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CNN Saturday Morning News

Second Boston Marathon Bomber in Custody; New Interview with Suspect's Father; Prosecutors Close to Filing Charges; Obama Praises Police, City of Boston; The Psychology of Terrorism

Aired April 20, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone, I'm John Berman, live in Boston.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. It's 9:00 on the east coast, 6:00 out west. CNN's special coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings continues.

BERMAN: And this morning, Boston, this city awakening with a new sense of relief, the lone surviving suspect in the bombings now in custody in a historic manhunt that really paralyzed this city, a really major U.S. city, that manhunt is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston!

BERMAN: Chanting the name of their beloved city, giddy Bostonians really erupted in celebration after police captured 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. This morning he is hospitalized, in serious condition, this photo showing Tsarnaev just as he's being arrested, this has exploded across social media overnight and this image from CBS News shows the bloody teen on a boat in a Watertown backyard where he had likely been hiding for hours.

He was first wounded in the Friday morning shoot-out with police that killed his brother. He may have been hit again in last night's gun fight with police.

What an amazing story. The boat's owner said he saw smeared blood and pulled back the tarp to find Tsarnaev lying there. He was apparently weak from blood loss but still refused to surrender until the last volley of gunfire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have movement in the boat. He just sat up. He's moving, flailing about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was massive blood loss that likely put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the hospital after his capture.

ROMANS: As we mentioned, the suspect is in serious condition, believed he was injured in the same gun fight that killed his brother. CNN's Pamela Brown is outside Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston this morning. Pamela, what do we know about when he will be charged?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far he does not face any charges, but we do know according to DOJ sources, federal prosecutors have been here at the hospital since last night, and that charges could be coming very soon. That's what we know right now.

He is in federal custody. He will be facing federal charges. Also we're hearing he could face murder charges from the state and that some deal could be worked out between the state and federal authorities there.

Now, it's interesting to note here that since he will be charged in the federal level he could face the death penalty here. In the state of Massachusetts there is no death so if that does happen then that would have to be moved to a different state. Now once he faces charges he will be arraigned in court, after the arraignment, a preliminary hearing will be set within the next 30 days and the indictment with a grand jury. So that's what we know right now but no charges have been filed. That will be happening soon, according to DOJ sources.

ROMANS: So he hasn't been charged yet but he is in federal custody technically so what is the security like around the hospital?

BROWN: Well, Christine, security is very tight around the hospital, ever since he arrived here last night. There has been a steady presence of Boston Police officers outside the hospital, inside the hospital, really everywhere you look you see security officers here in Boston, police officers here. We've also seen them checking bags of visitors coming to the hospital. So it is clear that they are taking security very seriously here.

BERMAN: Beth Israel Deaconess is one of the esteemed hospitals in this area, where a great many of the patients were taken after the bombing.

ROMANS: His brother was taken there and was pronounced dead there, too. Wasn't he?

BERMAN: It's got to create a strange situation there, Pamela.

BROWN: Yes, John, really bizarre situation. We know that there were 12 victims here at the hospital that were injured in Monday's bombing. So you can imagine how disturbing that must to be to know that the man who allegedly is responsible for the bombings is also here being treated at the hospital.

You can imagine how discomforting that must be for the patients and for their families here. A lot of these victims that are recovering, sustained very serious injuries, some even lost their limb. It is a very precarious situation here but I think the fact that there is such a large security presence, does provide some comfort to the patients here at the hospital.

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to you, Pamela Brown, outside the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital right here in Boston.

ROMANS: CNN's Poppy Harlow joins us now from Watertown, Massachusetts. Poppy, you're with the man who lives in the neighborhood where this all happened. Tell us about it.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Good morning, John. We're with the whole Kelleher family, they were out walking the dog this morning and a big sigh of relief, a better morning certainly than yesterday when you were stuck in your house. We've got Graham, Eva, Devin and Tim Kelleher here with us. Spin, the dog is even down here. I don't think you can see him.

I'll go first to you, as a father, you guys were inside all day yesterday, you heard the shoot-out on Thursday night, the helicopters. What was it like being at home with your children, really trying to protect them from this?

TIM KELLEHER, WATERTOWN RESIDENT: Well, it was a horrifying experience to know that this was happening so close. So as a dad and a parent we were just trying to keep them safe and just keep the youngest ones occupied and answer any questions they had.

