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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Boston Suspect #2 On the Loose; One Dead, One on the Run in Boston Manhunt; City of Boston Shut Down; Boston Residents, Stay Indoors

Aired April 19, 2013 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is the man who's been shown in the white cap. He's believed to be armed. He's believed to be dangerous. Police called him a terrorist on the loose, and moments ago police spoke about the grave nature of the manhunt.

Overnight, there was an armed confrontation between police and two suspects, including the man believed to be suspect number one in the marathon attack. Also suspect number two. We do not know his name. Suspect number one has been killed.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: It was a short time ago police urged the public to heed their advice to stay home for their safety if you live in Watertown. You're told to not leave your home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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 businesses are going to be allowed to be open. The community has always stood strong. We need them to do that today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: This long night of violence began on the campus of MIT last night. At around 10:20 in an armed confrontation, a college police officer was shot and killed. Then there was a pursuit of two officers in to Watertown.

CNN's Don Lemon is standing by -- two suspects, rather, into Watertown. CNN's Don Lemon is standing by right now in Watertown where heavily armed police are going house to house.

Don, what are you seeing?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have been watching, been here for just under an hour and we have seen a number of police officers, heavy, heavily police presence here, Jake. We've been watching them go in and out.

Just a couple of minutes ago, before you came to us about 10 or 12 police cars with flashing lights went down the street right here, got out and started going door to door. They're just around the corner. Because they believe that suspect could be in any one of these homes. Listen, this is where the action is. I heard you say earlier it wouldn't be far-fetched to say this is unprecedented. It is unprecedented. This entire town is on lockdown. They're not letting anyone in or out of here except if you're with the media.

As we came this morning, we got stopped at several checkpoints to show identification. But anyone who is on the street who is a resident, they're being asked to turn around and go back home and not let anyone in their home unless it is a police officer, unless it is a police officer.

So, again, it is on lockdown. They believe the suspect is here and he may have explosives. Very heavy police presence where we are now.

BERMAN: All right, Don Lemon, thank you very much. We're looking at live pictures right now of police officers, law enforcement officials going house to house in the Watertown area, and as Don described it. That's a town, big town by the way on lockdown right now.

TAPPER: And it's not just Watertown. Police have expanded the area in which they told people not to leave their homes to include Waltham, Cambridge and other surrounding areas.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Allston, Brighton, this is a very, very big area here.

And when you're talking about shutting down public transportation, which they have, subways, buses shut down, that affects well over 1 million people every day who come in and out of this city. This just shows you how serious this all is.

Again, as we've been saying, Watertown right now is the epicenter of this activity, under virtual lockdown.

And CNN's Deborah Feyerick is there with details -- Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Jake, I can tell you this ebb tire area is pretty much a frozen zone. Just behind me there's a staging area. You've got members of the ATF, the FBI, you've got all different kind of agencies, Boston police, police from all over the state. They're gathering at various points.

These cars that you see over here, we have seen a caravan, an endless caravan of these cars just coming back and forth, getting to this particular location. Over to my right, you can see to the right of the screen that is the bus. Those are the buses that are being used to transport people out of this particular area.

They're trying to clear as many people out as they possibly can before they begin a sort of methodical sweep. They've created a perimeter. Now, they're basically going to tighten the noose and go and try to find this individual. Clearly, now that the light is up, that is in their favor. That gives them the advantage.

The fact that there are no buses, no trains, basically no way out. They are freezing this entire area. You can see, this activity is activity that is going on at various corners throughout this entire area, an incredible presence of law enforcement right now.

TAPPER: All right. Deb Feyerick in Watertown, stay safe.

If you're just joining us, if you're just waking up, there has been huge news overnight. Suspect number one in the Boston marathon, I keep wanting to say Boston massacre. The Boston marathon terrorist attack, suspect number one is dead, killed in a shoot-out with police in the Watertown area outside of Boston.

Suspect number two is on the loose. There is a huge manhunt going on with upwards of 9,000 police officers swarming throughout this area of Watertown, Massachusetts. If you live in Watertown, do not leave your home unless instructed to do so by an identified, clearly identified police officer. There is a man, suspect number two, whom police describe as a terrorist -- a terrorist who wants to kill people, loose in Watertown, or the surrounding area.

Do not leave your home unless a clearly identified police officer instructs you to do so. If you live in Boston or the surrounding area, the public transportation system has been shut down. If you go to a college around here, it is likely that your college is closed for the day.

BERMAN: We already know Boston University, Boston College, Emerson College, you've been told MIT, you've been told classes are canceled today, Harvard as well. Classes are canceled today. Students asked, please, stay safe.

The surrounding towns, just to name a few, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Allston, Brighton, Cambridge -- again, everyone who lives in these towns right now are being told to stay at home. Businesses are being told not to open as this dramatic manhunt continues.

One of the reasons people are being told to be so careful is this: suspect number one, who was shot and killed in the shootout, was brought to a local hospital. Officials there said that this suspect died not from gunshot wounds also but possibly also explosives on him -- which is why I want to go to Joe Johns --

TAPPER: But before we go to Joe Johns. Just one note for all the parents out there and students: Boston public schools have closed for the day. All Boston public school activities, including acceleration academies and athletics events, everything closed for the day.

Stay at home. Do not go to school. Do not go to work.

BERMAN: As we said the word, the only word we can use for this is simply unprecedented. Again, one of the reasons for concern here is the possibility of explosives on his man who authorities are searching desperately for now.

I want to go to Joe Johns for an update on that -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John and Jake, as you say that is the key, of course. This is a major metropolitan area being virtually shut down by authorities while they continue their manhunt. And a law enforcement official CNN has talked to has been giving us some sense of the reason why.

The reason why is because the suspect who was killed during the confrontations overnight apparently had explosives on his body, we're told, and the concern is that the other suspect, the other suspect they're now searching for there in the Boston area, also may have explosives on his body. So, this is why authorities are using words like grave to describe this situation.

This is why we're seeing police officers going door to door, clearing yards, clearing other areas, all in a search for this individual who may have explosives on him. So, if people there in the Boston area, certainly very hardy individuals, are wondering what's going on with the police right now why are they reacting in this way? It's because it's a very serious situation, involving an individual who could have explosives on his body.

Back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Joe Johns in Washington for us, thank you so much for that update.

With us right now, we also have Tom Fuentes assistant director of the FBI, a CNN analyst and we also have Juliette Kayyem, former homeland security official, columnist for the "Boston Globe." They both know so much about this type of situation.

Tom, let's start with you in Washington. That news just from Joe Johns, there is a great deal of concern about the possibility that suspect number two, the man on the loose, the man this manhunt is searching for right now, there is this concern that he could have explosives on him, with him, available to him.

How does that affect the manhunt?

We don't have Tom Fuentes right now, but we do have Juliette Kayyem with us right now.

What's the concern?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN ANALYST: Obviously, just to protect people. Also to protect the public safety officials right now. And so, what's going on right now is that there's a hunt for the person number two. And then, now, we have names. There's no doubt that they have names of the two suspects.

So, there's another part of what's going on today, and that is an investigation, who were they, where are they living? Where are their families? Do they have affiliations with other groups, domestic or foreign?

So, we're seeing the public part, because that's the public safety part. But also figuring out was it just these two or was there some other threat involved? That's going to be unfolding over the next couple weeks.

TAPPER: I want to go on the phone we have a woman named --

BERMAN: Danielle.

TAPPER: -- Danielle who is locked in her -- Danielle Tominero (ph), I believe, who is in her apartment in Watertown.

Are you there? Can you hear me?

DANIELLE TUMMINIO, CNN BELIEF BLOG WRITER (via telephone): Yes, I can hear you.

TAPPER: OK. First of all, give us your name. I'm sorry I mispronounced it. The IFB in my ear is not as clear as it should be.

Who are you?

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: And tell us what you're seeing right now.

OK, where are you and what is the situation?

TUMMINIO: We're in Watertown, right next to Watertown square from what I can tell on the map is a couple of blocks from where the police are focusing their investigation with the other law enforcement teams. And we can hear a ton of sirens. Our neighbors can also see a ton of cop cars.

