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CNN Sunday Morning

Bombing Suspect Unable to Talk; Running Amid Heightened Security

Aired April 21, 2013 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome here to Boston, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zoraida Sambolin.

BERMAN: This is a special edition of CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We are live in Boston nearly one week after the Boston Marathon bombings that frankly stunned this city and lend to that manhunt in the investigation with the whole world watching.

SAMBOLIN: You know yesterday I just came in and I was talking to some folks here in the area and they said what's really shocking to them is to see what's still behind us. So here it is, one week after, and typically after the Boston marathon, their city goes back to normal.

BERMAN: We are standing actually one block away from the crime scene, from the finish line of the Boston Marathon where those twin bombings happened again last Monday. The investigation into why it happened still very much going on, of course. One brother dead, the other in a hospital right now. And our Susan Candiotti is covering every angle of the investigation.

Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Zoraida.

Well, you know, when you think back of how quickly things have come together, one thing that comes to mind is this, how modern technology really helped investigators at every step along the way here during this manhunt. First we had the isolation of the still photographs of those two suspects that they issued to the public, issued to the world, in case someone recognized them. And then, of course, we learned this. How after that carjacking on Friday night and the alleged victim left behind a cell phone, that was in the car, that is how investigators were able to follow the ping of that cell phone in order to locate the two suspects in Watertown.

But right now, all eyes are on the remaining suspect who is still alive, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, as investigators try to find out what secrets he holds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Even if suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wanted to cooperate with the FBI, he couldn't. Sources tell CNN, because of injuries to his throat, the 19-year-old suspected terrorist bomber can't talk yet. He's intubated and sedated.

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: All of the law enforcement professionals are hoping for a host of reasons that the suspect survives, because we have a million questions and those questions need to be answered.

CANDIOTTI: In this photograph, taken right after his arrest, the college student's neck area appears covered with blood. The younger brother's escape was busted when a man found him hiding in his backyard boat. A series of thermal images taken by a state police helicopter shows a white image of an object projecting heat. In another still photo, you can make out the suspect's feet in black, lying in the boat. A robotic arm moves in and lifts the tarp. Watertown's police chief told CNN's Wolf Blitzer about those dramatic moments.

CHIEF EDWARD DEVEAU, WASHINGTON POLICE: We could tell he was alive and moving. And we began the negotiations that way. And over a long period of time, we were able to finally get him to surrender.

CANDIOTTI: Agents yelled to give to give himself up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will not be harmed. We know you're bleeding. We know you're tired.

CANDIOTTI: Police say there was an exchange of gunfire. Authorities have said Tsarnaev's injuries mainly came during Thursday night's shootout when his brother was killed. FBI agents spent the day Saturday combing over every inch of the boat, collecting blood, hair, signs of explosives and more to build a case against the suspected Boston Marathon bomber.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: And today prosecutors are continuing to work behind the scene, putting together charges that will eventually be filed against the suspect. But given his medical condition, John and Zoraida, there's no hurry for his first court appearance.

Back to you.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you.

BERMAN: As police closed in on 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev late Friday night, a suburban Boston street really became a war zone. Reporter Adam Williams with our affiliate WHDH was so close, he could smell the gun powder. Here's some of his report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM WILLIAMS, REPORTER, WHDH: I'm behind the car. I'm hearing multiple gunshots. We're with police - we're with police right now and we're - we're trying to stay back right now, but we are surrounded by police and we're seeing police running, guns drawn and we have heard multiple gunshots. I'm actually standing behind the car right now. It's not a good position to be in. The officers are putting on bullet proof vests. We have police running all -- guns drawn around me right now. There are probably 10 different cruisers and officers getting out of their cars, guns drawn. They're running all around me right now.

When we pulled up, the cars had stopped around me. Three cars. I heard probably 20 gunshots and I'm just staying down. I'm suing the car as shelter. I've never in my life been in a situation like this. When we pulled up, multiple gunshots. So close to where I am that I could smell the gun powder from where we are set up right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move. Move, move, move.

WILLIAMS: They -- I believe they have the suspect in custody. I'm going to get down. I'm -- we have officers right now pointing their guns at somebody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up. Back up.

WILLIAMS: They're backing up, though. They're backing up. They're backing up. Everybody is running here. The police are backing up. They've got -- ten officers with their guns drawn but they are backing up and they're running back towards us. We're all taking cover right now behind the different news vehicle. Even the police, though, are taking cover behind their cars. I'm going to run back. I'm a little too close for comfort right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take cover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adam, go. Yes, go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adam, take cover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It is just amazing how that night unfolded.

SAMBOLIN: It absolutely is. And so many people who were involved, right?

BERMAN: Oh, so many. Well, the entire city and the neighboring towns too.

In just about three hours, the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is set to reopen. That is the campus where 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student. It was evacuated Friday as police tried to track down the bombing suspect. He, of course, was in Watertown. But school officials confirmed Tsarnaev had been back on campus after the attack, sleeping in his dorm and working out in the gym. The apparently ordinary behavior, it has shocked friends and classmates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY HONGOA, BOMBING SUSPECT'S FRIEND: Well, I was just shocked that. I was just grateful that, you know, he didn't place a bomb in our building, you know, in our hallway. We live right next to the guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: We're also learning more details about how the surviving suspect escaped Friday morning's shootout and what may have really killed his older brother.

BERMAN: Police say the brothers were driving in two cars, including one that had been carjacked. Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau talked to our Wolf Blitzer about how his officers came under attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Walk us through what happens. The older brother, he's wounded, right? He's thrown out of the car. And there are reports that the younger brother drove away and drove over his brother, is that right?

CHIEF EDWARD DEVEAU, WASHINGTON POLICE: Well, eventually, yes, that's exactly what happened. What happened was, we're in this - we're - at some point the brother -- the first brother who died at the scene, he all of a sudden comes out from under cover and just starts walking down the street shooting at our police officers, trying to get closer. Now he - my closest police officer is five to 10 feet away. They're exchanging gunfire between them.

And he runs out of ammunition, the bad guy. And so one of my police officers comes off the side and tackles him in the street. We're trying to get him handcuffed. There's two or three police officers handcuffing him in the street.

BLITZER: The older brother?

DEVEAU: The older brother. At the same time, at the last minute, they obviously have tunnel vision. They're - it is a very, very stressful situation. One of them yells out, "look out." And here comes the black SUV, the carjacked car, directly at them. They dive out of the way and he runs over his brother and drags him down - a short distance down the street.

BLITZER: In effect killing his brother?

DEVEAU: Yes, that's what we - that's what we think.

BLITZER: This is the younger -

DEVEAU: Yes.

BLITZER: The 19-year-old is then driving this car and he escapes? DEVEAU: Exactly.

BLITZER: So you pursue.

DEVEAU: We -- right. At the same time, one of the transit officers that came behind our officers, we realized that he's been shot, he's been hit in the groin and he has a serious wound and has serious bleeding going on. One of my police officers, who is an EMT, went and rendered him aid and -- along with his partner from the Transit Authority, and they just deserve all kinds of credit for saving that gentlemen's life up until this point. We are - our prayers are still with him and the family because he's still in a tough way. He lost a lot of blood at the scene there, but we hope he can make a recovery.

BLITZER: How did the younger one escape?

DEVEAU: Well, he - well, he just -- he drove off. There's still gunfire. And he got down two or three streets. We were in pursuit of him, along with the other officers from surrounding communities are coming in and he dumps the car and runs into the darkness of the streets.

BLITZER: And that's it?

DEVEAU: And then we lost contact with him.

BLITZER: He's in Watertown someplace. He's on the -- he's running. You have no idea if he's armed, if he has explosives, but he's gone?

DEVEAU: Yes. We're assuming that he has explosives, that he has weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Just amazing. The younger brother, Dzhokhar, drove the car, ran over his brother. That may be what killed him.

SAMBOLIN: No, absolutely. And, you know, he's sitting in a hospital right now intubated. And so, at the end of the day, what he says, right, that's what we're looking forward to hearing, when police are actually able to question him. The suspects are also blamed for killing an MIT police officer.

Coming up, how other officers are remembering, him while his friends hope to keep his memory alive.

BERMAN: Plus, runners in this morning's London Marathon paying tribute to those hurt, maimed and killed here in Boston. And we are going to have a live report from London just minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Remembering the victims of the violence here in Boston. Krystle Campbell, Martin Richard, and Lingzi Lu. They were killed from the blast at the Boston Marathon last Monday. And, of course, MIT Officer Sean Collier was killed and killed Thursday night while sitting in his car.

SAMBOLIN: And police officers and firefighters from all around the Boston area saluted Officer Collier as a hearse drove his body to a funeral home yesterday. Police say it's not clear why one of the suspects shot and killed him, but they say Collier had been responding to a loud disturbance call. The 26-year-old had been a police officer for just over a year.

BERMAN: Last night, huge crowds from the MIT community came out to pay their respects to Collier at a vigil. Those who knew him said he was always laughing and had a great smile. The MIT police chief says Collier was born to be a police officer.

SAMBOLIN: And friends say Collier loved to go camping and to go hiking. They fondly recalled how he brought ear plugs for his entire cabin so people could actually block out his snoring. Now they're trying to keep his memory alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANN SHIH, MIT STUDENT: It's heartbreaking. I really can't express - you know the - for our entire - our entire MIT - the entire MIT community in words.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN: What is the message? Is there a message that you would like to send? What this city has gone through is complete hell, complete horror. What your community has had to go through. Is there any message that you'd like out there for people that you think Sean might like out there, Officer Collier?

DYLAN SOUKUP, MIT STUDENT: The only thing I can think of is - I wrote this earlier. It was that we should all stay together, we should all stand together, we should all continue to be together, laugh together and remember together. But most of all, just stay together because that's what the city's focused on at this point. Our service is built on what the MIT (INAUDIBLE). This is what our whole community is built on, is staying together. And I think Sean, you know, that's what he'd want. He would want from us just all to continue to carry on this (ph) strong community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Remembering Sean Collier, the fourth fatality in these terrorist attacks.

More than 35,000 people right now running in London's marathon right now this morning.

SAMBOLIN: And, John, there's no doubt Boston is on their mind. We have a live update from the sideline coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Security is tight at the London Marathon this morning, and understandably so. About 35,000 runners are taking part in the race that is now underway and clearly many more are out this morning in order to cheer them out.

BERMAN: You're looking at pictures, still photos right now of the security, clearly the uptick in London.

Many of the people in London are remembering the victims of the Boston Marathon right here. They paused for a moment of silence before starting the race. And here's a clip of that from the BBC.

SAMBOLIN: Runners and spectators are also wearing black ribbons in order to honor all of the Boston victims. Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is live in London at the halfway point.

And, Matthew, good morning to you. How is the mood there this morning?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to say, it's pretty festive. You heard that moment of silence that was held before the race began, and that's, of course, to show respect to the victims of Boston. But in the end, this is a fun event and it's a joyous event. And the organizers, and indeed the people, that have turned out, and there are hundreds of thousands to view it, are determined that the tragic events in Boston are not going to affect them, not going to let them prevent them from getting on with their lives and getting on with this marathon.

In fact, there are more than 36,000 people who are registered to run in this marathon. They've already started now. We're at the halfway point. Less than half have come. There's big security underway, of course. Police say that's not because there's direct link between what happened in Boston and the London Marathon, it's just to show of visual signs that things are being looked after here and the security situation is very much under control of the British Security Services. So increased vigilance perhaps, but this is a very joyous, very festive mood here, despite the obvious respect that people are paying to the victims of the Boston bombings.

SAMBOLIN: Matthew, let's talk a little bit about those specific security measures and how perhaps they may have changed because of the situation here in Boston.

CHANCE: Yes, well, of course, it was already a big security operation here. This is an annual event. Half a million people are turning out today to take a look at what's going on, as well as the 36,000 runners. And so a big security event in the first place, anyway. And, of course, Britain is well used to dealing not only with a security threat, but also with big sporting event. The Olympics were held in this city just earlier this year. And so what they've done now is they've looked at their plan again in the aftermath of the Boston attacks and said, look, there's no direct relationship, but obviously there's an increase in concern.

And so what they've done, the British police, they've put more uniformed officers on the streets to give people a sense of visual security. They've also brought out more sniffer dogs as well, going through people's bags, going through all, sort of, spectators, just to take a few extra precautions, although, again, the police saying they have not received any information of a heightened security threat to the London Marathon.

Zoraida.

BERMAN: Matthew, you said they're going through backpacks a little more, but any extra restrictions in place in terms of backpacks? And have they asked people along the route, the 26.2 mile route, to report any suspicious activities?

CHANCE: Yes, I mean they've certainly done that. They do that anyway. But, yes, there are the sniffer dogs out. They have appealed to, you know, the spectators as well to be extra vigilant. They've also appealed to the spectators to keep their personal bags close by to them to prevent, you know, any kind of false security alarms being set off and false security alerts. And so, you know, I think that's what - they're certainly doing that. And I think that, you know, the people who have come out to watch this in London, well used, of course, to the terrorist threat inside the British capital, are already on a heightened state of vigilance.

You know, there's a great deal of sympathy, of course, for what happened in Boston. People are paying a lot of attention to what's happened in the United States and those dramatic events there and those tragic events. And, obviously, they're bringing that concern to this London marathon. But as I say, not letting those events get in the way of them getting on with their lives and with this very important, very big sporting event.

BERMAN: Matthew, you said people are paying attention. Here in the United States, people - particularly in Boston, people have been consumed by the events here. Is it sinking in over there? Are people really watching very closely?

CHANCE: Absolutely. I mean the events in Boston, in the United States, have been dominating the headlines in Britain. No domestic news event is even competing with that. And I think that's true over many parts of the world.

But, yes, I mean, certainly there's a great affinity, of course, in Britain for those sporting events and for the United States. It's all over the headlines. It's all over the state broadcasters here. All the television station and newspapers have their own correspondents there, bringing back the news to the people of Britain.

And people are watching what's happening. These dramatic, incredible, tragic events with a great deal of appetite here in Britain because, you know, obviously they're concerned about the same thing happening here. They're very concerned, of course, that, you know, the big sporting events that have so often been targets in the past could be targeted here in London.

And, of course, we're a big venue in this country for big, mass sporting events, big mass public gatherings like this. And so there is a great deal of concern and a great deal of respect being paid again to the people of Boston. In fact, London Marathon organizers are saying that for every runner that passes over the finish line in this London Marathon, they're going to donate two pounds, about $3, to a Boston charity which has been set up to look after the victims of those attacks in America.

BERMAN: That's wonderful.

SAMBOLIN: That's really nice to hear, isn't it, everybody comes together, I doesn't matter. I can't let you go without, of course, asking about the royals, because you're always on royal watch. Do we expect them at the marathon today or are they there?

CHANCE: Yes, well, in fact, Prince Harry has already paid a short visit to the finish line of the London Marathon. And the runners haven't got to the finish line yet, but he's been out there. He's been talking to the stewards of the marathon, showing royal support for this big, important sporting event. And, of course, they are also, you know, showing his, you know, relationship as well with the events in Boston as well. So, yes, the royals are watching this very carefully, of course, and they're being watched as well by all the spectators here.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Matthew Chance, live in London for us. Thank you very much.

BERMAN: A very nice report there. So nice that they are donating that money to the people here.

SAMBOLIN: Isn't that fantastic. Yes, coming together.

BERMAN: All right, before officers pulled away the tarp on the boat where the bombing suspect was hiding, these black and white images confirmed somebody was there. We're going to explain to you exactly what they showed. They are amazing.

And from that scene, the suspect was taken to the hospital, suffering from heavy blood loss. We'll talk to a trauma surgeon about his condition and the road to recovery for his alleged victims.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. And thanks for starting your morning with us, and a special welcome to our troops watching on the American Forces Network. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.

BERMAN: A very special welcome to you. And I'm John Berman. It is half past the hour right now.

SAMBOLIN: All right, thousands of law enforcement personnel converged on the Boston area last week to hunt down the marathon bombers.

BERMAN: In the end, it was some key technology that helped bolster all that manpower and ultimately bring in the sole surviving suspect. Our Tom Foreman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These stunning images of the capture itself are a testament to the tenacity and the technology that was brought to bear in this chase. Let's remember that the authorities have been closing in all day on this neighborhood, setting up a net around it, basically, so that this young man could not escape. In the evening, sure enough, somebody looked in his backyard, saw his boat cover was torn, there was blood on it, looked inside and he called the police. Thousands of officers rushed in, they put up a cordon around all this, and then they called in the technology. A thermal imaging helicopter. What is that? Well, that's a device that will fly around and look down at the ground with a special camera that reads any kind of heat signatures. We're demonstrating with this model? What does it mean? Well, it means even the heat of a body will show up on this image. So, they looked at the boat in the backyard, this is what they saw. There was indeed someone in the boat, as the witness had suggested, and he was moving around. A gunfight broke out. He was hit at least two more times according to authorities, they threw flash-bang grenades in there to try to suppress his movements, to stun him.

And then everything got quiet. Well, that was a moment at which they brought in some more technology. Essentially a robotic arm which reached in and started tearing away at that fabric and trying to get a better look in the boat even as negotiators were calling out through bull horn, some on the second floor of the house, saying you need to surrender. But they kept poking around inside there, and finally around 8:00 they brought back in the thermal device and this time as it flew over, this is what it saw. Inside the boat, the man was completely down now. His feet are this way. You can see that at the other end is his head. On the other side of that console. By this point authorities were convinced that he really was ready to surrender and in fact had no strength to fight back anymore. They made him stand up and show that he had no bombs on him. And finally took him into custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was technology, there was community assistance and it was old-fashioned police work at play here. Three people, of course, died in the bombing here in the Boston marathon and more than 170 people suffered injuries. Just narrowly escaping a worse fate in that massive blast. 57 of them still in Boston hospitals right now, two are in critical condition.

SAMBOLIN: And now a new patient joins them, suspected Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Officials tell CNN that he's sedated and he's intubated. We're joined by Dr. Reuven Rabinovici, he was one of the first responders after Monday's tragedy and is a trauma surgeon at Tufts. Dr. Rabinovici, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. I want to talk about all of the patients that you have treated and their condition. But I first want to start with the suspect. We don't know his specific injuries, but we know right now that he's intubated and he's sedated. What does that tell you?

DR. REUVEN RABINOVICI, CHIEF TRAUMA SURGEON, TUFTS: OK, before I answer your question, I really would like to make two very brief comments. The first one, I'd like to thank our patients. It is their courage, their determination, and their high spirits that really inspire their caregivers and strengthens us to do our job. The second is that I feel privileged to lead the level one trauma center, the Tufts medical center, which performed outstandingly under pressure, especially as we had to evacuate our emergency room while we were receiving patients and treating them. Now as to your questions, patients who are intubated and sedated cannot talk. I think that's a critical point here. Sedation means that they are either conscious - I'm sorry, either unconscious or semiconscious. And being intubated means that they have a breathing tube going through their vocal cords, therefore they cannot talk. And they will be able to talk while once their sedation is lightened if they have no other injuries, such as brain injuries. Verbally, if the breathing tube is out and non- verbally if they have no sedation, but still have breathing tube, they can communicate via eye movements or the patients can write, if they are willing to do that.

SAMBOLIN: What was the purpose of this sedation?

RABINOVICI: Well, again, the patient is not on my service and not in my hospital, so I don't know the exact details, but the first purpose of the sedation is to be able to maintain the breathing tube in place so you can effectively protect the airway of the patient and ventilate the patient.

BERMAN: Of course, we have no way of knowing what other conditions he is suffering right now. How long do you think it may be before the intubation tube comes out?

RABINOVICI: This is something that I cannot answer because I don't know the medical details. But one potential reason for the intubation would be - here, from the reports that he has neck injuries. So patients with neck injuries where it may have a lot of blood in the neck, swelling so the airway is not protected. So you have to keep it as long as there is swelling in the neck. But this is a speculation only.

SAMBOLIN: We understand.