HARLOW: But because of the nature of media, 24-hour television you guys were watching, right, Graham, you knew what was happening. You told me you were scared, of course. I think everyone was but then you saw the police?

GRAEME KELLEHER: Yes, when I saw the police I knew it was all fine because there were so many of them. It was crazy.

HARLOW: What was it like? Describe it for me.

GRAEME KELLEHER: Well, it was kind of frightening knowing how close it was to my street, but at the same time I knew that at my school, I was probably the closest to the shoot-out so yes.

HARLOW: I think when school starts on Monday everyone's going to be talking about this. What about for you? What was the experience like and how are you feeling this morning, Eva?

EVA KELLEHER: Well, I feel comfortable now, now that they caught him, but I was scared at first because I didn't know what was going on.

HARLOW: Of course. I think everyone was asking those questions. What about you, Devan? You were the busy older sibling in all of this. I know you were communicating on Twitter, on Facebook, telling people you were safe, what was going on. What was it like trying to watch over your two younger siblings?

DEVAN KELLEHER: It was pretty hectic, we were trying to keep Eva away from the TV, and distract her and I play games with her. It was crazy.

HARLOW: It's interesting, you guys were gone during the final minutes, you were at her play and then you heard the news as you were really driving back home around 9:00 p.m. last night?

TIM KELLEHER: Yes, as soon as we got to the play I started receiving texts from neighbors and relatives saying, "Are you there?" And luckily we weren't. I'm so happy Eva's play happened and the ban was lifted so we went and that was nerve wracking to know that while we were away all this was happening and I was just grateful we weren't in harm's way. Because who knows how this could have gone. I mean, it was horrifying.

HARLOW: You know, another resident told me this is the last thing you expect, of course, anywhere, but especially here, this is a community where you leave your doors unlocked, you leave the door open in the summer, not something you'd expect here.

TIM KELLEHER: Yes, never here in this neighborhood. It's a quiet neighborhood. It's the last thing you'd ever think. It's crazy.

HARLOW: A sigh of relief for this entire city, this entire country. This morning, you guys. Thank you for talking to us. I appreciate it. You were brave through all of it. Thank you so much. Guys, I'll send it back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks so much, Poppy. Hoping that family has a much more normal day today certainly than they had yesterday.

ROMANS: Morning out, walking the dog in Boston, in Watertown.

BERMAN: Just another Saturday, should be nice.

ROMANS: Russian President Vladimir Putin is asking U.S. investigators to share information on the Boston bombing suspects.

BERMAN: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is joining us now with the details. Barbara, what is the latest?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, now fundamental question, is this an international terrorism investigation, and did the Obama administration know something about these two men back as far back as 2011. What we now know is that the FBI at the request of another country, no one is saying it's Russia, at the request of another country looked into the activities of the older brother. There was concern that another country expressed about him.

The FBI issuing a statement last night about all of that, and saying in part, and let me read it, "The request stated it was based on information that he, the older brother, was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010, as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country's region to join unspecified underground groups."

We don't know that this request to look into him came from Russia, but now Russian President Vladimir Putin today saying he wants some cooperation obviously with U.S. investigators. The U.S. intelligence community, the FBI, the CIA now going back through everything they have, trying to see if there were, in fact, any clues about either of these brothers. John, Christine?

ROMANS: Barbara, how are intelligence agencies collecting this information?

STARR: Well, you know, think of it as a spider web. You start with these two brothers and then work your way back, look at all of their links, their social media contacts, their cell phone records, their travel records, indeed the older brother having gone to Russia for some period of time last year. Who were they associating with? Could there be any possibility? This is the fundamental question. Did they have outside support, outside help in carrying out this attack? Were they in direct contact with radical fundamentalist element? Were they simply inspired perhaps by them? Fundamental questions about what really happened here and of course, how the government may decide to prosecute the case. Back to you.

BERMAN: We'll start piecing that information together today. Again, with the suspect in that suspect in the hospital right now. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you.

ROMANS: All right. The FBI agent who helped lead the manhunt said the arrest will help deliver justice for those wounded in the attacks and the families of those believed killed by the brothers that includes the three people at the marathon and the M.I.T. campus police officer who was gunned down Friday morning. Shortly after the arrest the family of the younger victim, eight-year-old Richard Martin thanked law enforcement but also had this to say "None of this will bring our beloved Martin back or reverse the injuries these men inflicted on our family and nearly 200 others. We continue to pray for healing and for comfort on the long road that lies ahead for every victim and their loved ones."

