Month: April 2013

By JUJU CHANG (@JujuChangABC) and ANTHONY CASTELLANO

April 20, 2013

One day after the Boston Marathon bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev spent time at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he was enrolled as a student and “acted like nothing happened,” according to a friend at the campus.

Tsarnaev, 19, is believed to be one of the suspects behind the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Monday that killed three people and injured more than 170.

Andrew Glasby told ABC News that Tsarnaev lived one floor above him at the Pine Dale dormitory and he had a conversation with the alleged bomber one full day after the bombing on the campus.

“I can’t believe he had the balls to come back and act like nothing happened,” Glasby said.

UMass would only confirm that Tsarnaev was on the campus Wednesday, according to card swipes. Tsarnaev visited the gym and slept in his dorm room Wednesday, according to the school.

Glasby said Tsarnaev, who was often referred to as Jahar, blended right back into normal college life and was “convincing” that nothing was amiss.

“I thought as it was just regular old Jahar. We had a typical conversation, he was not startled, he was not scared, he was not anything. He was just the same old Jahar,” Glasby said.

Glasby said that Tsarnaev offered to give him a lift home to Waltham, Mass., on Friday. Tsarnaev described his car as a green Honda Civic, which was the same car police initially said Tsarnaev may have been driving while at-large.

Instead, Glasby spent Friday evacuating the campus, which sits about an hour south of Boston. A screeching fire alarm woke Glasby around 10 a.m. as Blackhawk helicopters circled overhead.

“I didn’t have time to grab my wallet or my phone. I only had time to grab my sweatpants and my sneakers,” Glasby recounted.

“UMass Dartmouth has learned that a person being sought in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing has been identified as a student registered at UMass Dartmouth. The campus is closed. Individuals on campus should shelter in place unless instructed otherwise,” the university posted on its website.

Glasby described Tsarnaev as an average Joe who played soccer, enjoyed FIFA soccer video games and smoked marijuana on a daily basis until this year.

“I think he told me from one of our conversations, ‘Oh I don’t smoke anymore,'” Glasby said.

To Glasby, Tsarnaev was a social, low-key guy with a messy dorm room and liked to listen to hip hop music.

“It really makes me wonder, the person next to you, are they really that person, acting like they are the best person but instead they are blowing up people?” Glasby said.

Late Friday night, UMass posted an update on their website, saying the campus will remain closed and an update will be provided later today.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families affected by this week’s tragic events. UMass Dartmouth is committed to being part of the healing process that will unfold in the days and weeks ahead,” the message concluded.

Suspect 2, at the time he was removed from the boat. He is placed in handcuffs and an initial search is conducted.

The father of suspected Boston Marathon bomber called on his son today to give up peacefully, but warned the U.S. that if his son is killed “all hell will break loose.”

Anzor Tsarnaev spoke to ABC News from his home in the Russian city of Makhachkala as Boston police carried out an intense dragnet for his son Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, survived a running gun battle with police during the night that left an MIT security officer dead and a Boston cop badly wounded. His older brother died in the shootout.

The father said he spoke to his sons by phone earlier this week. “We talked about the bombing. I was worried about then,” Anzor Tsarnaev said.

He said his sons reassured him, saying, “Everything is good, Daddy. Everything is very good.”

The elder Tsarnaev insisted that his sons were innocent, but said he would appeal to his son to “surrender peacefully.”

“Give up. Give up. You have a bright future ahead of you. Come home to Russia,” the dad said.

The father warned, however, “If they killed him, then all hell would break loose.”

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is now described as willing to die in a battle with police, was more striking for taking acting classes, advanced placement courses and being a star athlete with lots of friends in high school.

“He never seemed out of the ordinary at all,” high school classmate Sierra Schwartz told “Good Morning America” today. “This is not someone who seemed troubled in high school or shy. He was just one of us. It’s very weird.”

Steven Owens told ABC News, “I met him when I was in seventh grade and he was just a great kid. He was fun to be around. Very studious, very smart. I don’t remember a time when he was ever having trouble in school. He was a great athlete. Great to be around.”

Owens said Tsarnaev “always had a positive attitude,” but had expressed some political opinions in school.

“He always thought the war [Iraq, Afghanistan] was stupid,” Owens said. “He didn’t enjoy the idea of war. We didn’t really talk about it much. The only time it ever really came up was when we were learning about it in school.”

When Owens first saw authorities’ photos of Tsarnaev, he wasn’t positive it was him since he hadn’t seen him in a few years.

“I started looking through my yearbook because I thought I recognized him and there he was,” Owens said. “I was just so surprised.”

Students at UMass Dartmouth are being evacuated from their dorms, following confirmation that Tsarnaev lived in the Pinedale residence hall.

PHOTOS: Boston Bombing Suspect Manhunt

The search for Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass., has effectively shut down Boston and its surrounding cities today, including Watertown, Mass., where Tsarnaev’s brother was killed in an overnight shootout.

Boston is on lockdown and police are engaged in a large operation in Watertown.

Law enforcement sources tell ABC News the suspects are believed to be brothers are of Chechen ethnicity and their family came from the semi-autonomous Russian province of Dagestan. A law enforcement source confirmed that at least one of the brothers is a legal permanent resident in the United States.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was born in Kyrgyzstan, a law enforcement source citing State Department documents told ABC News. The brothers are believed to have spent time there.

Schwartz went to Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School with Dzhokhar, who is now the target of a massive police dragnet.

She recognized him immediately when she saw his photo released by authorities.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that looks just like Dzhokhar…,” she said. She then noticed that his Facebook page had been deleted.

Schwartz knew he went to college, but did not remember where. She last saw him in Cambridge in the summer of 2011 before starting college. She was not aware that he had a brother.

“He was a great athlete. He did well. I think he won a scholarship for it,” Schwartz said. “This is very unexpected….this is out of the ordinary. Completely shocking.”

Schwartz is still reeling from the news that her former classmate is the most wanted person in America.

“When I woke up, it’s like I’m living a nightmare right now. It can’t be described,” she said. “I just really hope they catch him.”

“We all knew him for four years and that’s something a lot of people can’t say,” she added.

Tsarnaev’s father Anzor Tsarnaev lives in Makhachkala, the capital of Republic of Dagestan.

“My son is a true angel,” Anzor Tsarnaev told the Associated Press. “Dzhokhar is a second-year medical student in the U.S. He is such an intelligent boy. We expected him to come on holidays here.”

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s brother, identified as Suspect 1, was killed overnight after exchanging fire with police officers, during which multiple explosive devices were detonated, authorities said.

The Monday bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 170.