BERMAN: Looking for a quick update on some of the patients. We understand multiple surgeries in some cases. Why might that be? Why is that?

RABINOVICI: It depends on the type of injuries. This is a blast injury. And you can have multiorgan injuries. So, patients can have head injuries, neck injuries, chest injuries, abdominal injuries, extremity injuries. And many of these type of injuries can be addressed in part. One team can operate on the chest or the other one, for example, another team can operate on the extremities.

SAMBOLIN: I just have one more question because I thought I read that you saved all the limbs of everybody who came in. Is that true?

RABINOVICI: Well, at Tufts we didn't have amputation, and this is due to two things. Number one, the nature of the injury and number two I think the excellent care that got by our orthopedic teams.

SAMBOLIN: It's incredible.

BERMAN: Doctor Rabinovici, Tufts Medical Center, thank you so much for being with us. I really appreciate it.

RABINOVICI: Thanks for having me.

SAMBOLIN: Our pleasure.

BERMAN: We're learning more right now about the suspects from where they once lived in Russia. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh traveled to the Russian republic of Dagestan that's near Chechnya, and there he caught up with the suspect's father and dug up some new information about their past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to link Boston's terror with a street so ordinary where the alleged bomber's father now lives in the spotlight to the point he even drives past his own home and lets neighbors echo his disbelief of what happened.

"I don't think that his kids," he says, could have done that. "It's not true."

"If someone prays anywhere, this means he's a terrorist or wahhabist. That's what it's like now. I don't believe any of this."

Anzor Tsarnaev did stop outside his home briefly, though.

(on camera): We just feel so -- we don't really have a chance to properly hear what you have to say about the terrible circumstances you're in.

ANZOR TSARNAEV, FATHER OF ACCUSED BOMBERS: My kids never did anything -- that's it.

PATON WALSH: Sir, your sons didn't do this?

ANZOR TSARNAEV: Never, ever.

PATON WALSH: Are you going to America?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ANZOR TSARNAEV: Yes, I will go.

PATON WALSH: You will forgive me, sir. I know it's a difficult time for you, understand, I'm just trying to do my job.

ANZOR TSARNAEV: I understand.

PATON WALSH: When was the last time you spoke to them?

ANZOR TSARNAEV: Sunday morning. That's it. PATON WALSH: Have you been in touch with the special services here? What did they have to say to you?

ANZOR TSARNAEV: OK.

PATON WALSH: I understand, I understand.

(voice over): Officially, Makhachkala denies the Tsarnaevs schooled here long enough to be called locals. Records show they came from Kyrgyzstan, and, says the principal, then became America's creation.

(on camera): These records show the four Tsarnaev family members coming in 2001 from Kyrgyzstan and then leaving, it says here, to America the 25th of March 2002.

MAGOMED DAVGUDOV, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL NUMBER ONE (through translator): They were with us for five months, he says. "Their formative years were in America. It's their culture. That's where they socially matured."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN: Nick, we're hearing the father is planning on traveling to the United States to see his son. Has he mentioned when?

PATON WALSH: No, I asked him yesterday and he did not say when at all. He's still definitely in Dagestan. I know that from a brief -- very brief phone call with him this morning. I think certainly, he wants to provide assistance to his son, that is clear, of course. I'm sure he still has that disbelief you saw that they were involved in this at all, but of course, a man in his situation, the act of traveling to the United States, of course, is complex simply on a cost basis. I don't know (inaudible) paperwork too, but of course, I'm sure that's somewhere in his heart he wants to do it. John.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

BERMAN: The news here in Boston really consumed the entire country, but there is another news going on including more of the deadliest avalanches in the U.S. in years.

SAMBOLIN: We'll have an update on the Colorado tragedy where five snowborders lost their lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. We are live in Boston bringing you the latest on the capture of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect. But we wanted to update you on the other top stories that we're following right now.

SAMBOLIN: There is a lot going out. We're going to start here in Colorado. An avalanche killed five snowborders in White River National Forest this weekend. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, avalanches have killed 24 people this season alone.