BERMAN: We'll have much more on the Boston marathon bombing investigation. Just ahead, one suspect is dead, the other is in custody. So what motivated this attack that really paralyzed this city and shocked the entire world? We're going to talk to a terrorism analyst, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Now that the suspects of the Boston Marathon attack are no longer at large you can see the jubilation in the streets and the big question for investigators is why? Why these men allegedly carried out these attacks.

Peter Krause is a terrorism analyst. He's joining me this morning to talk a little bit about what we're learning about the suspects, what we're learning about these brothers. It appears the older brother was the driving force here. Is that the assumption you think that investigators are going to work on?

PETER KRAUSE, TERRORISM ANALYST: It's definitely a possibility. You see the fact that he went to Russia for six months. He seems to be putting on his Youtube channel and social media, you know, perhaps more ideological events, motivations here. The younger brother, again, the accounts are "Oh, nice kid, not necessarily can believe he'd be involved in something like this." Again, we see that again and again.

We think that people who commit these types of crimes necessarily have to be mentally disturbed, or something along these lines. That's generally not the case but it does seem like maybe we have some type of D.C. sniper type dynamic, where the older brother, the older mentor and the younger one kind of along for the ride.

ROMANS: So let's talk about the older brother here. We know that he had a trip to Russia. Do we know what kind of ties he may have had to international terror organizations? Will that be what people are looking for next?

KRAUSE: I think the fact that the younger brother was captured alive potentially gives the intelligence services some leads to ask about that. The question though is, you know, the extent to which they're Chechen, it doesn't necessarily have to mean that they're politically doing it. They could be doing it for personal reasons, but except that it could be involved. It doesn't make sense from a national perspective because obviously the Russians are the ones who are oppressing the Chechnyans. The U.S. is no great friend to Russia in that regard.

On the context of kind of a Jihadi element. There have been connections here. Al Qaeda has had Chechnya fighters. There have been Chechnyans who have cut their teeth there and gone elsewhere. So that is something the FBI will be looking at. But it's important to note the extent of these individuals are lone wolves oftentimes are not necessarily going to be as effective so it does kind of tip us off to the extent that they might have had some training to be able to do this because oftentimes you can't build a bomb that's effective unless you actually practice.

ROMANS: There are other signs that they didn't really have an exit strategy, right? I mean, they're robbing a 7-11, the police say. They inexplicably and in cold blood killed an M.I.T. police officer authorities say. So you know, that shows that maybe they didn't have the training or the discipline that you would think a jihadi terrorist would have.

KRAUSE: Look, just as you can read a cookbook doesn't mean you're Julia Child. The sense with lone wolves is that we think that they're really a scary threat and that, you know, they already live in society, et cetera, but for every Timothy McVeigh or (INAUDIBLE) you have hundreds of dreamers and individuals who don't actually carry out these attacks.

ROMANS: I think that's a good point. I mean, for this - for what we saw at the Boston Marathon how many other dozens or hundreds of events have been quashed or thwarted.

KRAUSE: Many, many, many - I mean just in Massachusetts we have had individuals who have been captured in FBI stings. There was one individual the FBI said was trying to have a model airplane full of explosives AND crash into the capitol building. So these things happen again and again, even individuals like Faisal Shazad, the would-be Times Square bomber said "Look, I'm trying to set off a bomb in Times Square." He actually had bomb making training (INAUDIBLE), still was unsuccessful. So this happens quite a bit, unfortunately, American society benefited from the fact that if you don't have the training you often can't carry this out but again, at the end of the day if that changes and all of a sudden, you know, violence becomes more democratized and all of a sudden, you know, building bombs becomes easier then we do have a good more of a problem.

ROMANS: Why Boston do you think?

KRAUSE: Well, it's interesting. You know, 90 to 95 percent of terrorist attacks are actually local. Again, we kind of think again and again, oh it's international, it's always foreign but most people commit attacks within miles of their homes. So it's possible that these individuals could have been motivated by some political or religious ideology but nonetheless they're not picking Boston because it's the most important target internationally. It could be just the fact that they're living around here. This is a soft local target of convenience so that's why they did so.

ROMANS: So the older brother had boxing aspirations, actually wanted to box for the Americans at one point.

