After more than twelve hours of the city being in virtual lockdown, a request for individuals to remain inside has ended and public transportation service has resumed, authorities said in a 6 p.m. press conference.
However, no arrest has been made in the citywide manhunt for 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing and in the shootout in Watertown. The first suspect, Dzhokhar’s older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was shot and taken into custody during the shootout and was later confirmed dead.
“We remain committed to this,” said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Timothy Alben. “We do not have an apprehension of our suspect this afternoon, but we will have one. We are committed to that.”
Alben said the suspect is at large, but officials believe he is still in Massachusetts.
Authorities will increase the police presence in Boston and in Watertown, but the stay-inside request is no longer active and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system is immediately reopening, said Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick during the conference.
“In light of the status of the investigation, the stay indoors request is lifted, the MBTA is open, effective immediately,” he said. “We are asking the public to remain vigilant … There is still a very, very dangerous individual at large.”
Alben said 10 state police patrols will augment the Watertown Police Department.
“We cannot continue to lockdown an entire city or an entire state,” he said. “… People have got to be vigilant. This is a dangerous person who we believe has killed people.”
Late Thursday night, the suspects shot and killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Department officer Sean Collier before stealing a car and leading officers on a chase into Watertown, where a violent battle ensued. The suspects are said to have used both guns and explosives.
Patrick said more than 200 rounds were fired in the shootout, which left MBTA Transit Police officer Richard Donohue critically injured in Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge.
Boston University students were told to remain safe while resuming normal activities, according to a BU Alert Service message.
Students are encouraged to eat at the dining hall closest to them, according to the BU Dining Services website. Dining halls at Warren Towers, West Campus, Buick Street and 100 Bay State are open until 9 p.m. Students who report to 100 Bay State should do so on a staggered schedule.
From 5 p.m. until 6 p.m., students from Danielsen Hall, 517, 519, 521 and 531 Beacon St., Myles Standish Hall floors two through five and the Myles Standish Annex should eat. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., students from Myles floors six through nine, Shelton Hall and 481 through 483 Beacon St. should eat. From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., students in 575 Commonwealth Ave. and odd-numbered Bay State Road brownstones should eat. From 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., students in The Towers, 625 Commonwealth Ave. and even-numbered Bay State Road brownstones should eat.
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