A suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has been identified and is in custody at a federal courthouse, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation who released information to the Associated Press. But not so fast. Other law enforcement sources are saying there is no suspect in custody.
Despite reports to the contrary there has not been an arrest in the Marathon attack.
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 17, 2013
Investigators on the Boston Marathon bombing case believe they have identified a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, according to a source who has been briefed on the investigation, according to CNN’s John King.
Photos have been distributed to law enforcement officers, and have been leaked to media members, who described two subjects of interest in the images as (1) a male with a white hat and dark clothing, and another male without a hat wearing a blue jump suit. The white cap is reported to have been on backwards. The subject with the white hat was also reported to have been wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt and a black jacket.
The breakthrough came from analysis of video from a Lord & Taylor department store near the site of the second explosion. Video from a Boston television station also contributed to the progress, according to the source. A clear photo of the face of a suspect can be compared to Department of Motor Vehicle photo images using biometrics to look for a match.
Earlier, a federal law enforcement source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation told CNN that a lid to a pressure cooker believed to have been used in the bombings was found on a roof of a building near the bombing scene.
The question of domestic or foreign terrorism remains unanswered.
“If your experience and your expertise is Middle East terrorism, it has the hallmarks of al Qaeda or a Middle East group. If your experience is domestic groups and bombings that have occurred here, it has the hallmarks of a domestic terrorist like Eric Rudolph in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics bombings.”
— Former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes
The first bomb close to the finish line was housed in a pressure cooker hidden inside a backpack, according to an FBI joint intelligence bulletin. The device also blasted fragments that may have included nails, BBs and ball bearings, according to the FBI.
The second bomb, which was detonated 12 seconds after the first, was also housed in a metal container, but it is not confirmed to be a pressure cooker.
The Department of Homeland Security had warned of the possibility of terrorists using pressure cookers as bombs. Photos of pieces of the pressure cook were published yesterday (See PublicSafetyReporter.com Boston Marathon Bombing Investigation Points Toward Pressure Cooker IED and Acetone Peroxide Type of Explosive).
So far a piece of a circuit board believed to a trigger, debris from one pressure cooker, and nails and nylon bags have been gathered. One victim was carrying 12 carpenter’s nails embedded in his tissue from the explosion.
A news conference scheduled at 4:00 p.m. CDT was postponed and then cancelled.
The 8:00 p.m. conference was then cancelled …
FBI will make a brief statement @8pm the Westin Hotel
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 17, 2013
FBI has cancelled the 8pm briefing tonight.
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 17, 2013
Daily briefing has been scheduled by the FBI today @5pm@westin Copley #boston_police #FBIpressoffice #bostonmaraton
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 17, 2013
See also …
BiometricUpdate.com Facial recognition and identifying suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing