Twitter and Facebook Celebrate Capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
As new broke that the remaining suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, had been taken into custody by the FBI and Boston Police, the cheers could be heard not only in Boston but on the Internet.
Twitter and Facebook erupted with excitement as the suspect was captured after a day-long manhunt in the city of Boston. More than 70,000 people retweeted the Boston Police's initial tweet that the suspect had been captured and more than 100,000 tweeted their next tweet that "the hunt was over."
Suspect in custody. Officers sweeping the area. Stand by for further info.
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 20, 2013
CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 20, 2013
Others tweeted their own thoughts and excitement. "WE GOT HIM" and #captured were trending terms within minutes of the announcement. Over the last 24 hours, Boston was mentioned on Twitter more than 2.5 million times. The word "suspect" was tweeted more than 1.6 million.
"We got him" #oneboston twitter.com/mayortommenino…
— Mayor Tom Menino (@mayortommenino) April 20, 2013
They captured him alive, read him his rights, and now he'll face trial. That's how it's done. That's how we win. #America
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) April 20, 2013
Crowd here at Scottrade Center chanting "U-S-A" after #stlblues alert fans on Jumbo-tron that suspect in marathon bombs has been captured.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) April 20, 2013
On Facebook the excitement was similar. Some shared photos of people celebrating in the streets in Boston, while others started to circulate this graphic:
(Via @OnlyInBOS)
And now, about two hours after the news broke, Americans continue to celebrate both in the real and digital streets.
That really escalated quickly. #LetsGoBoston vine.co/v/bUHWgpZxwmi
— Ryan Belonger (@rbelonger16) April 20, 2013