Boston Bombing Suspect Shootout Pictures

Posted by Andrew Kitzenberg on April 22, 2013 750 Comments

 Each of these pictures on this page together with the description of them are individually licensed by Andrew Kitzenberg with the requirement of attribution to Andrew Ktizenberg and a reference to his company’s website www.getonhand.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

These pictures have been made available to the public for free and I have asked that all news and media outlets please donate a contribution to The ONE FUND Boston.  Please let us know about your donation by emailing media@getonhand.com

UPDATE 2:55PM 4/26/2013: All net proceeds from the sale our BOSTON STRONG USB Wristbands will be donated to the One Fund Boston.  We have already collected over $10,000 to support the victims of the Boston Marathon Attacks.

UPDATE 11:00AM 4/24/2013: The pictures are back up and available to the public.  

UPDATE 3:20PM 4/23/2013: I have decided to take down the photos during the ongoing investigation.

On Thursday night [Friday morning] at 12:45am EST.  I was in my living room working on my computer when I heard multiple “pops” coming from outside.  At that point, I had no idea that I was about to become an eye witness to the biggest news story in the country.

When I looked outside my window, I could clearly see two people (the Tsarnaev brothers) taking cover behind an SUV and engaging in gunfire. After witnessing shots being fired I promptly ran up the stairs to my 3^rd floor bedroom to distance myself a little further away from the gunfire. As I ran into my room, overwhelmed by shock, adrenaline, and curiosity, I jumped onto my bed to stay below the windows but also have a clear view at the shooters and photograph the event. As soon as I was laying safely on my bed I started taking pictures with my iPhone 5 and captured the following images that documented the terrifying shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers, which then led to an overnight citywide manhunt.

 

 Here are the two brothers taking cover behind the black Mercedes SUV and shooting towards Watertown Police officers. (Taken at 12:46:11AM)

 

 The shooters were also driving the green sedan on the left. They had the back passenger door open and were going back into the car where they had additional supplies (assumingly, more ammunition and explosives). They also had backpacks at their feet where they also had additional supplies.

 

 This is a view from the west-facing window in my bedroom and at the end of the block (Laurel St.) you can see multiple police vehicles. These vehicles were about 75-80 yards from the shooters. (Taken at 12:46:25AM)

 

 Here it’s clear to see the brothers taking aim and firing on the officers. (Taken at 12:47:57AM)

 

 This is a zoomed in view from the last image. The red circle highlights the pressure cooker bomb that was used just moments after this photo was taken. The use of this explosive created an enormous cloud of smoke that covered the entire street. While the street was still cloudy with smoke one of the brothers started running down the street towards the officers, while still engaging them in gunshots. As he got closer to the officers, within 10 -15 yards of them he was taken down. From my vantage point I did not see whether he was tackled to the ground or brought down by gunshots.

 

As the one brother was running toward the officers the second got back into the SUV, turned it around in the street and proceeded to accelerate at the vehicle barricade. This image shows the black SUV charging the officer vehicles. (Taken 12:50:57AM)

 

This is a zoom-in from the last image and the red circle highlights where one of the brothers was taken down and still laying in the street. The black SUV proceeded to accelerate towards the officers and drove in between the two cars at the top of the picture. The SUV side swiped both cars taking out doors and windows and ultimately broke through the vehicle barricade and continued driving west on Laurel St. This was the last I saw of the black SUV.

 

This image was taken from the east-facing window. As soon as the black SUV had left the street officers rushed toward the green sedan and the spot of the shooting. As soon as officers got to the vehicle they started alerting all others on scene that there were “IEDs” on the street and for everyone examining the scene to clear the entire street. Also pictured at the bottom of the image is a Watertown Police SUV that had crashed in our driveway at the start of the gunfight and had many of its windows shot out. (Taken 12:57:52AM)

 

At the bottom of this image is the blast mark from the pressure cooker bomb that exploded in the middle of the street. At the top of the image, the bright light is a bomb detecting robot that was moving toward the blast mark. (Taken at 1:20:10AM)

 

Here bomb squad personnel inspect the blast mark of the large explosion.  (Taken 1:39:22AM)

 

Here heavily armed agents are still in search of the suspect on Laurel St. (Taken 2:14:54AM)

 

Here is the bomb detecting robot inspecting the vehicle from the back right passenger seat. (Taken at 2:49:19AM)

 

After shooting had stopped my roommate found a bullet hole that penetrated his west-facing wall and continued to pierce through his desk chair. His room is on the 2^nd floor corner of the house, closest to the street, with west and south facing walls

 

The bomb squad had finally inspected the entire vehicle and all the backpacks beside it and have cleared the area.  (Taken 5:45:25AM)

 

Armed Agents searching and evacuating all homes on Laurel St. They evacuated ours shortly after this photo was taken. (Taken at 6:01:17AM)

After being evacuated from our home, we spent a long and emotionally straining day in our neighbor’s house down the block. My roommates and I are all very grateful that we made it through such a terrifying event unharmed. These kind of horrifying events make you realize how precious life really is and the need to cherish every moment you have. You quickly reflect on the people that surround you and how important those relationships are in your life. I know I am truly blessed to have my health and safety after this horrible event and am thankful for every person that has touched my life. Thank you to all of my family, friends, and the incredible number of people who reached out with love and support.

Truly Blessed,

Kitz

P.S. Thanks to Acceleration Partners & Growth Spark for all their help and advice.