|
| Officials stand guard near the site of the Boston Marathon explosions, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in Boston. Authorities investigating the deadly bombings have recovered a piece of circuit board that they believe was part of one of the explosive devices, and also found the lid of a pressure cooker that apparently was catapulted onto the roof of a nearby building, an official said Wednesday. |
BOSTON (AP) -- In what could be major break in the Boston Marathon case, investigators are on the hunt for a man seen in a department store surveillance video dropping off a bag at the site of the bombings, a local politician said Wednesday.
Separately, a
law enforcement official confirmed that authorities have found an image
of a potential suspect but don't know his name.
The
development - less than 48 hours after the attack, which left three
people dead and more than 170 wounded - marked a possible turning point
in a case that has investigators analyzing photos and videos frame by
frame for clues to who carried out the twin bombings and why.
City
Council President Stephen Murphy, who said he was briefed by Boston
police, said investigators saw the image on surveillance footage they
got from a department store near the finish line and matched the
findings with witness descriptions of someone leaving the scene.
"I
know it's very active and very fluid right now - that they are on the
chase," Murphy said. He added: "They may be on the verge of arresting
someone, and that's good."
The bombs were
crudely fashioned from ordinary kitchen pressure cookers packed with
explosives, nails and ball bearings, investigators and others close to
the case said. Investigators suspect the devices were then hidden in
black duffel bags and left on the ground.
As a result, they were looking for images of someone lugging a dark, heavy bag.
One
department store video "has confirmed that a suspect is seen dropping a
bag near the point of the second explosion and heading off," Murphy
said.
A law enforcement official who was not
authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke to The Associated
Press on the condition of anonymity confirmed only that investigators
had an image of a potential suspect whose name was not known to them and
who had not been questioned.
Several media
outlets reported that a suspect had been identified from surveillance
video taken at a Lord & Taylor department store between the sites of
the bomb blasts.
The turn of events came with Boston in a state of high excitement over conflicting reports of a breakthrough.
A
law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told the AP
around midday that a suspect was in custody. The official, who was not
authorized to divulge details of the investigation and spoke on the
condition of anonymity, said the suspect was expected in federal court.
But the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said no arrests had
been made.
By nightfall, there was no
evidence anyone was in custody. No one was taken to court. The law
enforcement official, who had affirmed there was a suspect in custody
even after federal officials denied it, was unable to obtain any further
information or explanation.
At least 14
bombing victims, including three children, remained in critical
condition. Dozens of victims have been released from hospitals, and
officials at three hospitals that treated some of the most seriously
injured said they expected all their remaining patients to survive. A
2-year-old boy with a head injury was improving and might go home
Thursday, Boston Children's Hospital said.
On
Wednesday, investigators in white jumpsuits fanned out across the
streets, rooftops and awnings around the blast site in search of clues.
They picked through trash cans, plastic cup sleeves and discarded sports
drink dispensers.
Boston remained under a heavy security presence, and some people admitted they were nervous about moving about in public spaces.
Tyler
King, a personal trainer from Attleboro who works in Boston, said four
of five clients canceled on him a day earlier because they were worried
about venturing into the city. He took the train in, but "I kind of kept
my head on a swivel."
Kenya Nadry, a website designer, took her 5-year-old nephew to a playground.
"There's
still some sense of fear, but I feel like Boston's resilient," she
said. "The fine men in blue will take care of a lot of it."
Police
were stationed on street corners across downtown Boston, while National
Guardsmen set up tents on the Boston Common and stationed tactical
vehicles.
Dr. Horacio Hojman, associate chief
of trauma at Tufts Medical Center, said patients were in surprisingly
good spirits when they were brought in.
"Despite
what they witnessed, despite what they suffered, despite many of them
having life-threatening injuries, their spirits were not broken," he
said. "And I think that should probably be the message for all of us -
that this horrible act of terror will not bring us down."
President
Barack Obama and his challenger in the last election, former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, planned to visit Boston on Thursday to
attend a service honoring the victims.
The
blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, and 29-year-old
Krystle Campbell, of Medford. The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run
Chinese newspaper, identified the third victim as Lu Lingzi, a graduate
student at Boston University.