BERMAN: West, Texas, is now picking up the pieces. Residents of that small town devastated by a fertilizer plant explosion, they got to return to their homes for the first time just yesterday. Wednesday's blast leveled buildings and took the life of 14 people. Another 200 people were injured.

SAMBOLIN: And cleanup continues in Newton County, Georgia this morning, Newton County, that is, after a tornado left more than seven miles of destruction Friday afternoon. As many as six homes were destroyed. And several more severely damaged. An elderly woman was rescued and treated for minor injuries after a building collapsed on her. The Red Cross is providing shelter to residents who need it. And flood waters are now receding in parts of Illinois. Boy, that is a major mess. Entire subdivisions are still under water in the hard- hit suburbs of Forest View and (inaudible). Many people were trapped in their homes. They had to be rescued Friday. Some residents said they have never seen anything like this.

BERMAN: You're from Illinois.

SAMBOLIN: No, I am. And my family just said, you know, they were trying to get to the airport, had to take side streets and got stuck there as well. It was just a major mess.

Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is in Atlanta, she is keeping an eye on the sky for us. There is a lot to look at, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, oh, absolutely, you know. And, Zoraida, your hometown, all of those express rails were shut down, because of the flash flooding. Now the good news ...

SAMBOLIN: That's terrible.

STEELE: It's terrible, but the flash flooding now has abated because the rain has ended. But what we're seeing now is the river flooding. And it will get exacerbated by more rain, so let me show you. Here's the flood threat. Every place here that you see in green is a flood warning showing you where we are seeing flooding of flooding is imminent. In places like Illinois, record flooding at a dozen river gauges. In Indiana, the Wabash River cresting yesterday at its highest level in half century.

So that's where we do have this flood threat still. And we're going to see a cresting effect and a cascading effect of those crests from north to south during the next couple of days. There's the Illinois again. Crests will occur early on Tuesday in portions of the Illinois river. Mississippi River could be the third worst flood on record for some locations. And here's more rain. It's cold to boot. Minneapolis, 34 degrees right now. Chicago as well. Here's some snow coming. We're not done with snow yet. That's for sure. What we're seeing half an inch of snow, guys, in Minneapolis and we're going to watch rain come into this really (inaudible) area that just does not need it, again, as we head towards Tuesday.

BERMAN: She said snow several times. SAMBOLIN: She did.

BERMAN: You said snow there. That's unacceptable.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Alexandra Steele, thank you so much.

Back here to the investigation into what went on in this Boston Marathon bombings. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect who was killed. He ended up on the FBI's radar two years ago. Now questions from Congress about whether the agency missed the marks of an alleged killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. So the FBI says that in 2011, its agents interviewed bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev on suspicion that he was a follower of radical Islam. In the end, authorities say they did not find any ties to terrorism.

SAMBOLIN: But, according to the "New York Times" the contact was enough for Homeland Security officials to deny his petition for citizenship. Now at least one member of Congress wants to know what, if anything, the FBI missed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's all about the interviews right now. The government hasn't said whether it's gotten a chance to interview the suspect they took into custody last night, but what's getting so much attention is that FBI agents interviewed the suspect's brother two years ago and found nothing incriminating.

The fact that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was interviewed by the FBI almost two years before the marathon bombings, was already stirring up controversy before the chaos cleared in Watertown. The Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R ), TEXAS: That he was on the radar and they let him out of their sights, that's an issue certainly for me.

JOHNS: Tsarnaev's contacts with the agency were made public by the man's mother who suggested agents had been harassing her son for years.

ZUBEIDAT TSARNAEVA, MOTHER OF SUSPECTS: They knew what my son was doing. They knew what actions and what the sites on Internet he was going. How could this happen? How could be - they were ahead every step of him. And they are telling today, that this is a terrorist act..

JOHNS: The FBI confirmed that in 2011 it interviewed the older brother and family members. It did not say how many times. It was at the request of Russian intelligence, according to a senior U.S. official. The FBI said the request was based on information that Tsarnaev was a follower of radical Islam, a strong believer and that he had changed drastically since 2010. In response to the request, the FBI says it checked U.S. government databases and looked for derogatory telephone communications, possible use of online sites, promoting radical activity. The FBI says it did not find any terrorism activity, gave the results to the Russian government and asked for, but didn't get, more information. Then they closed the file.

