Congressman: Suspects had cache of explosives
WASHINGTON — The senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects had collected pipe bombs, grenades and improvised explosive devices before they confronted police.
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger said that the brother who fled after a furious gunfight hurled some of the devices at police as he drove away in a stolen car.
The Maryland Democrat said, “They clearly amassed a small arsenal of explosives.”
Ruppersberger, who was briefed by authorities,said U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials plan to quickly pivot from their search for the surviving suspect to learn whether the brothers had any help or contact from terrorist groups inside or outside the U.S. Ruppersberger said authorities likely will ask Russian officials for evidence in Chechnya and other nearby Russian regions.
Officials search an area on Arsenal Street in Watertown, Mass., Friday, April 19, 2013, as they search for an individual believed to be responsible for the Boston Marathon explosions. The two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing killed an MIT police officer and hurled explosives at police in a car chase and gun battle overnight that left one of them dead and his brother on the loose, authorities said Friday.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Photo by STF