We closed our blinds. We have a little bit open at the bottom so we can kind of see out. But every two or three minutes we hear a surge of cop cars and sirens go by. And earlier this morning, we heard a ton of sirens. Some loud noises that kind of woke us up. But we learned to stay indoors because my husband's work sent us a text message and let us know what's been going on so we've been up and listening and following everything.

TAPPER: Interesting. So just -- so we can understand what it's like to be in Watertown right now. Any point during the evening, and I understand Watertown is not just a one-square block. It's a rather sizable area. But at any point during the evening have you heard gunshots?

TUMMINIO: We haven't heard -- we haven't heard gunshots. I heard earlier this morning, you know, I was kind of in that (INAUDIBLE). I heard loud noises. I don't know if I could say for sure what they were. But they were something that was not part of our natural environment.

And it's not -- it's not the best feeling in the world to feel like you're stuck indefinitely in your apartment, and you don't feel particularly safe, like our windows aren't bulletproof or anything. And to hear cop cars going speeding by every few minutes, it's jarring. TAPPER: And have you been -- obviously your husband was texted by his work not to come in to work so you were alerted as to what the situation was. But we've been told that police were robocalling or what's called a reverse 911 calling all residents of Watertown.

Have you been told --

BERMAN: Let's just tell you what's happening behind us right now. Just to be clear, what's happening right now is that police cars are behind us right now, and busses, filled -- filled with police are driving right behind us right now. Presumably headed I don't know where, because the scope of this investigation is getting wider and wider by the minute.

e just saw two buses filled with law enforcement personnel leaving us. They're headed west. That could easily be to the Watertown area. Which is the epicenter of this investigation where Deb Feyerick is sitting right now to give us a tense of has going on.

FEYERICK: I just want to create a sense of just what's going on here. First of all, we just saw a truck that had armored personnel on it, that had soldiers, military personnel, all of them in full gear. The SWAT teams are here.

In the last 30 seconds there must have been at least 200 people that just accessed this particular scene. On top of all the other people we've seen. There's really a sense of anticipation and what is going to happen next. Nobody really knows that.

If we just push in there to the middle of the street, you can see a man, and he is wearing, an officer, he's wearing the helmet, the full tactical gear, the vest.

You know, they are heavily protected, heavily armed. They're ready for whatever is about to happen here. We don't know what that is. We can tell you this is an area where there's been a lot of activity over the last hour or so.

There's a bus. There's a bus that you can see, and the bus has been taking some people out. Again, whatever is happening in this particular area, this is of high interest to law enforcement, and they just keep coming. They just keep coming.

John, Jake, I've never seen anything like this. There have to be hundreds of people in this one location.

BERMAN: Just to give you another update. Public transportation in and out of Boston, shut down the T, no subways, no buses.

And we just learned this, that Amtrak service between Providence and Boston has been suspended. So there are not going to be any trains coming in from south of here as well. It just goes to show how big this investigation is right now.

TAPPER: Let's start at the beginning, because some people are just going to be joining us. There have been major breaking developments in and around Boston. A massive manhunt is under way for a suspect considered armed and extremely, extremely dangerous. Police believe he's this man. Photographed in a white cap at the Boston marathon Monday, and one of two suspects in the carnage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- 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 deaths of an MIT police officer and the shooting of an MBTA police officer.

This is a very serious situation that we're dealing with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go to that one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by

TAPPER: That MIT Officer was killed. Suspect number one died following a shoot-out with police last night that ended in Watertown, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, with suspect number two still on the loose. People in Watertown, and several surrounding communities, are being told to stay in their homes, to lock their doors, to not answer their doors unless it is a clearly identified police officer.

Police are conducting a door-to-door search for suspect number two in Watertown. Much of the Boston area is in lockdown. Public transportation is shut down. No vehicles are allowed into or out of Watertown. We're just told, John just informed us, Amtrak is not going to be providing service to Boston today. And we just learned that all Boston colleges and public schools have been shut down.

BERMAN: Obviously this area, the expanse of this investigation getting wider and wider by the minute. Just to give you a sense of how big it is. The public transportation system, subway and buses serve about 1.3 million people every day. That's about 1.3 million people who will not be coming to work, coming into the city from the surrounding towns. Some of the towns where people have been told to stay home, to not leave their homes. Newton, Watertown, Belmont, Cambridge, Waltham.

