Boston bomber suspect arrested

Police took a 19-year-old man into custody on Friday night. He is suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings with his older brother, who was killed in a shoot-out with police on Thursday night. The arrest came after a day-long manhunt using helicopters and heavily armed officers in a Boston suburb.

On Friday evening, a woman telephoned police to say she had seen someone in a boat stored under a cover in her back yard.

The call came shortly after Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and State Police Colonel Timothy Alben gave a press conference in Boston, after a day when residents had been asked to stay at home behind closed doors. Thousands of police were involved in searching for a 19-year-old college student previously identified as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Security forces surrounded a house in the Boston suburb where the 19-year-old was hiding.  Gunshots were heard. Shortly afterwards he was taken into custody and taken to hospital under armed guard. He is reported to be in serious condition.

Police announced via the social media site Twitter that the suspect was in custody. They later wrote, "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody."

A news conference to report the arrest was held at 9:30 p.m. (01:30 GMT) local time on Friday. Massachusetts State Police Colonel Timothy Alben thanked all of the officers involved in the operation.

Governor Patrick thanked the police, special agents and all the law enforcement officers who worked together to bring the case to a conclusion. He also thanked the public for their involvement and helping to narrow in on the suspects. Patrick concluded: "It's a night when we are all going to rest easy."

Speaking at a news conference later in the evening, President Barack Obama praised the security forces' operation and close coordination, which he said was "critical to this effort." He said there were many questions outstanding as to the motives of the men accused of carrying out the bombings, whom he called "terrorists."

jm/jr (AP, AFP)