UPDATED: Suspect awake, responding to questions
By Contributor
The Huffington Post
The 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, who was seriously wounded and unable to speak, is awake and responding in writing to questions from authorities, according to a Tweets by ABC and NBC news networks.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is in the intensive care unit of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is responding sporadically, the ABC news network reported on its Twitter feed.
NBC's Pete Williams is also reporting Tsarnaev is writing answers to questions from law enforcement.
Tsarnaev is being treated for a gunshot in the mouth that exited the back of his neck, according Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who was interviewed on CBS' "60 Minutes."
He also suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, Davis said.
Justice Department to investigate Boston bombings
Attorney General Eric Holder has directed the full resources of the Justice Department be deployed to investigate the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon.
A department official said Holder has spoken with FBI Director Robert Mueller (MUHL'-ur) and with Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. The official said Ortiz's office was coordinating the department's response with the FBI and other federal, state and local law enforcement authorities.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak on the record.
Two bombs exploded near the marathon's finish line on Monday, killing two people and injuring many others. A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other explosive devices were found nearby. A third explosion followed at the JFK Library in Boston.
Boston Marathon explosions sends city into chaos
Two explosions rocked the Boston Marathon near the finish line, causing multiple casualties and sending the city into chaos. Another explosion occurred at the JFK Library, but authorities were unsure if the incidents were linked.
The blasts downtown in Copley Square occurred just before 3 p.m. EDT, according to MyFoxBoston.
The number of casualties changed rapidly throughout the afternoon. Two people were killed and twenty-three others were injured, according to a preliminary statement from the Boston Police Department. The number rose to more than 100 injured shortly after 5 p.m., the Boston Globe reported.
The first blast filled a spectator gallery near the finish line with a gray cloud of smoke. Screaming witnesses immediately fled the area. Ten seconds later, a second explosion jolted the crowd.
Streets reserved exclusively for runners filled with emergency crews, as first responders climbed fences to reach wounded athletes and spectators. Flags from nations represented in the race were thrown to the ground
Medical tents set up for runners are being used to treat individuals with injuries.
Police chief Ed Davis said that a third incident took place at the JFK Library in Boston.
"We are not sure if these incidents are related, but we are treating them as if they are," he said.
An unexploded device was also recovered, Davis said.
More than 27,000 runners participated in this year's Marathon, which takes places every year on Patriot's Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts.
Explosions rock finish line at Boston Marathon
Two explosions shattered the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry away the injured while stragglers in the 26.2-mile race were rerouted away from the smoking site.
Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Bloody spectators were being carried to the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners.
"There are a lot of people down," said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina. He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.
Neither race officials nor public officials could immediately estimate the number or degree of injuries.
About three hours after the winners crossed the line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.
Smoke rose from the blasts, fluttering through the national flags lining the route of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon. TV helicopter footage showed blood staining the pavement in the popular shopping and tourist area known as the Back Bay.
"There are people who are really, really bloody," said Laura McLean, a runner from Toronto, who was in the medical tent being treated for dehydration when she was pulled out to make room for victims of the explosions. "They were pulling them into the medical tent."
Cherie Falgoust was waiting for her husband, who was running the race.
"I was expecting my husband any minute," she said. "I don't know what this building is … it just blew. Just a big bomb, a loud boom, and then glass everywhere. Something hit my head. I don't know what it was. I just ducked."
Runners who had not finished the race were diverted straight down Commonwealth Avenue and into a family meeting area, according to an emergency plan that had been in place.
