Boston Marathon Suspects' Possible Motives

On April 20,2013, in an article titled, “Boston Marathon Inquiry Shifts to Suspect’s Russian Trip” from the New York Times, Eric Schmitt reported about possible motives of one of the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. who was killed in a shootout by the police on Friday. Federal investigators have made guesses that the significant visit Tamerlan made to Dagestan and Chechnya may have been the main reason for actions of him and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Of Chechen heritage, they lived in United States for years, and no direct ties have been established with known Chechen terrorist groups. Tamerlan stayed at Dagestan for nearly six months, but his father said that he went there to renew his passport. One month after he returned to the United States, a YouTube page that appeared to belong to him featured videos of an important ideologue preaching.

            This article is important because it brings into question about the two boys’ nationality and religion. As Muslim believers, they were extremely passionate about extremist ideas, which made them dangerous. According to schoolteachers, nineteen year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is wounded in a hospital, was always interested about his Chechen roots and ancestors. He even wrote an essay in class about his interests. His brother, Tamerlan, who was under F.B.I. surveillance since 2011, had the same attitude. Their mother stated, “They told me he is getting information from really extremist sites, and they are afraid of him” (New York Times). There is no question that the boys’ were influenced by their beliefs. However, exact information and reasons will be given only after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev heals and is able to speak.