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Breaking News
Night of Mayhem in Boston Area; Police Going Door to Door Looking For Suspect #2; Massive Manhunt Underway; President Obama Briefed by Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser
Aired April 19, 2013 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Our breaking news coverage continues here on CNN. I'm live here in Boston, Massachusetts. I'm Jack Tapper.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.
What a night. What a night it has been. A massive dramatic police operation unfolding just outside of Boston this morning. They are going door-to-door looking for a man who fits the description of Boston marathon bombing suspect number two. That is the man seen wearing the white cap in the photos you have been looking at. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we are looking for right now is a suspect consistent with the description of suspect number two, the white- capped individual who was involved in Monday's bombing of the Boston marathon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: They have also revealed that suspect number one is dead. You may know him as the man wearing the black hat in the photos. Now, this is an important warning. People in or near Watertown, Massachusetts, eight miles outside of Boston, now are being told to stay inside. Do not answer the door unless the people at the door can clearly identify themselves as law enforcement officials.
This mayhem unfolded overnight starting with a shooting on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. That's one mile from where we are standing right now at the scene of the Boston marathon bomb attack.
TAPPER: An officer who was killed on the campus of MIT was killed a short time later, a carjacking took place and a police chase took place after that with reports of explosives involved. During the chase, the Transportation Authority officer was wounded in a shoot-out and suspect number one, that's when he was critically wounded and later died at Beth Israel Hospital. We expect a press conference in 15 minutes at the hospital.
BERMAN: We have Drew Griffin with us right now. He's on the streets of Watertown, Massachusetts. Again, this is the area right now which is a very active crime scene where people are being told not to leave their houses where it is believed that suspect number two, the man involved in the Boston marathon bombings and the man involved in this car chase and manhunt tonight, it is believe this is where he's on the loose -- Drew Griffin.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Jake. To that end, I just listened to a robocall that the police on this town have been sending to all its residents, warning them just that.
You wonder how people hear the warning in the middle of the night when they're sleeping? Well, the police in this town, in Watertown, have sent out a robocall to the people, telling them not to leave their home, telling them about the police emergency and not to answer the door.
So, there's an active search here for suspect number two as we understand it. And I might point out one other thing that we haven't really talked about, is where these two suspects put their bombs together. They are somewhere presumably in this area, not Watertown, but in the greater Boston area. There's some kind of dwelling, apartment, home or room where these gentlemen put their bombs together that is still very dangerous.
And I'm sure police are trying to figure out exactly where they were living, if they were living in the same place, they were building these bombs, and just how to handle that, because that could also be a very volatile scene they have to deal with yet as they still look for one more suspect.
So this is far, far from over. It's been a chaotic week, a chaotic night. Very dramatic finish here with one of the suspects who is now dead. But one on the loose, and all this danger out there, this could turn into a very long day.
BERMAN: Drew, we believe this investigation has been going on, obviously, since Monday. It has been a hot investigation all week. It is now white hot. As you said, you can imagine that police, law enforcement officials have been told that 9,000 law enforcement officials are in the area now involved in this investigation.
There's the manhunt underway for suspect number two, the man in the white hat at the finish line of the Boston marathon, now believed to be wearing perhaps a gray hoodie. There's the manhunt going on. And there are also people putting together this puzzle, which is probably becoming ever more clear by the second now they have identified these two men.
As you said, looking for a dwelling, trying to go through their vehicles and trying to piece together their movements, not just over the last four or five days here in Boston, but before that. There was an enormous amount of information and they no doubt would like to glean from that.
But let's stick to where you are right now, let's to Watertown, Massachusetts, which is again is where a lot of this culminated tonight. There was this car chase. There was a shoot-out, one suspect, suspect number one in the Boston marathon bombings now dead. Suspect number two on the loose. Do you get the sense that people are heeding the warnings they have been given to stay inside, to not come out on the streets right now because it is a very dangerous situation?
GRIFFIN: I am just looking around and see very few people who are not of the press or of law enforcement. We did see a few citizens come out earlier in the evening. They have all gone away. There's absolutely no street traffic in any of the directions except the flashing lights you see behind me and from the law enforcement vehicles coming in and out.
So this town has pretty much buttoned up. I don't see any door-to-door searches from my vantage point. That maybe just be because this area has been cleared or they believe the suspect ran in a different direction.
Behind me is where the shoot-out and activity took place. A few blocks down and around that corner. We were up there shortly after it happened, literally 100 or so police vehicles and hundreds of police officers swarming the area, looking here or there with their guns drawn. But once that scene settled we were pushed back to this location.
It is a quiet scene, and I have to say at this hour of the morning, it is eerily quiet because this town should be starting to wake up and right now, it's just not.
BERMAN: Drew Griffin right now for us in Watertown, Massachusetts. I ask everyone out there to forgive me for looking down occasionally at my various electronic devices right now. There's so much information new that is coming in. This situation so fluid and really we have to keep abreast of the latest situation right now.
But let me tell you this, that this terrorist bombing that happened on Monday here in Boston, that took the lives of three people watching the Boston marathon and injured more than 170 people injured, has new victims tonight. There was a campus police officer at MIT University across the Charles River here who was killed by the suspects. There was a car chase and an MBTA officer was shot and wounded in this police chase.
So, two more casualties, one dead and one wounded in this incredibly dramatic week of crime and terrorism in the Massachusetts area.
Again, just to bring people up to speed on what we know, because it has been changing by the hour right now. At 10:20 last night in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the campus of MIT, there was a police officer killed in his car multiple gunshot wounds. There was a carjacking with the man who owned the car kept in the car for a short period of time.
A police chase ensued and at some point the man who owned the car was released, as Jake Tapper pointed out, a very lucky man.
TAPPER: Very lucky, yes.
