Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev: Media Hunts For Clues On Surviving Boston Bombing Suspect

After Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev was identified as the surviving suspect of the Boston Marathon, media outlets were sent into overdrive to find details of the life of the 19-year-old reportedly born in Russia.

Tsarnaev was identified after a chaotic scene in Boston overnight as two men suspected of planting bombs at the Boston Marathon engaged in a shootout that left two police officers shot, one fatally. Police say the suspects hijacked a car, and from there the chase moved to Boston’s Watertown neighborhood.

One of the suspects was killed in the shootout after police said he suffered injuries from gunshots and explosions. Police identified him as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, brother of Dzhokhar.

It was believed the Boston Marathon suspect had explosives on him at the time he was killed.

“We believe these are the same individuals that were responsible for the bombing Monday at the Marathon,” State Police Colonel Timothy Alben said today. “We believe that they are responsible for the death of an MIT police officer and the shooting of an MBTA police officer. This is a very serious situation that we are dealing with.”

Early Friday morning, police identified the surviving suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, and media outlets have raced to find information on the 19-year-old.

The Associated Press tweeted Friday that both bomb suspects were from Russia region near Chechnya, and Pete Williams of NBC News reported that Tsarnaev “entered the United States with family in 2002 or 2003, and that Tamerlan Tsarnaev became a legal permanent resident in 2007.”

Other outlets went further in the search for information about Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev. Some found Russian social media sites reportedly from the 19-year-old, while The Atlantic Wire found a news report from 2011 showing that someone of the same name $2,500 scholarship from the city of Boston.

Many reports were going ahead with unverified sources, especially on social media posts. This follows a week when many reports turned out to be false including incorrect information about the number of people killed and whether a suspect was in custody.

The hunt for information also recalled the aftermath to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings when a rush to publish details led many media outlets to incorrectly identify Ryan Lanza as the shooter. On Friday, incorrect reports initially circulated that Brown University student Sunil Tripathi was a suspect.

Police continued the hunt for Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev on Friday morning, saying he is considered armed and dangerous.