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI OFFICIAL: If they don't give you more, then everything that can be done has been done unless you know that there should be more to the story.

JOHNS: That interview came before travel records show Tsarnaev flew from New York City to Moscow in January 2012 and stayed in Russia six months returning to New York in July. It's not clear what he did there, but Tsarnaev's father has said his son was with him at all times. But when he got back, things were different. Homeland Security chairman McCaul says he started putting radical jihadist material on Youtube websites.

MCCAUL: And what I'm very concerned about is when he went over there, he very well may have been radicalized and trained by these Chechen rebels who are the fiercest jihad warriors.

JOHNS: But the dead suspect's uncle told CNN his radicalization began in the Boston area.

RUSLAN TSARNI, SUSPECT'S UNCLE: And it started right there in Cambridge. Right there on the streets of Cambridge. Where this guy, this new convert is going to the local mosque on Massachusetts Avenue so I'm saying it started there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The documents show no record of the younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev leaving the country. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a legal permanent resident of the United States. His brother is a naturalized citizen. Both men were born in Kyrgyzstan. Back to you.

BERMAN: So many questions.

SAMBOLIN: Absolutely. Meantime, the people of Boston are simply trying to get back to their regular routine.

BERMAN: And of course, that means the Red Sox. Stay with us for must-see highlights from an awesome emotional day at Fenway Park.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING): Sweet Caroline ...

(CHEERS)

(SINGING): So good. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So good - so good - so good ...

SAMBOLIN: Wow! BERMAN: Nothing like a little Neil Diamond at Fenway Park. So Mr. Diamond actually took a red eye flight from Los Angeles to get to yesterday's Sox game. He landed, he went straight from the airport to the park and he made it just in time to sing "Sweet Caroline." That's a song that has become really a big deal at Fenway Park over the last ten years.

SAMBOLIN: Could you even hear him singing with the crowd?

BERMAN: He was awesome.

SAMBOLIN: Amazing, and - he did get the proud Boston fans going. There was a ball game.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Oh, there was such a ball game. It was the first since that they played here since Monday's bombings. And really, the reopening of the green monster signified that things were getting back to normal. CNN sport's Andy Scholes joins us with more on this really emotional day. Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yeah, good morning, guys. Well, there's no better way for the city of Boston to return to a sense of normalcy than a good old sold out Red Sox game. And that's what we saw yesterday. More than 35,000 strong were on hand to cheer on the Red Sox in their first game back since the bombings. During an emotional pregame ceremony, the Red Sox honored all of those affected by Monday's tragedy and the law enforcement who helped capture the two suspects. At the end of the ceremony, David Ortiz took the mike to personally thank everyone involved and deliver this message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ORTIZ: This is our [CENSORED] city.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

ORTIZ: And nobody going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: There are some strong words from big poppy right there. And you may have noticed something different about his uniform. That's because instead of the normal white jerseys with red sox on the front, the team wore special uniforms with Boston across their chest. But the Red Sox, they didn't give fans much to cheer about until the bottom of the eighth inning. It's really two to one, Daniel Nava blast a three-run home run into the bullpen. The crowd finally got the chance to go nuts. The Sox took the lead for good and went on to win the game four to three. Meanwhile over at the garden, the Bruins were back on the ice yesterday afternoon playing their game with the Penguins that had been postponed on Friday. During warmups, the Bruins wore state police Boston P.D and Watertown P.D. hats, and for the game, both teams wore special Boston patches on their jerseys. Those jerseys will be auctioned off tomorrow on NHL.com with the proceeds going to the one fund, which benefits those affected by Monday's marathon bombings.

Celtics also wore special patches on their jerseys and warm-up shirts for yesterday's playoff opener in New York against the Knicks. The Celtics, they led this game after three quarters, but would only score eight points in the fourth quarter. They fell 85-78. Game two, Tuesday night. Game three will be on Friday night back in Boston. Guys?

BERMAN: All right. Thanks so much, Andy. We choose to focus on the Red Sox here.