As the hunt for suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev continues in the Boston metro area, police have reportedly surrounded a house in Willow Park in Watertown.
Mainstream media sources are covering the hunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the wake of last night’s MIT shooutout, but Twitter users are reporting police scanner chatter as what appears to be a standoff unfolds.
Some reports indicate a “rocket” of some description was discovered in the basement, and reports of controlled detonations have been rife on Twitter.
Other reports indicate that a suspect in a hoodie is being pursued by police units, with several users reporting:
“Units chasing person wearing black hoodie, behind 17 Willow Park, units setting up a tight perimeter.”
As the situation is ongoing, several lockdown warnings have also been spanning Twitter, with many tweeting:
“People in Watertown, Cambridge, Waltham, Newton, Belmont ALL of # Boston should ‘stay indoors with your doors locked.’ ”
Popular Twitter account @YourAnonNews has retweeted police scanner reports of online chatter for a supposed Twitter account for the surviving Tsarnaev — however, the account was created in the last hour and is likely not that of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev:
#Watertown : Officer on scanner: “Suspect is posting online: ‘I will kill all of you. You killed my brother’”‘
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) April 19, 2013
Though the account is almost certainly fake, the police scanner mention has caused a flurry of interest in the Twitter feed @Dzhokhar_A:
According to police the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is posting online “I will kill you all because you killed my brother” #watertown
— Pat Carney (@pat_carney) April 19, 2013
MSNBC is reporting on TV that the surviving brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnev, was a second year medical student and that his father has been located in Russia.
Networks are reportedly being asked to cease updating on the locations of the fray in Watertown, but the use of police scanners has complicated the issue as the information is being disseminated via social media:
Network Blackout on house. Police ask to not post address or any information. Suspect has mobiledevice and a bomb. #Watertown
— Trevor Dueck (@TDueckMMA) April 19, 2013
18-20 Oak or Hope street by Willow park Heard someone mention a Rocket found in a basement and a request for an EOD Team #WaterTown #Scanner
— Big Panda Daddy (@TheBionicAnkle) April 19, 2013