BERMAN: Some time during the police chase, there was a shoot-out and suspect number one, the man seen in the black hat at the finish line of the Boston marathon, suspect number one was wounded and taken to the hospital. He has seen died.
Suspect number two is still on the loose. Suspect number two was the man seen in the white hat at the finish line at the Boston marathon bombings. Authorities have released a new photo of him overnight, among the many brand new photos we've seen overnight.
TAPPER: That's him at a 7-Eleven last night wearing a gray hoodie. He's thought to be armed and extremely dangerous.
He's in the area of Watertown, Massachusetts, about eight miles, you say, John, outside of Boston. And the individuals there, who people who live there, are told not to leave their homes. Do not answer the door unless it is an identified police officer.
So, if you do get a knock on your door, it could be an actual police officer. Do not answer it unless it is a police officer. We're told that upwards of 9,000 to 10,000 police officers in Watertown right now looking for this individual, suspect number two, with the white hat.
There's also a robocall going out to residents of Watertown warning them of this threat in their midst. One other thing about this threat, and this is coming from overnight when we were following this story all night. There was an individual who it turns out presumably is completely innocent, but police detained him and made him take off all of his clothing.
And when they made him take off all his clothing, it was clearly because they worried about an explosive on him.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN ANALYST: And, Jake, here's what should be happening just to remind people, it's a vacation week in Massachusetts. So a lot of people from here, a lot of people left town on Friday and have missed all of this. There's a lot of empty homes and apartments in Watertown, Cambridge, all these places.
So what they want to do is sort of make sure that these homes that are vacated, that the suspect is not in there, but they want to make sure the suspect is not holding people within their own homes.
We will probably start to see some controlled evacuations just to get people out of there, who wants to be in Watertown right now if this is going to be ongoing throughout the course of the day. So you'll probably start to see some evacuations, getting people to safe areas, getting them to their family and friends, and to let the police do what they need to do in Watertown.
BERMAN: You're talking about controlled evacuations. We are just learning that the MBTA, which is the transportation authority here, is sending buses to the Watertown area to help remove the people who live there, evacuate some people, just get them out, get them to safety so they can do this manhunt and go door-to-door in the meticulous way they want.
KAYYEM: We do not want friendly fire if there will be fire going on. This is a residential neighborhood. So this is what law enforcement does -- you get the citizens out and you now secure the area and hopefully as I have been saying when daylight comes, they'll be able to, he'll be more exposed than he has been.
BERMAN: One of the ways they have been warning people in the Watertown area is with phone calls, robocalls made to most of the residents there. Let's listen to what it sounds like.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ROBOCALL: Watertown Police Department -- there's an active incident in Watertown right now. Chief Deveau is advising all residents to remain in their homes. If you hear or see anything suspicious, call the Watertown Police Department at 617-926500.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BERMAN: Stay in your homes, do not answer the door unless the person clearly is identified as a law enforcement official.
KAYYEM: You have to remember, most people in Watertown have probably slept through this. So, they're waking up getting ready for work or going out for a run. So you are seeing this, what's called reverse 911, which is the phone calls going out to every single home, every phone number they have in Watertown. Just telling people -- the moment -- they are essentially waking them up, which is the right thing to do.
BERMAN: Perhaps you slept through this. In the Boston area, we had a huge amount of supers that woke me up from bed in Boston. I'm getting e-mails from several people in this area who would never normally be up at the 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 hour waking up to this, because everyone wants to know what's going to happen here.
TAPPER: And these events unfolded, it started at 10:20 on the campus of MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There was one officer shot. One police officer was killed. There was a carjacking.
It led to Watertown where one of these individuals, one of the suspects wanted in the terrorist attacks in the Boston massacre, one of them is on the loose. One of them was critically wounded, taken to Beth Israel Hospital. We expect a press conference any minute there. We already know he's dead. He has been killed.
The individual on the loose, suspect number two with the white hat, there is a picture of him taken this evening. Let's get that on the screen. It's him wearing a gray hoodie taken at a 7-Eleven earlier. There was a press conference an hour ago when law enforcement warned of this individual and talked about the steps they were taking to get him. There were 9,000 or 10,000 police officers swarming throughout the area of Watertown, Massachusetts.
John, you're from this area, what --
BERMAN: Watertown is an area eight miles outside of Boston. It's outside of Cambridge. You know, it's -- I won't say it's a better community. It is closer than that to Boston. A lot of people live there who work in the city, a perfectly nice town.
On the phone with us right now, we have brad, a producer for "PIERS MORGAN" right now, who I believe is in Boston, witnessing a great deal of police activity at this moment.
What are you seeing?
Sorry, we lost him for a second. We lost him for second. But we'll go back to Watertown.
Jake, I have to give you a sense of the scope of this investigation right now. We are in Boston. We're standing right near the finish line of the Boston marathon right now, about a mile and a half away from MIT.
The news conference right now is about to start, I believe this is at the hospital where one of the suspects was taken. OK. Correction, this is an FBI news conference, where I imagine we'll get a great deal of information on this investigation on this nights that has unfolded. Boy, has a lot been going on.
TAPPER: It's been an eventful evening. One of the things challenging about this for people watching at home and for those of us following it in the media is that we did not know for certain until roughly an hour ago that these events were definitively connected. There was a strong suspicion with police officers operating under the presumption that the officer killed at MIT was killed by one of the suspects or both of the suspects in the terrorist attack on Monday. That the carjacking was related, that the incident going on in Watertown, the shoot-out going on in Watertown was connected, but we were not certain.
Even though there were police and FBI swarming in both areas, even though the command center, the mobile command center that was here when we began broadcasting here, from here at 12:30 this morning, even though it left and went to parts unknown, we did not know for certain until the FBI definitively. And law enforcement and the commonwealth attorney put out statements definitively stating that these two suspects have been involved in everything.