This is the entire area around Boston right now where law enforcement officials are telling people, please stay at home. Businesses, please do not open as this investigation very much continues. Just a short time ago, Jake, we saw two buses filled with police leaving in a motorcade from here. From Boston ironically, or not ironically, the finish line of the Boston marathon, where we're standing where this explosion happened on Monday. Now this week of crime and high interest has really expanded to the outer town.

TAPPER: And 9,000 or 10,000 police officers at last count are combing through the area of Watertown in the surrounding areas doing a door- to-door search looking for suspect number two. He's the one in the white hat. I think we have a picture of him released from a surveillance camera of him at 7-Eleven. Those two pictures, those are pictures that the FBI released overnight.

Suspect number one in the black hat, dead. Suspect number two in the white hat, on the run. Those are pictures the FBI released overnight. It has been a story going on since 10:00. Although you could really trace it back to the FBI press conference shortly after 5:00 eastern here in Boston last -- yesterday afternoon, late afternoon. When the police revealed new images, or images, the first images we had seen of these two suspects. Hoping shake the tree, hoping get the public's help. And something gave.

Perhaps it was a coincidence. Perhaps not. But not long after, roughly five hours later, a shoot-out on the campus of MIT in Cambridge. An officer killed. Campus police officer killed. A carjacking. The suspects grabbed a car, took the owner of the car with them. He miraculously was left to live, survived. A shoot-out took place in the town of Watertown and that is when suspect number one was mortally wounded. Also when a transit police officer was also very seriously hurt.

BERMAN: That is where the manhunt for suspect number two began. Suspect number two now on the loose. Overnight, the police have been releasing new pictures overnight. The latest one is suspect number two wearing a gray hoodie that was believed to be taken overnight. The area around Boston right now, everyone being warned to stay home. One of the reasons, according to our Joe Johns from Washington right now, is there is a great deal of concern suspect number two may have explosives with him.

TAPPER: Or on him.

BERMAN: Suspect number one, the one who was wounded, taken to a hospital and died, Joe's reporting indicates that he had signs of explosives on his body. They are worried suspect number two might have them, as well. Just one of the reasons for this immense concern today. We have a little sound from one of the police news conferences that happened a couple hours ago. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are primarily in this press conference speaking to the public, trying to provide guidance as to what the public should be doing and thinking about in the next hours while the situation is fluid. We have conferred with the governor, with the mayor of Boston. With all of the surrounding city public safety officials and the governor has immediately suspended all public transportation service on the MBTA system, that is buses, and subways. 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, the system has been shut down now as a safety measure. People that are at the 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 abutting Watertown, and to be specific we are speaking to the residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, and the Alston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston. To those people we are asking you to stay indoors, to stay in your homes for the time being.

We're 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 Alston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston we are asking you to stay home, stay indoors. We're asking businesses not to open. We're asking people not to congregate outside. We're asking people not to go to mass transit.

And we are hopeful that as the day proceeds that we can provide further guidance that will be able to open portions of the system and be able to ease these restrictions. But we are imposed that now. Let me just ask Chief Deveau for the town of Watertown. Is there anything in addition you want to announce?

CHIEF EDWARD P. 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 businesses are going to be allowed to be open. The Watertown community has always stood strong. We need them to do that today. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before we take any questions I need to be clear about this. This situation is grave. We are here to protect public safety in 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're 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. 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 officer. This is a very serious situation that we're dealing with. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You were just listening to a previous press conference held by Kurt Schwartz, homeland security adviser for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, as well as some of the other law enforcement officials. Now we're going to go to Drew Griffin on the scene in Watertown where a massive manhunt is under way for suspect number two in the Boston marathon terrorist attack. Drew, what do you have?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Jake, I have to reset the scene for you. Because I'm not in Watertown. I'm in Boston at Commonwealth and Charlesgate. We left Watertown, we were relieved of duty and coming back into the city. Police were flying in every which way and we come upon a scene which is somewhat surreal.

There is currently a bomb technician along with a squad from the bomb squad approaching some kind of, as far as I can tell, it looks like a hole or something in the ground of the parkway between the east and westbound lanes of Commonwealth Avenue, where it passes Charlesgate.

