Doug Mills
World and National News Editor
RCN America Network
BOSTON UPDATE: It is confirmed the there are 3 dead, over 176 injured with 17 of those still in critical condition. The FBI has taken charge of the investigation and states that there were only the 2 bombs. There are also reports of a search of an apartment in Revere overnight. Evidence was removed from the residence.
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| Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the Boston Field Office, addresses the media. |
I would like to start this morning by thanking the first responders from Boston EMS and Boston Fire Department and the volunteer physicians, nurses, and medical staff from the community who volunteered at the marathon. Their services and heroic actions saved lives yesterday afternoon.
We continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task Force] partners and the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police, as well as all of the other JTTF agencies.
Our mission is clear—to bring to justice those responsible for the marathon bombing.
The American public wants answers. The citizens of the city of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts want and deserve answers. This group of dedicated men and women standing before you today pledge to do everything possible to get those answers.
This remains a very active investigation. Our ongoing investigation in various locations throughout the area goes on. However, there are no known additional threats. We continue to interview various witnesses and process the crime scene, which could take some time. The citizens of Massachusetts and the city of Boston should expect to see the FBI and its JTTF partners conducting investigative activity in the greater Eastern Massachusetts and Boston areas.
Assistance from the public remains critical in establishing a timeline of events, which leads to swift conclusion through due diligence and strong investigative activity.
We commend the public. We commend the citizens of Boston and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the information that has been provided to law enforcement so far. And we strongly encourage that assistance to continue.
It is paramount to explain the FBI and our JTTF role to a greater extent—the volume of tips we have received and reiterating the resources we provide. We have received voluminous tips over the last 18 hours since the incidents.
We have staffed our 1-800-CALL-FBI tip line and we continue to encourage individuals to contact that line with any additional tips.
We are bringing additional victim assistance and Evidence Response Team resources from our Headquarters components and the field offices to Boston. And they are on site working as we speak, processing evidence at the crime scene.
To the extent the crime scene still plays in Copley perimeter—it continues to be a crime scene and may be that for days.
The FBI JTTF is logically following up on a variety of leads. You will see us and our law enforcement partners interviewing, maybe, your neighbor or co-worker or even yourself in coming days. We encourage you to please cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
The resources of the FBI and the JTTF allow for swift action, which we hope will yield quick results. But that does not diminish our diligence and persistence in combing through the high volume of evidence and leads that we are processing right now. We are just beginning upon that path.
Thank you very much.
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