One of the suspects is now dead and one of them is now wanted and presumed extremely dangerous in Watertown, Massachusetts.
BERMAN: They made it crystal clear, Ed Davis, the Boston city police chief, said this man is a terrorist and he's a terrorist who is on the loose right now. And you have to be very, very careful if you live in the Watertown area. Do not answer your door unless you know it is a law enforcement official outside there.
That's the picture of the suspect right now that was taken earlier this evening or last night in a gray hoodie. We believe it was taken at a 7-Eleven store.
KAYYEM: By the time this night is over, we probably have a couple dozen law enforcement agencies been on this search alone. When you think of the MBTA, the state police, Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and the others, it's a unified effort. You can definitely tell that right now and it really does show you how sort of local police are really sort of dealing with crime, they deal with searching for terrorists. It's a huge burden on them.
And I hear that there's a couple thousand cops on this one hunt right now. So, you know, we'll see what unfolds in the next few hours.
BERMAN: It turns out there's not an FBI conference coming in the next few minutes, but we are expecting a news conference from the hospital where the suspect, suspect number one, the man in the black hat, was taken after he was wounded in this police chase. He died at that hospital.
Again, one of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombings now dead.
TAPPER: Killed in a shoot-out with police officers because there was an incident on the campus of Cambridge -- in Cambridge, on the campus of MIT, the Massachusetts institute of technology, and there was a car chase with police officers chasing the two suspects. One of them now dead. One of them on the loose and presumed extremely dangerous.
BERMAN: Let's try to get Brad Parks on the telephone. Brad Parks on the telephone who's in Watertown, Massachusetts, he's on the scene right now there, witnessing what's going on.
Brad, what can you tell us?
BRAD PARKS (via telephone): I'm at the corner of Arsenal Street and School Street. The FBI and local command unit, a truck is parked here, probably in the last 15 minutes they pulled up, we have seen 20 law enforcement vehicles ranging from black SUVs to unmarked cars come through the road block that is blocking School Street off.
We have also seen about three transit buses being driven by law enforcement officials. We were told at one point they may be used to evacuate residents and we did hear from officials they could be used as a shield.
We are seeing about six canine units also walking around right now. There's a heavy presence, they appear to be staging this on the intersection of School Street and Dexter Avenue. We see about three local transit buses, but everyone seems to be just kind of holding in place right now.
BERMAN: All right, Brad. Brad Parks for us on the ground.
KAYYEM: And people of Boston, in particular, there's just going to be a lot of these packages, suspicious bags, I think over the next couple of days, because law enforcement is going to be very, very nervous about what might be out there and whether there are copy cats. I think we're going to see a lot of this activity.
BERMAN: All right. I'm John Berman. Jay Tapper. Juliette Kayyem here, homeland security analyst, also columnist with "The Boston Globe" here.
We are here in Boston covering these dramatic developments that have been going on really all night here since 10:00 last night. Let's bring you up to speed, give you a full recap of how this all went down.
Ten o'clock last night, at about 10:20 p.m., there was a shooting, a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shot and killed in his car multiple gunshot wounds. Then, there was a carjacking. Two suspects hijacking a car, keeping the men in the car with them for a short while and then there was a police chase.
TAPPER: We should also note, the man was let free, amazingly, and is apparently unharmed.
BERMAN: During this police chase authorities say that perhaps the suspects were throwing explosives out the window at law enforcement officials. Showing you just how dangerous this situation is. Then a shoot-out, suspect number one was shot and wounded. He was taken to a local area hospital where he since died.
And then at this point authorities are saying suspect number two, the man who has been seen as the man in the white hat at the Boston marathon finish line, suspect number two is currently on the loose and there's a manhunt underway.
TAPPER: And this is something we need to reiterate. We apologize for those hearing this for the tenth time, twelfth time, the 15th time, but if you live in or around Watertown, Massachusetts, which is a neighborhood roughly eight miles outside Boston, if you live in that area, do not leave your homes and do not answer your door unless it is a clearly identified police officer.
You should expect, because roughly 9,000 to 10,000 police officers are in Watertown, going door-to-door. You should expect a police officer to knock on your door, and if he's clearly identified, answer the door.
There are also -- we call them robocalls. Juliette and others national security experts will call them reverse 911s, but there are reverse calls going out to the houses of all residents of Watertown, Massachusetts, warning them about what's going on. Warning them there is, in the words of law enforcement, a terrorist on the loose in Watertown.
BERMAN: And the MBTA, the transportation authority here, sending buses to the Watertown area to help get innocent people out to evacuate them to make the crime scene easier to deal with right now.
Deb Feyerick, CNN's Deborah Feyerick, is on the ground right now in Watertown to gie us a sense of what's going on there.
Deb, what are you seeing?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, John and Jake, we're seeing, we're trying -- we're trying to our producer -- just to let you know what's here.
Police have cordoned off a major area of Arsenal, in the Watertown area. And we are seeing police officers are heavily armed and their tanks, shotguns, with assault rifles in full protective gear with helmets and vests.
There are staging areas where a number of officers are getting direction. We are told that a state trooper -- state trooper is checking cars.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: I'm sorry, we have to interrupt. Deb, we are going to interrupt you right now. I apologize. There's a press conference going on right now at Beth Israel Hospital where this first suspect was brought after he was wounded and died.
We're going to go live to Beth Israel right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still do have 12 victims from the initial event hospitalized here at the hospital. One of them still in serious condition in the ICU. We initially received 24 patients here from the original event on Monday. The vast majority of those patients have been discharged.
We are open and ready for any patients to come to the medical center this morning, although we are restricting access to ensure safety for patients, family and visitors and asking people to show patience as they come in this morning.
REPORTER: Was that patient brought in under police guard tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That patient was brought in with police guard, yes.