KRAUSE: Yes.

ROMANS: The younger brother seems to have had every kind of advantage, went to a great school, had a scholarship, was liked by his teammates in wrestling and soccer. So will investigators be looking for a point where there could have been a radicalization, what happened when, to change?

KRAUSE: I think that they will. But let's just say, one quick caveat which is, you know, there are reports that the FBI interviewed the older brother years ago. So these are some of the best profilers "in the business." They have more access to the information than we do and yet they still looked to this guy, and said "not so much of a threat." So it's very difficult sometimes dangerous to say, you know, what exactly made them tip off and go to kind of this more radical route. That being said there are some potential signs here. On the younger brother's sense again you have people saying how normal he is, oftentimes that's the case. People are not necessarily uneducated or mentally ill or poor who do this stuff. But what is the common thing sometimes is kind of being socially disaffected from your community.

So the older brother there were some quotes out there him saying "I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them." Those are signs we've seen sometimes where individuals feel like they're not being integrated to a community, to reach out for another community that kind of welcomes them. So that is a possibility that I think they'll be looking into.

ROMANS: Just fascinating, creepy, chilling, the whole thing and still a big investigation to come. Peter Krause, thank you for joining us this morning.

Another top story that we have been following today for you as we are here in Boston. We're watching what's happening in Texas. Search and rescue efforts for those missing in Texas after an intense explosion flattened parts of a small town. We're live in the little town of West, Texas, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. We are live in Boston where the intense manhunt for two terrorists. It really grabbed the world's attention but there is no forgetting about the devastation and the heart ache in West, Texas after that massive fertilizer plant explosion that leveled parts of a small town. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't hear. I can't hear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That little girl, her family, the family that shot that video they are OK but 200 others are injured. At least 14 lives lost including five volunteer firefighters. CNN's Martin Savidge is live in West, Texas.

Martin, we know those first responders, some volunteer firefighters went rushing in after that fire, then the explosion. We know there are still some who are missing. Is there hope at this hour that they will find people alive?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, I think, Christine, that officials have finally realized that any hope of finding survivors alive has passed now, that's why they refer it to as a search and recovery effort that's under way and they are just about complete with that.

Governor Perry was here last evening, the mayor as well, informing us that they are pretty certain that 14 is what they know the number of people they've recovered so far. The number of missing is really low, so if this number goes up it's not expected to go up by a lot and they have searched about 90 percent of the devastated area. So it should be completed today.

On top of the numbers we've been talking about, there are hundreds of people who remain evacuated because the entire area around that plant is considered a crime scene and part of the investigation. Many people, now that the shock has passed and the grieving is starting, want to go home, and they want to see what's been done to their homes and what remains. So they're getting more and more anxious. The hope of authorities is that today they can begin to shrink the boundary around that plant to allow some people to go back home. And as I point out the grief here, the names have not been released of those who have been killed and most of them are the first responders, but this is a small town and everybody knows one another and you can bet by now everybody knows who is on that list, and for many of them, there are people they saw every single day and now it's sinking into them that they will never see them anymore, and that's really striking for this small town. Christine and John?

BERMAN: It is such a tragedy and so much of the focus over the last few days has been on the search and rescue operation but what about the investigation into itself and into what caused this blast?

SAVIDGE: Yes, there are a lot of groups that are here both on a state level and on a federal level that are looking to try to answer that very question, John. Much had been made about the anhydrous ammonia, that is a liquid kind of fertilizer and it was worried, people worried because of its toxicity. That is not thought to have been what exploded though.

So the question is what was it? Another fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, which many people are familiar with because it was used in the explosive of the Oklahoma City bombing. There was a lot of it that was potentially stored there as well. In fact, there had been some accounts that said 100 times the amount that was used to blow up the Murah Building in Oklahoma City, what was inside or had been stored inside that facility there.

So tremendous amount of that potential explosive. That does not mean that was the cause. It's going to take a while to figure out, John.

ROMANS: Certainly an industrial accident that will probably change how people consider zoning laws around some of these towns that have these sorts of plants and also will really cause the chemical industry to look very hard at what happened there and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Martin Savidge, thank you so much, Martin, West, Texas. We'll go back to you again and continue to follow that story.

BERMAN: And we do have this breaking news and for that let's go to Pamela Brown here in Boston. Pamela? OK, Pamela?

