First there was a burst of gunfire. Then a series of blasts. Then, less than an hour later, cheers. (Only two-hundred people…)
After a day-long massive manhunt for one Boston Marathon bombing suspect that terrorized several cities and riveted a nation, the shouting and applause on the streets of Watertown, Massachusetts, was a welcome sign of victory.
Police shouted, “Yay!” Neighbors clapped. Residents and reporters who had been anxiously waiting on a nearby corner saw a concrete sign of progress. Police began leaving the backyard of a Watertown home where suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev had been holed up in a boat.
A law enforcement vehicle with tinted windows drove by the crowd.
When someone asked whether they have the suspect in custody, a police officer said, “Yes” — and the crowd of residents erupted in cheers again.
Minutes later, a series of Twitter posts from the Boston Police Department trumpeted the news.
“CAPTURED!!!” one post said. “The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.”
In Watertown, it wasn’t long before SWAT teams shouted over a loudspeaker: “Thank you, thank you! It was a pleasure! USA! USA!” The crowd joined in.
Watertown resident Mary Sullivan was among those cheering. She was walking her young black Labrador, Lucy, when gunshots rang out in her neighborhood on Friday.
She waited for word on the fate of the suspect at the corner of Franklin and Mount Auburn with dozens of other residents.
“I’m glad it’s over,” she said. “The city and the people have gone through so much pain over these irrational decisions of these young men.”