Federal agents shot and killed a man linked to one of the suspects in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing attack after "something went wrong" during questioning, CBS News reported Wednesday morning.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation visited the man, identified by CBS and an Orlando news outlet as 26-year-old Chechnyan national Ibragim Todashev, early Wednesday morning. WKMG-TV reported that Todashev was being observed by the Bureau because of a past association with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing case who was killed in a firefight with police on April 19.
CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reported that "something went wrong" while Todashev was being interviewed by agents. The Associated Press reported on Twitter that he became violent during questioning.
In a statement released to Miller, the FBI confirmed that there was a shooting involving an agent who "encountered the suspect while conducting official duties" in Orlando, but offered no further details.
"Back when [Todashev] used to live in Boston, they used to hang out. Not hang out -- he knew him," a friend of Todashev's, Khusen Taramov, told WKMG. "They met a few times, because [Todashev] was a MMA fighter and [Tsarnaev] was a boxer. They just knew each other. That's it."
Miller reported that Todashev and other residents of his apartment complex were questioned by authorities, but that Todashev was under more observation because he visited Tsarnaev in Boston and at one point planned to travel to Chechnya.
"He had a ticket to New York. From there, he was going to go home," Taramov said to WKMG, adding that the Bureau was "pushing him to stay, saying, 'We want to interview one last time.'"
Tsarnaev's brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is in federal custody after being arrested in Watertown, Massachusetts, on April 20.
Update, 11:48 A.M. EST: NBC News reported that Todashev confessed to being involved in a 2011 triple-homicide case in Waltham, Massachusetts, that authorities also suspected was linked to the Tsarnaev brothers. Officials said Todashev attacked an agent with a knife after being asked to sign a written statement confirming his confession. Todashev also allegedly "had contact" with Chechen rebel forces, but officials did not know whether he played any influence on Tamerlan Tsarnaev's political beliefs.
Watch WKMG's report on the shooting, aired Wednesday, below.
Report typos and corrections to corrections@rawstory.com.
For customer support contact support@rawstory.com.