REPORTER: Can you describe the injuries of the patient?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot -- we do want to make available the physician that initially heard the events in Watertown.
DR. SCHOENFELD: So, my name is Dr. Schoenfeld. Last night as I was doing some work at home and watching the news coverage of the officer- involved shooting over at MIT, I was sitting at home and was able to hear the sounds of gunshots and explosions because I live in Watertown. And when I started hearing the gunshots and explosions, I recognized that something was really wrong and called the emergency department to let them know and then quickly got dressed to come into work and rushed over to the emergency department.
REPORTER: How quickly did you get here?
SCHOENFELD: I arrived in the emergency department before the patient arrived.
REPORTER: What time did you hear the gunshots?
SCHOENFELD: Sometime after 12:45. REPORTER: Doctor, can you give us the name of the deceased?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
We don't have any information on the identity of the deceased patient.
REPORTER: Do you know the age?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have that information.
REPORTER: Can you give us a gender?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an adult male.
REPORTER: Doctor, can you describe your feelings of being in Watertown, hearing the noise and alerting the E.R., you come into work and then you end up seeing that same patient? (INAUDIBLE) irony.
SCHOENFELD: So there's a couple different parts to it. One is when I started to hear the gunshots and the explosions, given what had happened over at MIT and seeing all the police cars rushing into Watertown past my house and hearing all the sirens, I knew or felt very strongly that this was related to the events from earlier this week as well as from what happened over at MIT earlier in the evening.
And so, because of that I felt as though something large enough was going on in the community that it warranted calling the emergency department and coming in. The emotions, you know, you sort of set aside when you come in to go to work and to do the job.
REPORTER: Did you actually work on the patient who was shot and is deceased?
SCHOENFELD: So I really don't want to talk about that.
REPORTER: OK. I was going to say, knowing what you knew going into it, as a doctor, how do you deal with that?
SCHOENFELD: So you give the best care you can to every patient that comes to you regardless of may or may not be, because you don't know what happened out there and you don't know who they are. You don't know what the circumstances are.
So whether it was a suspect, an innocent police officer, you have no idea who it is when they arrive and you give them the best care that you can to try to help them.
REPORTER: Being (INAUDIBLE), did you look out the window at all or see anything outside?
SCHOENFELD: So I did go and look out the window. I did not see anything other than the police cars rushing into Watertown.
REPORTER: Being an urban medical center, you bring in police guard all the time, was there anything different in the emergency room? More police officers or anything unusual because this is very serious what's happening here.
SCHOENFELD: So there was a large police presence when the patient arrived. More so than typical, but --
REPORTER: Were they able to talk to the patient at all or glean anything from him?
SCHOENFELD: I don't know what the police -- I can't speak to that.
REPORTER: The police did say there was a suspect confirmed. Can you confirm that the suspect was here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't confirm it at all. All we can say is a patient was brought in. We don't have any more information than that. In fact, you probably do have more information than we do about that.
REPORTER: Cause of death, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a trauma arrest. Multiple injuries, probably, we believe a combination of blasts, potentially gunshots.
REPORTER: How many gunshots?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unable to count. Yes.
REPORTER: I'm sorry (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And probably a blast injury.
REPORTER: Blast injury?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An explosive device, possibly shrapnel, thermal injury.
REPORTER: Can you describe where?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was pretty much throughout the trunk. It was multiple wounds.
REPORTER: Would it be consistent with a bomb strapped (INAUDIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unclear. I think the medical examiner will be able to comment conclusively say that, but there were signs of more than just gunshot wounds.
(INAUDIBLE)
REPORTER: Multiple gunshots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to take two or three questions, but that's about all that we can say.
REPORTER: Did he lose a lot of blood?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe so.
REPORTER: Do we know if he said anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we know is he arrived in arrest here. We don't know what happened at the scene.
REPORTER: So he was in cardiac arrest and died in the emergency room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thank you very much. Thank you.
TV ANCHOR: And that is the latest, a live update from the doctors and the administrators from Beth Israel hospital --
BERMAN: You have been watching the press conference where suspect number one, one of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombings, one of the suspects involved in the car chase and a series of shoot-outs with police last night where he was taken after he was wounded and subsequently died.
TAPPER: He was killed. The doctors and physicians were asked many questions about how he was killed. They said he was brought in with extreme trauma to his body, there was gunshot wounds and evidence of a blast, an explosive blast -- burns and shrapnel.
We know the two suspects in the Boston terrorist attack, that they on the lam this evening were, pursued by law enforcement. They have been described by law enforcement as having explosives with them as we stated, as John pointed out.
Suspect number one, the one in the black hat, has been killed. That's who the physicians were speaking about. He was killed in the shoot-out and there's evidence apparently he was also hurt by one of the explosives.
BERMAN: Suspect number two, the man you're seeing there in the white hat right now, we have a more current picture of him taken overnight in a gray hoodie. Suspect number two is on the loose. There is a manhunt underway going on right now believed right now centered in the Watertown area eight miles outside of Boston.
This is a very fluid situation. We are getting details coming in by the minute here. We will bring you the latest just ahead.
Stay with CNN. Our coverage continues in just a moment.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BERMAN: If you are just joining us, we want to bring you up-to-date on an extraordinary night, an extraordinary morning we have been having as the story unfolds in the Boston area.
Police going door to door right now in the town of Watertown. That's about eight miles outside of Boston. They are looking for a man who fits the description of the Boston marathon bomber, suspect number two. He's the man seen in the picture last night wearing the white hat. Those pictures were taken the day of the Boston marathon.