We do have some news we are told about the charges that the suspect may face, we're trying to get Pamela back on the line so she can explain to us exactly what's happening. We'll bring that to you the minute we have that.

ROMANS: And we know that he hasn't been charged yet but he is in federal custody. He is at the hospital where he was in serious condition. They brought him there last night, of course, he suffered gunshot wounds in the first fire fight with police the day earlier but he may have had other injuries from the last moments, the last volley of gunfire before they actually got him out of that boat after he got out of that boat where he'd been hiding and went to the hospital. So serious condition was the last check we had of his status there and we're waiting for news on exactly what sort of charges he will face and that's what our Pamela Brown has been following there from the hospital.

BERMAN: Yes, that's right. He is being kept right in the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, which is one of the fine facilities here in the Boston area. That is where his brother who was also fatally injured in the shoot-out the night before was taken. That is where his brother ultimately died and also where the victims, a number of his victims have been kept over the last week. The victims at the initial bombings and they are being treated there in the very same hospital that he is right now.

Again we understand that Pamela Brown does have some information about possible charges. We will get to Pamela as soon as we can.

In the meantime -

ROMANS: Yes, this is an international story as you know, Dagestan is where the father of these two suspects lives, that is where they come from and we have news this morning, an exclusive interview with the father of these two men, CNN's Nick Payton Walsh caught up with Anzor Tsarnaev, in the Russian province of Dagestan. Nick, what did you learn. You say he was angry in your conversation with him. Tell us more about the reaction of the father of these two suspects.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anzon Tsarnaev has been driving occasionally past his house just behind me there, on two occasions. He stopped, a woman got out of his car, went into the apartment behind me. We didn't approach the car. The first questioned I asked, the answer is obscure on microphone. I asked him if he thought his sons were involved in Boston, his response was never, ever. Let's hear what else he had to say.

So during that conversation, he made it clear to me that he will be going to the United States very soon. He also said that he had a meeting with Russian Special Services. He made it absolutely clear, he maintained, defiantly disbelief in his son's role in anything to do with the Boston attacks and clearly was very frustrated, very angry at the attention he was facing.

Let's just hear now exactly what it was he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: I'm with CNN. I'm so sorry, sir, we just wanted to hear your story and that was all. This is a very difficult time for you. We just want to give you the chance to tell people how you feel about this. We just feel so we don't really have a chance to properly hear all you have to say about the terrible circumstances you're in.

(CROSSTALK)

So your sons didn't do this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

WALSH: Are you going to America?

ANZON TSARNAEV, FATHER OF SUSPECTED BOMBERS: Yes.

WALSH: When will you leave? You will forgive me, sir. I know it's a difficult time for you. I'm simply just trying to do my job here. I understand. When was the last time you spoke to them? Had you been in touch with the special services here, what did they have to say to you?

OK, I understand. I understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Clearly during that conversation a man greatly under strain of course, the news only recently reaching him that his second youngest son is now in custody and most likely facing charges as you just clearly heard, under intense pressure, great media spotlight here, dozens of journalists passing past his apartment here. A man also briefly detained by Russian security services trying to go to America, presumably hoping he might declare his son's name despite the constant drumbeat of evidence provided by U.S. officials -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Nick Paton Walsh for us reporting from Dagestan this morning. Thank you so much, Nick.

In the meantime, we do have Pamela Brown now. She is at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital with news that was just getting in about the possible charges faced by the suspect -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we have learned from a DOJ source on background that even though charges have not been filed yet that they may be coming very soon, even while the suspect is still recovering here at Beth Israel Deaconess. We've learned that federal prosecutors have been here since last night working on the possible charges and that he will face terrorism charges according to a DOJ sources.

And now once those charges are brought forward he will be arraigned from their preliminary hearing will be set and he will be indicted on grand jury. Also he will be facing federal charges, right now. He's in federal custody and will be facing federal charges. He could also face state charges of murder but from there a deal should be worked out between federal authorities and state authorities.

Again so far no charges have been filed but we're hearing from sources that those charges will be brought soon.

ROMANS: Hey, what kind of differences in penalties are there for the state and federal charges? Clearly that's what prosecutors are going to want to look at very carefully.

