WATERTOWN, Mass. (CNN) –The suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody Friday night, bringing to an end a massive manhunt that virtually shut down the Massachusetts capital amid warnings the man was possibly armed with explosives.
Law enforcement officials told CNN that authorities have confirmed the man in custody is 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who escaped a shootout with police in suburban Watertown that left his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev — the other man wanted in the bombings — dead.
The younger Tsarnaev was in need of medical care and was listed in serious condition at the hospital, the officials said.
After announcing on Twitter the suspect was in custody, Boston police tweeted “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.”
The arrest came less than a week after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, shocking the nation and leaving a city on edge.
Tsarnaev was cornered late Friday on a boat in a yard of Watertown, a suburb of Boston.
Authorities “engaged” the man, according to one of the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, just minutes after authorities indicated a manhunt for the suspect appeared to come up empty.
A CNN crew near the scene heard about two dozen gunshots fired, but it was not clear if the shots were fired by the suspect, authorities or both. A number of small explosions, believed to be stun grenades, also were heard.
Authorities, using a bullhorn, called on the suspect to surrender: “Come out with your hands up.
The development came after authorities cast a wide net for the suspect that virtually shut down the Massachusetts capital amid warnings the man was possibly armed with explosives.
Bob Sakowitch was among a number of people who fled as shots were fired.
“It was unbelievable the amount of gunshots. I was scared. I was across the street. We all ran for cover,” he said. “… I wouldn’t ever want to see this again. It was bad.”
More than 22 hours after the search focused on the younger brother, police officers in full body armor, carrying automatic weapons wrapped up their door-to-door search of the area, Col. Timothy Alben of the Massachusetts State Police said.
Gov. Deval Patrick, meanwhile, lifted an order that confined an estimated one million residents to their homes, urging people to “remain vigilant.”
CNN’s John King, Joe Johns, Chris Lawrence, Deborah Feyerick, Ben Brumfield, Jake Tapper and Drew Griffin contributed to this report.