Now, people in or near Watertown are being told to stay inside their homes. Do not answer the door under any circumstances, unless the people there can identify themselves as law enforcement officials. People in Watertown are also getting robocalls like this one.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ROBOCALL: Hello. This Detective Connor (ph) with the Watertown police department. There's an active incident in Watertown right now. Chief Deveau is advising all Watertown residents to remain in their homes. If you hear or see anything suspicious, call the Watertown Police Department at 617-926500.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
TAPPER: Let's bring you up to speed on how everything developed. We have been covering this all night, the mayhem unfolded overnight, starting with the shooting on the campus of MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. That's about one mile from where John and I are standing right now, one mile from the scene of Monday's Boston marathon terrorist attack.
An officer at MIT was killed in that shooting a short time later. There was a carjacking by the two suspects wanted in that shooting and a police chase with reports of explosives involved. During that chase a transportation authority officer was wounded in a shoot-out right after that chase, we believe. Then the individual whose car it was who was carjacked, he was let free, but the suspects, suspects number one and two, wanted for the Boston marathon terrorist attack, they were being pursued by police officers.
There was a shootout and suspect number one was critically wounded and he was -- he later died. He was taken to Beth Israel Hospital. We just heard doctors at Beth Israel Hospital talking about how he died with gunshot wounds and also some explosives. Most important for members of the Watertown community is suspect number two is still on the loose. Do not leave your homes. Do not answer the door unless it is a clearly identified police officer.
BERMAN: CNN's Drew Griffin is in Watertown right now. He's been on the streets all night following this very fluid situation tracking every development as it unfolded.
And, Drew, bring us up to speed on what's been happening in your location.
GRIFFIN: Yes. That suspect was gravely wounded about five blocks behind me. We are in this area that is now cornered off, the downtown area of Watertown. And gladly the sky is beginning to light, maybe bringing less daunting skies to this town, which is really now in complete lockdown. Our Deb Feyerick is on another side of town where police seem to be getting ready for some kind of movement on a possible building, but at the meantime they are going door-to-door here to check to make sure, they are looking for a suspect who they believe now attacked the Boston marathon, who helped -- carjack a car, fired at police all night long, threw what we are told to be explosives at police. So this is a very, very dangerous situation. They are after a very dangerous person.
And right now, at least as far as we know, they do not know where he is. So that is the latest here from Watertown, which I can tell you visually is buttoned up tight.
Now I want to -- I want to toss to some sound from a witness who witnessed some of what was happening last night on the streets here in Watertown. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We thought we heard firecrackers, so me and my son looked out our third floor window and we heard gunshots. And then we saw the explosion. I actually saw a black SUV come down Laurel Street and cross over Dexter, it looked like it hit a police car and then they were just shooting at that. Then just loaded. We must have heard about 60 gunshots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: That is not dissimilar to other witnesses that I talked to, it really was sounding like a running gun battle car to car through the streets. And at one point the police even issued a notice that listen, they had to clear the streets to make sure there weren't any unexploded ordinates, unexploded ordinates, that wasn't laying around on these streets being thrown from that car.
A very, very dangerous situation. Obviously, that situation calmed down, but as of yet we still have a very, very dangerous person on the loose, which is why Watertown this morning is being told to stay inside until the all clear is given -- John, Jake.
BERMAN: Drew Griffin for us -- Drew Griffin for us in Watertown. And again, not to be overdramatic here but the police officers in this area right now, the Boston Police chief says a terrorist is on the loose in the Watertown area. And perhaps -- and people need to be very safe. They're getting robocalls, telling them not to answer their doors, the MBTA, the local transportation authority here, is actually going to send buses to Watertown to carefully help people get out so they are not in the area of the crime scene.
Our Deb Feyerick is on the ground in Watertown right now. She joins us now by telephone.
Deb, what do you have?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're looking at what really appears to be almost a partial frozen zone. You've got police vehicles everywhere that have actually set a check, and they're asking people for identification, they're checking trunks of cars. The light has been working in their favor because as it comes up it's going to be a lot more difficult for this man, the man seen in the white hat, to slip out and hopefully this created enough of a perimeter so that he is contained.
And that's sort of the idea of what they're working on. You've got police who are wearing full gear, full tactical gear. They are carrying assault rifles and shot guns. The National Guard is out. You've got members of state troopers as well as police officers from transit, so there's a very, very heavy police presence here.
Interestingly, as we were driving along one road, you had officers, again, full tactical gear and they were positioned almost 20 feet apart. And they were keeping their eyes open, they were looking for this individual here, but I can tell you they are trying to tighten this area, almost like putting a noose around parts of Watertown hoping that somehow they've been able to contain this individual, hoping that he hasn't slipped out.
They feel that he is here. There are teams that are staging at various areas. And you see just an abundance of many blue lights, the cars that are just passing, they are communicating with each other, they're connecting, but they are definitely trying to contain this area, and keep a really what amounts to a partial lockdown, a partial frozen zone here in Watertown.
BERMAN: All right. Deb Feyerick for us on the ground in Watertown right now, watching things as they unfold there.
Meanwhile, Jake Tapper here with me, near the site of the Boston marathon finish line.
Jake, you have some new information about what they're telling people in and around the Watertown area.
TAPPER: That's right. Well, we've been saying for hours now that if you live in Watertown you should stay in your homes and you should not answer your door unless it is a clearly identified police officer.
Suspect number two in the Boston marathon terrorist attacks is wanted and presumed extremely dangerous. Now we have a more specific warning from the Boston Police Department. For anybody who works at any of the businesses in the area of 480, 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, they say remain home. Do not come to work today. If you -- if you live -- if you work in the area in the business of 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, remain home.
Juliette, you want to --
JULIETTE KAYYEM, THE BOSTON GLOBE: Yes, sorry. So that area is a big shopping mall. It is an area where there are sort of industrial warehouses and there's a lot of offices and other -- lots of people who work there. And it's a huge shopping mall, the Arsenal area. And so I think what we're going to see is their confidence level that he is in a certain area. You may start to see over the course of the next hour actions that would sort of warn Bostonians, people who live in Watertown, Cambridge and surrounding areas to just stay put today.