BROWN: Absolutely. On the state level, because we are in the state of Massachusetts, he would not be able to face a death penalty. There is no death penalty here in Massachusetts, but because of federal charges supersede the state charges he could still face the death penalty on the federal level. ROMANS: All right. Pamela Brown there in front of the hospital with us, where we are told he is still in serious condition. He has not been charged yet but he is in -- technically in federal custody and we are awaiting those charges, state and federal charges.

BERMAN: And Pamela says the federal prosecutors have been there all night working up these charges that could come soon, Pamela tells us.

Stay with us, we are getting more and more news about the developing story here in Boston. The suspect now in custody in the hospital, more news just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Boston. Boston. Boston. Boston. Boston. Boston. Boston. Boston.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was the jubilation we saw here on the streets of Boston overnight over the news that 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was taken into custody. He is in a Boston hospital this morning under heavy guard.

This image from CBS News shows him bloodied on a boat in a backyard in Watertown, Massachusetts. He was captured last night after a gunfight with police. This tweet confirmed what residents there had been hoping for since Monday's bombing, it says "Suspect in custody." The FBI was also quick to announce the dramatic conclusion adding the word "captured" to its wanted poster and now this morning's "Boston Globe" really wraps up the sentiment of the entire city here. The headline reads "Nightmare's End."

ROMANS: A banner headline in the "Boston Globe" this morning after what has been just an unbelievable week in the city.

BERMAN: Quite a front page. After Tsarnaev's capture last night the president addressed the nation, he both praised the police and the people of Boston.

ROMANS: And that's right but he also said that answers - we need answers in this tragedy and that the support of the entire federal government would be needed as well and would be made available.

Athena Jones is in Washington, of course.

Athena, what else did we learn from the president last night?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and John. I should mention that here at the White House the flags are still flying at half staff and Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House is still shut down to the public. I can tell you that the president was closely monitoring all of the events as they unfolded in Boston yesterday, getting regular updates, and I believe we have a photo of the president speaking with Lisa Monaco. She's his assistant for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and she gave him this update after that second suspect was captured last night.

In speaking to reporters last night the president continued to offer some of the words of comfort we've been hearing from him all week to the city of Boston and to victims, but he also talked about next steps. Let's listen to what he had to say there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've instructed the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security and our intelligence community to continue to deploy all the necessary resources to support the investigation, to collect intelligence, and to protect our citizens. We will determine what happened. We will investigate any associations that these terrorists may have had, and will continue to do whatever we have to do to keep our people safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And the president began to raise many of the questions we've all been asking, which is how these two young men who pretty much grew up here and studied here came to decide to carry out this alleged attack, whether anyone helped them, how they planned it out and so these are some of the questions that investigators are hoping to be able to answer by continuing to talk to the people who knew them and hopefully to question the suspect as well, when that's possible.

Back to you, Christine and John.

BERMAN: All right. Athena Jones at the White House this morning, thanks so much.

ROMANS: So why? Why do people commit acts of terror? Next a psychologist shares insight into the thinking behind terrorism.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We want to focus on one of the big questions here, the why. What's the why behind committing acts of terror? We may not know the specific motive yet in the Boston marathon attack.

ROMANS: But terrorism in general is often used to cause widespread fear and panic. And for more on the mindset of people who commit terror attacks we want to turn now to clinical and forensic psychologist Jeff Gardere.

Jeff, you know, for several days we wanted to know the who. Now we know the who, who authorities think did this and we want to know the why. Why do people use terrorism? Why do that?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, the CIA, the FBI have talked to a lot of former terrorists. They have them in de- radicalization programs and they actually have them in therapy and they found that they see themselves as victims. They often are alienated from the greater society. They begin to blame the society for their own personal failings and of course they identify with the suffering of their own group, perhaps generations before, or another group, and of course, we know that the Internet allows them to be part of a greater group that has a lot to do with radical and terrorist thinking.

BERMAN: One of the interesting things about this case is that after the bombings Monday there was no claim. No one said --

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: We did this. However, Thursday night into Friday morning after the carjacking these brothers did tell the guy whose car that they stole, they did identify themselves as the Boston marathon bombers. Not sure if that was bragging or not, but why do you think they claimed responsibility finally?

GARDERE: I think part of that is perhaps they were disaffected from their own feelings and the reality as to what was really happening and that they could be caught. I think you're looking at people who, when they have this kind, they engage in this kind of carnage, they feel that they are extremely powerful. They fool themselves into believing that they can get away with it and they then become very careless, and so even though they didn't claim responsibility because perhaps just -- they just wanted to get away, this bragging was part of this omnipotence that they were feeling at that particular time, killing several people, maiming over 100 people, and all of that media attention behind them. So it gave them this false sense of power.

