“A man who came here to kill people”

The FBI’s release of photos of the two suspects in the Marathon bombing has precipitated climactic events in the manhunt. Marathon bombing suspect number 1 is dead and suspect 2 is on the loose in the Boston area. The two engaged in a shootout or two with police last night after they killed an MIT security officer. A second officer is in critical condition. Suspect number 1 was treated at Beth Israel Hospital, whose physicians indicated that the suspect had multiple bullet wounds as well evidence of injuries from an explosive. The Boston Globe’s overnight summary of events is here. The Daily Mail’s story is full of photos.

Authorities continue the manhunt for suspect number 2 this morning, warning area residents to stay indoors and shutting down local transportation. The most suggestive comment made by authorities overnight was an impromptu remark by the Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis with respect to suspect number 2: “We believe this to be a terrorist,” he said. “We believe this to be a man who came here to kill people.” I don’t know if it’s right to parse his words so closely, and they are ambiguous in any event, but they seem carefully to reflect the authorities’ current understanding.

Confusion has continued to suffuse the contemporaneous reporting of events. The suspects have yet to be publicly identified by name. Their status as terrorists of some stripe, however, is clearer than ever.

UPDATE: Based on Washington law enforcement sources, FOX News has just identified suspect number 2 as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, reported that suspect number 1 was his brother, and asserted that they are Chechen. See also Joe Weisenthal’s compilation of notes (stating that they are “possibly from Turkey”). MSNBC reports, on the other hand, that one brother was born in Russia, one in Kyrgyzstan.

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