And so let's wait out for that. I don't want to jump the gun, but as we hear each of these, they are going to sort of evacuate people from Watertown. They are going to close certain areas around Arsenal Mall which is in Watertown. What are they going to do with the T? Do they want people to come into the city? And --
TAPPER: The T is public transportation.
KAYYEM: Excuse me. Sorry. Yes. And people will get back to normal and how do they want people to behave? The good news is is that schools are not open this week. Most schools are not open, most public schools, and so people will stay with their children and hopefully this unfolds rather quickly.
TAPPER: Probably it's a good rule of thumb that if you work in Watertown --
KAYYEM: Yes.
TAPPER: Even if it's not the 480 Arsenal Street.
KAYYEM: Don't want to go there. Yes.
TAPPER: You might want to call in sick today.
KAYYEM: Yes.
TAPPER: It's probably a good idea just because there's going to be a lot of police activity in that area.
KAYYEM: And employers -- employers would be wise to demand that of their employees. Any people around that area, you just don't, as we were saying, we don't want a lot of activity there. You don't want police officers to misunderstand an action. You just want them focused on this one thing. And the more people that are around and milling about the less they're likely to do that.
BERMAN: We haven't yet heard that these warnings have extended much passed Watertown.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYYEM: Right. So they might have confidence.
BERMAN: That is something we will watch for that in the coming minutes and hours.
KAYYEM: Right.
BERMAN: Again, this has been unfolding all night with Boston Police, Watertown Police, local law enforcement officials keeping us up to speed on all the developments. We have some sound from a police press conference that was just a little while ago, which really this whole case broke open when we learned that there was this direct connection between this wild night, this shoot-out, this car chase, and also the Boston marathon bombings. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. TIMOTHY ALBEN, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE: The most important message that we are doing right now is for public safety and the safety of those people in that neighborhood. We are asking everyone to shelter in place for the time being, not to leave their homes. If they see something suspicion other than a police coming to their door, they should call 911 immediately.
We also want to forewarn motorists that are traveling through this area, even though we're locked down in this neighborhood, that they should not stop for anyone and pick up anyone along the side of the roadway.
What we are looking for right now is a suspect consistent with the description of suspect number two, the white-capped individual, who was involved in Monday's bombing of the Boston marathon. He was -- we have a picture, a video from the 7-Eleven in Cambridge last night that he is dressed in a gray hoodie-type sweatshirt. He's a light skinned or Caucasian male with longer, brown curly hair.
You've seen the picture, you all have it. That's the individual that we are looking for at this moment.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That's suspect number two?
ALBEN: That's suspect number two, the white-capped individual.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Suspect number one was shot then?
ALBEN: That's correct.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So suspect number one was the one the FBI --
ALBEN: I just want to be clear. We will do regular updates to this, but right now we're in a public safety mode here. Our immediate concern is for those people in that neighborhood up there. We have an active search going on by tactical teams to locate and apprehend this particular individual. He should be considered armed and dangerous and is a threat to anybody that might approach him. So please, use extreme caution and stay in your homes. If you hear something, if you see something unusual, we would like you to call 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. The news from that press conference you just saw right now, there is a manhunt under way. A suspect on the loose. Suspect number two from the Boston marathon bombings. You saw a photo of him right there, taken last night, overnight, wearing that gray hoodie right now, he is suspected to be very, very dangerous, on the loose right now. And we're getting a sense of just how concerned law enforcement officials are.
We just got word from the MBTA, that is the local transportation authority here, controlling all the subways, all the buses, all the MBTA services have been suspended for the time being at the request of the police. Now that affects a huge area, Jake. I don't know the number of towns but many, many towns in the Boston area have access to these subways and buses. This service suspended right now, completely at the request of the police.
Go ahead, Juliette.
KAYYEM: To give you a sense, Boston probably doubles in size on a normal weekday just from mass transit, so it gets to about 1.6 million, I think. And so this is huge. This is -- but this is smart. This is just to keep people off the streets.
BERMAN: Let's bring in Tom Fuentes right now. Former assistant director of the FBI right now, a CNN analyst. Very, very broad base of knowledge on situations just like this.
And Tom, the news we just got that the MBTA, all subways and buses, suspended service right now at the request of the police. What do you make of that?
TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Hi, John. I think that they're just trying to keep people locked down and reduce the amount of people that are out on the street and just want everybody to stay home as if you had a blizzard situation. But you know there's many considerations here. This has turned into, you know, almost a standard fugitive hunt that the police go through all the time. And police executives constantly learn from other incidents in other parts of the country.
The most recent similar situation we had was the Dorner case in Los Angeles just two months ago. In that case when they found the burning vehicle, they believed he was on that mountain top. They only had 400 residences to deal with to try to search to locate him. And then worry that he might carjack somebody and leave the area before that they could lock it down. It took a week, with 400 buildings. It took a week before he resurfaced and they found him. And he had invaded a home and taken hostages and then later while trying to escape in a carjacking.
In this situation the question I would have, and I don't know for sure how confident the police are that he didn't get away, but in the very short aftermath of that pursuit in shoot-out with the police, you know, we presume that he got out of the car, took off running somewhere. Did he go around the corner and carjack somebody else in which case he could already be three states away by this time of the day.
KAYYEM: Yes.
FUENTES: So they're concentrating that search in Watertown, but he could be in who knows where by now if he was able to carjack somebody. Secondly, you're not talking about 400 residences, you're talking about several thousand, large apartment buildings, and the problem before searching those are if the police, you know, get the people out and they get on buses and leave town, then that means when they go door-to-door, nobody is going to knock. How do they know he isn't inside somebody's residence with the door locked and he's in a safe place to hide and he could be there indefinitely.