Across the intersection from that is a taxi with the doors open, and the engine hood open, and clothes spewn (ph) about on the front of the taxi cab, spread out in a pile, and I saw two men who were in handcuffs taken out of my field of vision.

There are at least two dozen law enforcement vehicles surrounding this entire intersection, and have it cordoned off and we are waiting for the bomb technician to deal with whatever it is they see on the ground there, the parkway.

When I tell you that all of Boston seems to be being scoured right now, this is a case example of that. This is a completely different part of the city than I was just at, where the suspect was believed to be, and here we have an entirely different scene, with a huge, huge police presence.

Right now the bomb squad seems to be wiring, if my experience is correct, it looks like they're typically kind of staffer (ph) who's going to go in and blow whatever it is they found that may be suspicious. The bomb technician is completely wrapped in all his gear except for the head gear, and now they're standing him up to put the head gear on him. They're placing the head gear over the top of his head. And he has the wire cabling cord that we have seen so many times overseas and other areas where a technician would go in.

But, to the point I'm making, it just, both of you, John and Jake, this morning has been surreal. Since late last night and we continue to come upon scenes like this in Boston, which are somewhat inexplicable to understand. But there could be so many various scenes that the police have to spend so much attention on.

BERMAN: All right Drew Griffin for us, actually just a short distance from where we are right now describing a scene right now where bomb technicians are checking out a suspicious package on the ground. As Drew correctly points out, this goes to the surreal nation of this entire expanding area right now.

We're standing at the finish line near the Boston Marathon where Monday three people were killed in a terrorist attack and injured more than 170 people. Now overnight, dramatic developments. With one of the suspects, suspect number one, the man see in the video in the black hat, he was killed. Suspect number two in the white hat, you can see it right there, that picture tells the story, on the run. There is a manhunt under way. An expanding manhunt under way. The city of Watertown, all but locked down right now. No cars allowed in or out of Watertown as police begin to go door to door there to search for suspect number two.

Public transportation in Boston shut down. Subways and buses not running. Amtrak coming into Boston is shut down. Public schools in Boston shut down today. Colleges in surrounding area including names you all know Harvard, BU, BC, Emerson College, MIT. No classes today.

People in the surrounding towns of Boston being told to stay home. Businesses being told not to open because there is a manhunt. There is a man on the loose believed to be suspect number two in the Boston Marathon attacks. Police are calling him a terrorist. They say his intent is to kill and they believe he is very, very dangerous.

Our Joe Johns in Washington reporting that there's a great deal of concern that he could have explosives on his body. Suspect number one, who was killed overnight in a shoot-out with police, doctors have been reporting that he had signs of explosives on his body so they are concerned that this second suspect might, as well.

This shutdown, this lockdown in this widening area, as we've been saying, it is unprecedented right now. There is this manhunt under way. Watertown appears to be the epicenter. But that's not necessarily the only place where it's going on. It's been a dramatic night. It began with the release of two photos of these suspects yesterday at 5:00. There was a shooting in Cambridge at MIT Where a campus police officer was killed, there was a carjacking, a car chase, one of the suspects was killed and again just to reiterate right now another one is on the loose and there is a manhunt under way. Our coverage of these dramatic events continues right here on CNN. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back, everyone. John Berman here in Boston, scene of the Boston Marathon at the finish line right now. Dramatic night in the Boston area to tell you about. There was a dramatic police chase. A dramatic shoot-out. And there is one suspect in the Boston marathon bombings who is now dead. There is another suspect right now, on the run, and a manhunt under way.

Good morning, as I said I'm John Berman. Jake Tapper is here with me for most of the morning. He stepped out for just a moment. Our "STARTING POINT" as we said is breaking developments overnight. An intensive search under way right now for a suspect involved in the shooting death of an MIT police officer. Police may believe he is one of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. TIMOTHY ALBEN, MASS. STATE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: He should be considered armed and dangerous, and is a threat to anybody that might approach him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: The Associated Press is reporting right now, we have not confirmed the Associated Press' reporting, that both of these suspects, the one who is dead and the one who is now on the run, they believe that they are from Chechnya.