© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Reports: Bombing Suspect Died Of Gunshot Wounds, Blunt Trauma

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as seen in a video taken on April 15 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
FBI.gov
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as seen in a video taken on April 15 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whom the government says was the mastermind behind the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded more than 250, died of gunshot wounds and blunt trauma.

That's according to the Boston Herald, and the AP, who report that Peter Stefan, the owner of a funeral home in Worcester, read details of the death certificate to reporters.

The Herald reports Tsarnaev suffered "gunshot wounds of torso and extremities" and "blunt trauma to head and torso." The paper adds:

"The injuries occurred after Tsarnaev was shot by police and then run over and dragged by a vehicle, according to the death certificate. It says Tsarnaev was pronounced dead at 1:35 a.m. on April 19 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The certificate, bearing a seal, was dated April 25 and signed by Dr. Henry M. Nields, the state's chief medical examiner."

Earlier today, The Boston Globe posted video of an interview with Stefan, who has been criticized for taking Tsarnaev's body.

"All I'm doing is burying a guy," he said. "I'm not honoring a terrorist." Stefan explained that his big problem has been finding a cemetery that is willing to have Tsarnaev buried there.

He said, so far he has "struck out," and he may end up having to ask the government for help in finding a place for Tsarnaev.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.