So this could -- this could be resolved very quickly if he makes the move on the police and tries to do something, or it could take a long time if he's already in somebody's residence hunkered down or if he already did a carjacking and got out of the area before they created this perimeter.
TAPPER: Tom, it's Jake Tapper. I just want to bring our viewers up to speed as to what exactly is going on. Suspect number one in the Boston marathon terrorist attacks has been killed. Suspect number two is on the loose in -- thought to be in Watertown, Massachusetts.
If you live in or near Watertown, Massachusetts, you are being told by police do not leave your homes, do not answer the door, unless it is a clearly identified police officer. You should expect that there will be a clearly identified police officer who will come to your door. They are going door to door, 9,000 to 10,000 police officers and law enforcement officers going to Watertown.
A more specific piece of information, if you work in the area of 480, 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, do not go to work today. And then more broadly, the T, the public transportation into and out of Boston, has been temporarily suspended. Because of a request by the police.
So, Tom, my question for you is, what do you anticipate the police would next do?
Actually we're going to go to a news conference underway right now. Tom, we'll come back to you in a second.
KURT SCHWARTZ, MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR: We have conferred with the governor, with the mayor of Boston, with all of the surrounding city public officials and the governor has immediately suspended all public transportation service on the MBTA system, that is buses and subway. So all public transit services through the MBTA have been immediately suspended.
We are hoping that as we proceed through the next number of hours that we will be able to turn back on portions of the system, but this system has been shut down now as a safety measure. People that are at subway or -- subway stations or at bus stops, we are asking them to go home. We do not want people congregating and waiting for the system to come back on. So we are asking people do not go out to the bus stations, subway stations, if you're there, please go home.
We also want to speak to the residents and the public within the town of Watertown and the cities and towns that are near Watertown. And to be specific, we are speaking to the residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, and the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston.
To those people, we are asking you to stay indoors, to stay in your homes for the time being. We are asking businesses in those areas to please cooperate and not open today until we can provide further guidance and information. So again, to repeat, to the residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and the Allston- Brighton neighborhoods of Boston, we are asking you to stay home, stay indoors. We are asking businesses not to open. We are asking people not to congregate outside. We are asking people not to go to mass transit.
And we are hopeful that as the day proceeds that we can provide further guidance that we'll be able to open portions of the system and be able to ease these restrictions. But we are opposed to that now.
Let me just ask Chief Deveau, to the town of Watertown, is there anything in additional you want to announce?
CHIEF EDWARD DEVEAU, WATERTOWN POLICE: Just want to speak to the community of Watertown. We need your help now. We're asking everybody to shelter in place. No vehicle traffic is going to be allowed to travel in or out of Watertown until further notice. No business are going to be allowed to be open. The Watertown community has always stood strong. We need them to do that today. Thank you.
ALBEN: I want to be clear. Now before we take any questions, I need to be clear about this. This situation is grave. We are here to protect public safety and these neighborhoods here in Watertown right now. I know that there's national media here from all over the country, I know you have a lot of questions about who these folks are, where they are from. There will be plenty of time to deal with that over the ensuing hours. Right now we've got to deal with this local issue here. So we appreciate your patience.
Again, to reiterate what I said earlier, we believe these are the same individuals that were responsible for the bombing on Monday at the Boston marathon. We believe that they're 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're dealing with. And we would appreciate your cooperation.
We'll do the best that we can to keep you apprised as to how that develops here this morning, but we can't answer every single question about this investigation at this particular point in time. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll let you know as soon -- as much news as possible prior to the next briefing. Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What time would that be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know. We'll let you know. We'll give you as much advanced warning.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that was a huge update -- BERMAN: All right. Welcome back to our live, breaking coverage of this major, major story going on in Boston right now. We have live team coverage all around the area, and we have this major new development in.
There is a manhunt underway right now in the greater Boston area for the man, suspect number two, from the Boston marathon bombings. A man who overnight, if you're just waking up, was involved in a police chase, involved in a shoot-out, suspect number one is dead right now. Suspect number two is on the loose. He's believed to be wearing a gray hoodie, or at least he was when he was -- had his photograph taken overnight believed to be at a 7-Eleven. Police have put out that photo right now and they're searching for him in a widening, widening area -- Jake.
TAPPER: That's crazy because every time we come to the viewers with new news, the -- it's growing and growing and expanding the -- instead of the news getting smaller, it's getting bigger. We've been told that if you work in the area of -- in Watertown, Massachusetts, if you work in the area of 480 Arsenal Street, you should not go to work. We have been told that if you live in Watertown itself, you should stay in your home, not answer the door unless it is an identified police officer. But you should expect an identified police officer to come to your door because 9,000 to 10,000 are blanketing.
We've been told that public transportation in and out of Boston in the surrounding area is closed at the request of the police. And now this latest news -- John.
BERMAN: This latest news today, a list of towns surrounding Boston where they are also asking people to stay indoors and businesses to remain shut. Now I'm going to read these out loud. And if you're from this area, you will understand how many people are affected by this. Watertown, Belmont, the Allston and Brighton area, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, Arlington, that is just a huge area. A little bit to the west of the city right now.
You know a massive commuting area. People who live there work and live in Boston in the area right now, they are being asked to stay home. Businesses being asked not to open. Be safe.
KAYYEM: Right.
TAPPER: It's interesting because right before that press conference we were talking to Tom Fuentes, former assistant FBI director, and he was frankly expressing some skepticism that this one fugitive, suspect number two, had been contained just to Watertown. He was wondering if actually the suspect had maybe carjacked another car and was in an area bigger than Watertown. All of a sudden there's a press conference in which the area is expanded, the area in which they think the suspect may be.
