Obama: ‘As Americans, We Refuse To Be Terrorized’ [VIDEO]
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President Obama addressed the nation Friday night after Boston police captured marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and brought him in alive.
The 19-year-old suspected terrorist was found hiding in a boat in a Watertown, MA homeowner’s backyard after a manhunt that had the city of Boston on lockdown.
“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all our outstanding law enforcement officials,” said the president. “We will determine how this happened. We will investigate any associations that these terrorists may have had.”
An Obama administration official confirmed that Tsarnaev, who was taken away in an ambulance and said to be in serious condition, will be questioned by a select group of officials from the FBI, CIA and Defense Department, known as “the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group.”
“Why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and our country resort to such violence?” President Obama asked. “One thing we do know is that whatever hateful agenda drove these men to such heinous acts will not — cannot — prevail.”
Obama went on to say that “the families of those killed so senselessly deserve answers…Tonight we think of all the wounded who are struggling to recover …Our thoughts are with those who were wounded in pursuit of the suspects, and we pray for their full recovery.”
Tsarnaev was not read his Miranda rights, according to NBC News — “and could be questioned without them for up to 48 hours under a special legal exception used in cases where public safety is at stake.”
“This has been a tough week,” said the president. “But we have seen the character of our country once more. I am confident that we have the courage, and the resilience, and the spirit to overcome these challenges”
