Just before their deadly standoff with Boston Police, the Tsarnaev brothers, who are the primary suspects in the bombing of the Boston Marathon, had designs on setting off more explosive devices in New York City’s Time Square. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Chief Ray Kelly held a press conference on Thursday, during which they revealed that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspected bomber, told FBI agents that they were leaving Boston to leave more bombs in New York City.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan are believed to be the perpetrators behind the bombing of the Boston Marathon. After information about the brothers was released to the public, they allegedly murdered a police officer, hijacked a car, took its driver hostage, and attempted to drive out of Boston before engaging the police in a shootout that left Tamerlan dead and Dzhokhar wounded. While being interrogated at his hospital bed, Dzhokhar revealed to the FBI that he and his brother hijacked the car in an attempt to drive to New York and detonate more explosives in New York City’s crowded Times Square.
“Last night we were informed by the FBI that the surviving attacker revealed that New York City was next on their list of targets,” said Bloomberg at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “We don’t know if we’d been able to [prevent an attack] if the terrorists had arrived from Boston. Thank God we didn’t have to do that.”
The Huffington Post reports that the Tsarnaevs had six bombs, one of which was a pressure cooker-based explosive similar to the ones found near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
According to the man whose car the Tsarnaevs hijacked, the brothers somewhat spontaneously decided to flee to New York City. While he was being held hostage, he described the brainstorming session during which the brothers made the decision.
After his capture, Dzhokhar told interrogators that he and his brother were fleeing to New York City in order to party with friends.
Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that investigators believe that the Tsarnaevs were planning a second attack in Boston, but once their images were made public, quickly decided to get out of town and bomb another city.
“The notion they decided to go to New York was a rushed event after this thing unraveled on them,” the Michigan Republican said.
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