BERMAN: Let me tell you this. We've just learned that the president of the United States has been briefed on all of these developments. These remarkable developments that had been going on since last night. One of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombing now dead. One very much on the loose in this manhunt underway.
We're telling you there is now an expanded area of interest with people being told to stay in their homes in a number of towns surrounding Boston. Public transportation shut down. And then we just learned this as well. In the town of Watertown, Watertown, which seems to be the epicenter right of the search, vehicle traffic is not allowed in. They are not allowing cars in and out of the Watertown area right now. So that is the epicenter of this crime scene, the white hot area, but it is also expanding to the towns nearby.
TAPPER: And what we've -- what John has already said, just for those just tuning in, the area where individuals who live are being told to stay in their homes, not to leave their homes, not to answer the door unless it is an identified, clearly identified police officer.
Again, Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, Newton, Cambridge and the Allston- Brighton neighborhood of Boston, a huge area, an ever expanding area. There is a manhunt underway. This individual, suspect number two, the one with the white hat, we have a picture of him that we can put up from last night from a 7-Eleven surveillance camera. He is out there wearing a gray hoodie. He is armed, thought to be extremely dangerous, not just with firearms, but he and his now dead partner in crime, terrorism partner, had explosives.
And there is a big fear, and if you've been watching all night, you know that there was an apparently innocent man who the police arrested -- well, they didn't arrest him, but they detained him. They made him take off all his clothing before they put him in the police car. And then ultimately they let him go, obviously with his clothing, because they feared that he would have explosives on him.
And that is what one of the big fears is with suspect number two. That he is not only armed with guns but he is armed with explosives. So even if you are not immediately close to him, you could be in danger. We saw what he's capable of allegedly with explosives from what happened Monday at the Boston marathon.
BERMAN: As we say, what's happening right now in this area is unprecedented with the surrounding towns, people told to stay home, businesses not to open. As we also told you, President Obama has been identified, has been brought up to speed on what's been going on here in the Boston area with so many developments.
And we want to go to Brianna Keilar right now who is at the White House -- Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John and Jake. We understand from the White House official that President Obama was briefed overnight by his Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco. This is something that has been happening overnight since the bombings in Boston, but again he was briefed overnight to be brought up-to-date on the events happening there in Watertown, we are told by a White House official.
We are still waiting to see if perhaps as this is very much a developing situation, the president as you know, it would not be likely that he would come out and make some sort of statement until all of the facts are kind of determined here. And obviously, this is very much a developing situation. So we'll be keeping you up-to-date on exactly President Obama's briefings.
Very likely what's going to happen later this morning is he'll be briefed not only by Lisa Monaco but also likely by his attorney general, Eric Holder, and the director of the FBI, Robert Muller, because the FBI is taking the lead on that. This is what we've been seeing happening in recent days since the bombings on -- the bombings on Monday.
But again he was kept up-to-date, briefed overnight as this quickly developing situation continues to unfold.
BERMAN: This situation unfolding right before our very eyes, Brianna. And it is interesting, President Obama of course was here yesterday for that memorial, for that prayer service right then, rallying the spirits of the people of Boston. And he really did a terrific job in that. Of course right now with completely different feeling in this area because people are waking up right now to the news that they probably live in a crime scene or at least in an area right now that is being searched and very much under watch.
TAPPER: And Juliette and I were talking earlier that just -- the astounding news that these two individuals, suspects number one and two, suspect number one now dead, suspect two police are in hot pursuit of him, but the idea that they stayed here.
KAYYEM: Yes.
TAPPER: That they've perpetrated this horrific act allegedly, and stayed in the Boston area.
KAYYEM: And so it is unique. I have been saying for a couple -- these weren't suicide bombers so you knew something about them. But that they stuck around is pretty unique. And I think it suggests why there is so much activity here because they lived here or they were living somewhere the last couple of days. I don't know if that's Watertown, I don't want to make a guess, but given all the activity in Watertown, you wonder whether there wasn't some involvement with that town.
This is sort of staying in place or what we can shelter in place order that Kurt Schwartz, who's a public safety -- a top public safety official for the governor. That was the press conference we just saw. And now -- you know, I'll be honest. It's a big deal. I mean, it is -- this city has just essentially closed off most of its suburbs.
TAPPER: When is the last time you can recall a city --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYYEM: Just on -- for snowstorm.
TAPPER: Telling thousands and thousands of individuals to stay in their homes and also to shut down public transportation.
BERMAN: 1.3 million people, you know, travel on the T, on the subways and the buses here. 1.3 million people --
KAYYEM: A day.
BERMAN: A day.
KAYYEM: Yes.
BERMAN: In the town of Watertown, no cars going in and out. The surrounding towns, we read you that list before, including Newton, Belmont, Allston, Brighton, Waltham, Cambridge, Watertown, people being told --
KAYYEM: Lots of universities in --
BERMAN: -- to stay at home right now, to not leave, to be safe, businesses closed. It is unprecedented.
KAYYEM: Universities -- we're a university and college town, those towns have a lot of colleges and universities. I'm seeing that a lot of them are starting to close.
TAPPER: But, Juliette, you're a homeland security expert, you worked for the Office of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. The same type of organization here for Governor Patrick. Can you recall anything like this happening in the last --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYYEM: No, I mean --
TAPPER: Since 9/11?
KAYYEM: No. And neither, but there hasn't been anything since -- like the Boston marathon attack. I mean, what we have -- we have to put this -- there has not been a successful attack like this since 9/11. There have been a lot of tries, and so this is a big deal. And so I think that the reaction by the governor and his public safety team to just say, look, we can -- we can stay put for a day, let's get this person, let's move on, Boston. I'm pretty confident with this many people looking that, you know, you've got every roadway, you've got Connecticut, New Hampshire, all of these areas looking for this guy.
BERMAN: All right. Our coverage of these major developments continues right now.
