Boston police say one of the two Boston Marathon suspects is dead after an early morning shootout in Watertown, a suburb of Boston.
The showdown with police started late Thursday night near the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Two suspects purportedly tried to rob a local 7-11 store and shot and killed a campus police officer.
The suspects allegedly then car jacked a victim in a black Mercedes SUV and escaped for 30 minutes, sporadically exchanging gunfire with police.
"They're shooting at us," police could be heard saying over scanners.
At one point, police said on the scanners that the suspects were throwing grenades at them.
One of the suspects, so-called Suspect No. 1 who was shown wearing a black baseball hat in a video released Thursday by the FBI, was killed by police, the Boston police said.
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said, "We believe this to be a terrorist. We believe this to be a man who's come here to kill people."
Sam, a local resident in Watertown, told a PBS radio affiliate that he heard a crash at about 12:45 a.m. and then a hail of gunfire.
Massachusetts state police spokesperson Timothy Alben said at a 5:45 a.m. briefing in Watertown that the governor had cancelled all area buses and subway.
Alben asked local residents in the communities around Watertown to stay indoors and directed local businesses not to open. People should not congregate outside, he said.
It's unclear immediately where the suspects came from, whether their plot amounts to domestic or international terrorism.
A doctor from Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said at a 5:20 a.m. briefing that the mortally injured suspect arrived at the hospital at 1:20 a.m. and was pronounced dead after about 10 minutes. Hospital officials said they aren't aware of the identity of the deceased suspect.
The second suspect is at large and believed to be on foot.
Police have brought in a bus to possibly evacuate the area.
Several wide-eyed residents showed up at the local Dunkin' Donuts franchise, a few metres from the area taped off by police.
“I'm speechless that this is happening here right now and I'm surprised that the two bombers weren't halfway across the country,” said Tim, a Watertown resident who sipped a coffee and watched the scene unfold.
Source: Toronto Star
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