Post date: Apr 18, 2013 11:4:39 PM
FBI says identifying suspects in Boston bombing is now top priority; releases photos of two suspects and asks public for help.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (APRIL 18, 2013) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) - Investigators released pictures of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing on Thursday (April 18), seeking the public's help in finding two unidentified men photographed on the crowded sidewalk before Monday's bombs exploded near the finish line.
"Today we are enlisting the public's help to identify the two suspects," Richard DesLauriers, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's special agent in charge inBoston, told a news conference.Both men carried backpacks that were believed to contain the bombs. The man identified as suspect No. 1 wore a dark baseball cap. Suspect No. 2 wore a white cap backwards and was seen setting down his backpack on the ground, DesLauriers said.
"Somebody out there knows these individuals as friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members of the suspects. Though it may be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us," he said while cautioning that they were considered armed and dangerous.
The bombings killed three people and wounded 176 others.
Investigators hoped the men would be identifiable within hours of the release of the pictures and video, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators were looking at the men for some period of time before deciding to make the videos public, and they had extensive video and still pictures to justify the FBI decision to label the two men as suspects, the official said.
At least one other person of interest who featured in crime scene pictures had been ruled out as a suspect. Also ruled out earlier in the week was a Saudi student who was injured in the attacks, the official said.
"Identifying and locating those responsible is now our highest priority," DesLauriers said.