The Bombing Suspect Didn’t Engage In a Shootout with Police, Or Shoot Himself … He WASN’T EVEN ARMED When Hiding In the Boat

(reposted from Washinton's Blog)

Officials said that Boston terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev engaged in a shootout with police and then may have tried to kill himself while he was trapped in the boat, before he surrendered to police.

For example, Newsday reported:

Authorities believe Tsarnaev may have tried to shoot himself before he was taken into custody Friday night because of the trajectory and location of the bullet wound in his neck, a source familiar with the investigation said Sunday.

And the Daily Mail wrote:

Tsarnaev is believed to have shoved his pistol in his own mouth and pulled the trigger in a failed suicide attempt as SWAT officers and federal agents closed in on his backyard hiding place. However, instead of killing him, the bullet simply tore through his neck.

However, the Washington Post reports today:

The suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing had no firearms when he came under a barrage of police gunfire that struck the boat where he was hiding, according to multiple federal law enforcement officials.

Authorities said they were desperate to capture Dzhokhar Tsarnaev so he could be questioned. The FBI, however, declined to discuss what prompted the gunfire.

***

In the immediate aftermath of Tsarnaev’s capture, police officials said he had fired from the boat and he was reported to have been captured with several weapons. There were also reports that the gunshot wound he suffered to the throat might have been an attempt to kill himself as police moved in.

The Post also reports that the barrage of gunfire by authorities may have occurred because of a single accidental shot by the police:

Law enforcement officials described the 30 minutes before the arrest of Tsarnaevas chaotic. One characterized it as “the fog of war” and said that in a highly charged atmosphere, one accidental shot could have caused what police call “contagious fire.”

[So ... how did we get from this picture to the next? -- Jody]