Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Background and early life

Tsarnaev was born in the former Soviet Union and grew up in a family with origins in the Caucasus region. His family later settled in the United States, and he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2012. He lived in the Boston area and was a college student at the time of the attack.

The attack and manhunt

On Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013, improvised explosive devices detonated near the race finish line, causing fatalities and large numbers of injuries. In the days that followed, investigators linked the bombings to Dzhokhar and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The brothers were also implicated in the killing of a university police officer in Cambridge during the same period.

Capture, prosecution, and sentence

Following a violent confrontation with police during a pursuit, Dzhokhar’s older brother was killed and Dzhokhar fled. He was later found hiding in a boat in a residential yard in Watertown, Massachusetts, and taken into custody. Prosecutors charged him in federal court with multiple offenses, including the use of explosive devices that resulted in death and serious injury. In May 2015 a federal jury convicted him and imposed the death penalty.

Aftermath and legal status

The bombings had major impacts on public safety policies, emergency response planning, and the Boston community. Tsarnaev’s conviction and sentence have been the subject of appeals and legal review. His case remains one of the most prominent domestic terrorism prosecutions in recent U.S. history.

Related topics

• His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed during the manhunt.
• The 2013 Boston Marathon bombings prompted a large-scale law enforcement response and ongoing discussion about radicalization, reporting of suspicious activity, and victims’ compensation.