Hunt for Marathon bombing suspect continues in Watertown
The search for one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects — the man seen wearing a white baseball cap — this morning led to the sudden shutdown of the MBTA’s entire network of commuter rail, bus, and subway services.
State authorities also asked people who live in Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge, and Allston-Brighton to stay home and for businesses in those cities and towns to stay closed.
“We are asking you to stay indoors, to stay in your homes for the time being,” Kurt Schwartz, who leads the state’s homeland security department, said at a 6 a.m. press conference today. “We are asking business in those areas to cooperate and not open today until we can provide further guidance.”
The announcement left people stranded at MBTA stops and stations across eastern Massachusetts.
“People at bus or subway stations, we are asking them to go home,” Schwartz said. “We do not want people congregating and waiting for the system to come back on.”
The order by Governor Deval Patrick came as the hunt for one of the Marathon bombing suspects focused in Watertown. A night of chaos gripped a region already rattled by bombings Monday at the Boston Marathon. An MIT police officer was shot and killed about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, and, not long after, a Transit Police officer was seriously wounded in a firefight.
The other Boston Marathon bombing suspect, the man seen wearing a black hat in photos released Thursday evening, is dead after firing bullets and launching explosives at police.
More: Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect in Custody, Another on the Loose