Cheers of relief, gratitude, and pride erupted Friday in the Boston suburbs for a city deeply wounded by deadly bombings and then traumatized by a day of gunfire and lock downs as police pursued, and finally captured, a suspected bomber.
“Did you get him?” the crowd gathered near Franklin Street asked police just before 9 PM on Friday. The officers nodded as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.
Word of a successful end to a frightening manhunt spread quickly, breaking the hours of panic by area residents who hunkered down at home as police went door-to-door. News that the lock down had been lifted in the late afternoon brought along a dismal revelation: no update on the suspect’s whereabouts.
But within a few hours, Watertown residents in sweats and Red Sox caps lined streets no longer deemed dangerous. Three and four deep, they applauded and cheered the law enforcement personnel who brought the city’s terror to a close.The relief of law enforcement officials was palpable and many waved to grateful residents.
Cheers rose in intensity as police cars and ambulances passed the crowds, and an ambulance driver pumped his fist along with them. CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody. — Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 20, 2013 The suspect, who was transferred for treatment at a nearby hospital, was found hiding in a boat in a Watertown resident’s backyard. Despite gunfire, police were able to apprehend him alive.
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