ROMANS: Definitely the investigators will be trying to figure out what made the perpetrators tick but now there is a psychological component for the victims and for survivors. You know, some of the runners of the Boston marathon they could actually experience survivor's guilt, right, for bringing family and friends to the marathon, for being there, people who ended up getting hurt.

Tell us a little bit about the survivors' guilt and what five, six days on now from this original event what people are going to be feeling, why some people could get it and some might not?

GARDERE: Right. And what we do know is that people who do have survivors' guilt, these are individuals of course who are in reality blameless. It is not their fault that people that they know were hurt or may have been killed. So what we need to do with them is to work with them, debrief them, bring the reality testing, if you will, into the picture to let them know that, in fact, the actions of what happened had nothing to do with them but had to do with the terrorists in this particular case and just getting them, Christine, just to talk about it, begins to get them to understand that their responsibility is that of getting better and honoring the memories of those who have been killed or those in fact who have been injured. BERMAN: I think a couple of emotions that a lot of people are feeling right now, not just necessarily just those who ran the marathon, there are two. There's anger, anger that people could actually pull this off and attack this great day like that.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: And then again there's also fear, fear about, you know, what do we do next time? What about the 118th running of the Boston marathon? How do you deal with the fear that may come with coming out to watch that event here next year?

GARDERE: Well, we need to let people know that fear is normal, anxiety is normal, but if you give in to the fear and the anxiety all the time, that begins to stress you out and of course it would make you ill not just emotionally but physically. So what we have to do is take that anxiety, turn it around, and become empowered.

We talk a lot about this idea of if you see something, say something, being vigilant, empowering yourself to do very positive things, but at the same time to not be so vigilant or hypervigilant that you start reading things into situations that are not there or stereotyping or profiling other individuals.

We had that conversation earlier, but the most important thing is to take control of your emotions. Work with other people.. Work with your colleagues, friends and family. Discuss what you're feeling but certainly to move forward and to continue to have a good, high quality of life. Live your life. Live your life. That's the most important thing.

ROMANS: Jeff Gardere, thanks so much. And certainly listen to your children, too, because they are getting snippets of this.

GARDERE: Yes.

ROMANS: Whether you try to protect them from the news or not. Keep your ears open for what your kids are asking you.

Jeff Gardere, thank you.

BERMAN: Sad day that began with police in people's backyards in panic in Watertown, it ended with a dramatic gunfight but also a genuine sense of relief and celebration that really looked like the Fourth of July in some places. We'll tell you all about that when we come back.

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ROMANS: By any measure it has been an incredible couple of days here.

BERMAN: It certainly has. Most of us woke up yesterday to a citywide manhunt and a shutdown that brought business in Boston to really a complete standstill.

ROMANS: And by the end of the day, police had the suspect in custody changing the city's mood from anxiety to celebration.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just something I never experienced in my news career is pulling up on the scene and hearing multiple gunshots fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard three big booms and multiple gunshots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a ton of gunshots and then like, boom, boom, like three big bangs.

COL. TIMOTHY ALBEN, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE: What we're looking for right now is a suspect consistent with the discrimination of suspect number two.

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We're asking people to shelter in place. In other words, to stay indoors with their doors locked and not to open the door for anyone other than a properly identified law enforcement officer.

RUSLAN TSARNI, BOMBING SUSPECTS' UNCLE: I say, Dzhokhar, if you're alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness from the victims, from the injured and from those who lived. Ask forgiveness from these people.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We do have some new information that in fact they do have him cornered right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: They have him cornered.

FEYERICK: They have the suspect. They believe it is the suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard what appeared to be several shots. That sounded different than the flash bang. I've heard one of those before. And it distinctively sounded different. It was shots being fired.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, AC 360: And if you're just joining us, good evening, everyone. What started about 23 hours ago now seems to be finally over. The last suspect being searched for by police according to Boston Police Department, that suspect is now in custody.

RICHARD DESLAURIERS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Today the city of Boston, the city of Cambridge and the city of Watertown and many other communities can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that two perpetrators that caused so much pain and anguish are no longer a threat to our personal safety and to our communities.

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