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| FBI investigates links between Tsarnaev brothers and man shot in Florida | FBI investigates links between Tsarnaev brothers and man shot in Florida |
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| An FBI agent shot dead a man believed to be a friend of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Djokhar Tsarnaev, during a "violent confrontation" in a Florida apartment early on Wednesday. | An FBI agent shot dead a man believed to be a friend of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Djokhar Tsarnaev, during a "violent confrontation" in a Florida apartment early on Wednesday. |
| Sources said that Ibragim Todashev, 27, "flipped out" under questioning by the federal agent and two Massachusetts police officers about his connection to the brothers who are accused of carrying out the 15 April attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. The FBI did not immediately confirm a report that Todashev, a Chechen national, was also being interrogated about a possible role in a triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011, in which a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a victim. | Sources said that Ibragim Todashev, 27, "flipped out" under questioning by the federal agent and two Massachusetts police officers about his connection to the brothers who are accused of carrying out the 15 April attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. The FBI did not immediately confirm a report that Todashev, a Chechen national, was also being interrogated about a possible role in a triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011, in which a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a victim. |
| Dave Couvertier, an FBI spokesman, said that Wednesday's shooting, at a private apartment close to Orlando's Universal Studios theme park, was under review by a team of agents sent to Florida from Washington. | Dave Couvertier, an FBI spokesman, said that Wednesday's shooting, at a private apartment close to Orlando's Universal Studios theme park, was under review by a team of agents sent to Florida from Washington. |
| "Based on preliminary information … the agent along with two Massachusetts state police troopers and other law enforcement personnel were interviewing an individual in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing investigation when a violent confrontation was initiated by the individual," Couvertier said in a statement. "During the confrontation, the individual was killed and the agent sustained non-life threatening injuries." | "Based on preliminary information … the agent along with two Massachusetts state police troopers and other law enforcement personnel were interviewing an individual in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing investigation when a violent confrontation was initiated by the individual," Couvertier said in a statement. "During the confrontation, the individual was killed and the agent sustained non-life threatening injuries." |
| He did not confirm the suspect's name or why he was being questioned at a private residence, but Khusen Taramov, a friend of the dead man, told reporters that Todashev had been interviewed several times in recent weeks and had recently cancelled a trip to his homeland to see his parents. Taramov said Todashev, a former Boston resident, had last spoken to Tsarnaev about a month ago but that they only knew each other through their shared interest in Mixed Martial Arts and he had no connection with the attack. | He did not confirm the suspect's name or why he was being questioned at a private residence, but Khusen Taramov, a friend of the dead man, told reporters that Todashev had been interviewed several times in recent weeks and had recently cancelled a trip to his homeland to see his parents. Taramov said Todashev, a former Boston resident, had last spoken to Tsarnaev about a month ago but that they only knew each other through their shared interest in Mixed Martial Arts and he had no connection with the attack. |
| "They met a few times because he was a fighter and [Tsarnaev] was a boxer. They just knew each other. That's it," Mr Taramov told an Orlando news channel, WESH TV. "Me and him and my friends, we knew this was going to happen. That's why he wanted to leave the country. But he cancelled the tickets. The FBI's been pushing him, 'Don't leave, don't leave.' So he decided to stay," he said. | "They met a few times because he was a fighter and [Tsarnaev] was a boxer. They just knew each other. That's it," Mr Taramov told an Orlando news channel, WESH TV. "Me and him and my friends, we knew this was going to happen. That's why he wanted to leave the country. But he cancelled the tickets. The FBI's been pushing him, 'Don't leave, don't leave.' So he decided to stay," he said. |
| According to WESH TV, Todashev was initially co-operative during the interview, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday at the apartment. But the channel quoted unidentified investigators who said Todashev became violent just as he was about to sign a confession to admit a role in a September 2011 murder. In that incident, three men were found at an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts, with their throats cut and with large quantities of banknotes and marijuana strewn around. One of the victims, Brendan Mess, 25, was a close friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed by police in Boston four days after the Marathon bombing. | According to WESH TV, Todashev was initially co-operative during the interview, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday at the apartment. But the channel quoted unidentified investigators who said Todashev became violent just as he was about to sign a confession to admit a role in a September 2011 murder. In that incident, three men were found at an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts, with their throats cut and with large quantities of banknotes and marijuana strewn around. One of the victims, Brendan Mess, 25, was a close friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed by police in Boston four days after the Marathon bombing. |
| A spokesman for the Middlesex County state attorney's office said it was "an open investigation" and would not comment further. | A spokesman for the Middlesex County state attorney's office said it was "an open investigation" and would not comment further. |
| Records from Florida's Orange County Sheriffs Department show that Todashev was arrested on 4 May on a charge of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, after a fight with two men over a parking spot at an Orlando shopping mall. According to the arrest warrant, a 35-year-old man was admitted to hospital with several teeth missing and a split upper lip, but he declined to press charges and Todashev was released. The warrant said: "By his own admission Todashev was recently a former mixed martial arts fighter. This skill puts his fighting ability way above that of a normal person." | Records from Florida's Orange County Sheriffs Department show that Todashev was arrested on 4 May on a charge of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, after a fight with two men over a parking spot at an Orlando shopping mall. According to the arrest warrant, a 35-year-old man was admitted to hospital with several teeth missing and a split upper lip, but he declined to press charges and Todashev was released. The warrant said: "By his own admission Todashev was recently a former mixed martial arts fighter. This skill puts his fighting ability way above that of a normal person." |
| Taramov said he and Todashev were questioned for about three hours on Tuesday, about the Boston attack and about how they knew the Tsarnaev brothers. "They took me and my friend, the suspect that got killed," he said. "They were talking to us, both of us, right? And they said they need him for a little more, for a couple more hours, and I left, and they told me they're going to bring him back. They never brought him back." | Taramov said he and Todashev were questioned for about three hours on Tuesday, about the Boston attack and about how they knew the Tsarnaev brothers. "They took me and my friend, the suspect that got killed," he said. "They were talking to us, both of us, right? And they said they need him for a little more, for a couple more hours, and I left, and they told me they're going to bring him back. They never brought him back." |
| He added that his friend had "felt inside he was going to get shot" by the FBI. | He added that his friend had "felt inside he was going to get shot" by the FBI. |
| John Miller, a former assistant director of the FBI, now a CBS news analyst, said agents went to the apartment after midnight to question Todashev further about the cancelled Chechnya trip. "He had been interviewed along with a number of other people in the apartment complex, but the interest in him was higher because of a couple of factors: he was in contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, he had been to Boston to visit him, and he was planning a trip to Chechnya," Miller said. | John Miller, a former assistant director of the FBI, now a CBS news analyst, said agents went to the apartment after midnight to question Todashev further about the cancelled Chechnya trip. "He had been interviewed along with a number of other people in the apartment complex, but the interest in him was higher because of a couple of factors: he was in contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, he had been to Boston to visit him, and he was planning a trip to Chechnya," Miller said. |
| Tsarnaev, whose father was from Chechnya, was killed in a shootout with police in Boston on 18 April, soon after the shooting death of Sean Collier, a police officer attached to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tsarnaev's younger brother Dzhokhar, 19, was captured 24 hours later after a day-long operation that brought the city to a standstill. He could face the death penalty, on federal murder charges. | Tsarnaev, whose father was from Chechnya, was killed in a shootout with police in Boston on 18 April, soon after the shooting death of Sean Collier, a police officer attached to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tsarnaev's younger brother Dzhokhar, 19, was captured 24 hours later after a day-long operation that brought the city to a standstill. He could face the death penalty, on federal murder charges. |
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