ORLANDO, Fla.—One of the brothers accused of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing is also now believed to have committed a grisly triple murder in 2011, U.S. law-enforcement officials said after a man believed to be his accomplice was gunned down here Wednesday by a federal agent who was questioning him.
Ibragim Todashev was shot dead at an Orlando apartment after he lunged at and cut a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, who with two Massachusetts state troopers had been questioning him about the murders in Waltham, Mass., two law-enforcement officials said, citing preliminary reports from the scene. The agent was taken to the hospital with injuries that weren't life-threatening. The FBI said it was reviewing the incident.
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The trail looked to have gone cold in the killings of Brendan Mess, 25, Erik Weissman, 31, and Raphael Teken, 37, whose throats were slashed on Sept. 11, 2011, in a Waltham apartment. Their bodies were found a day later, covered in marijuana and cash. No arrests were made, but the probe gained steam in recent weeks.
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The FBI initially questioned Mr. Todashev weeks ago because he was a friend of Tamerlan's, the U.S. official said. He had been cooperative and canceled a planned trip to Russia, in part to continue voluntary interviews with the FBI, according to the official.
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A friend, Umar Taramov, said he and his younger brother accompanied Mr. Todashev to meet investigators Tuesday but left because the meeting was lasting hours. He said his younger brother returned and was shocked to find Mr. Todashev had been shot.
"The Ibragim I know is a very normal guy," said Mr. Taramov. "This isn't someone who would have done something crazy."
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Mr. Taramov said he wanted an explanation of what exactly transpired between investigators and Mr. Todashev. "They can say anything. The person is dead. Now they can blame him for anything," Mr. Taramov said.
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So, two FBI agents and two Mass. cops meet the friend of one of the Boston Marathon bombers in "an Orlando apartment." Not the nearest FBI office or a local police station. A safe house.
According to the story, after hours of "voluntary" questioning, his friends leave. Then the guy "lunges" at one of the FBI agents with a knife, inflicting non-life threatening injuries, and is shot dead by the agent he sliced.
At best, the Feds and the cops failed to search this guy and let him bring a knife to the interview. Or else they conducted the interview in an apartment in which knives were readily accessible. At worst, well -- it's just not cool to bring a guy in for questioning and then shoot him dead while he is in your custody. You're kinda supposed to be in control of the interview situation.
If you were the guy's father, you might even think that he was murdered.
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