 2nd floor corner of the house, closest to the street, with west and south facing walls."
"The bomb squad had finally inspected the entire vehicle and all the backpacks beside it and have cleared the area." (Taken 5:45:25AM)
"Armed Agents searching and evacuating all homes on Laurel St. They evacuated ours shortly after this photo was taken." (Taken at 6:01:17AM)
"This is Jeff's car in our driveway, which took 2 bullet holes in the back window and the left rear tire."
"After being evacuated from our home, we spent a long and emotionally straining day in our neighbor's house down the block. My roommates and I are all very grateful that we made it through such a terrifying event unharmed. These kind of horrifying events make you realize how precious life really is and the need to cherish every moment you have."
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