American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (2023) ‘Netflix’ Docuseries: The 2013 Boston bombings were a big shock to the city’s people. The brutal act of terrorism claimed the lives of more than four people, including an 8-year-old, and injured over 300 people. Many of those on the injury list permanently lost appendages and became amputated. For the city of Boston, the marathon was the annual celebration of the city’s spirit and its people. The marathon was organized every year on Patriot’s Day, which is a State Holiday in Massachusetts.
The Netflix documentary, American Manhunt, is not the first documentation of the Boston Marathon bombing. There have been several cinematic depictions, most notably Peter Berg’s 2016 movie Patriot’s Day starring Mark Wahlberg. We have not seen some of the footage we see in the Netflix documentary. It is quite honestly the most insightful perspective of what went on behind the scenes in the investigation.
We learn about certain disagreements across the type of law enforcement asset attached to the operation, including the State Police and FBI. We have broken down the recently released documentary on Netflix, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing, for you and also explained its ending below.
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (2023) ‘Netflix’ Docuseries Recap:
The Netflix documentary is divided into three parts. There is not any specific distinguishment in the parts. The story naturally progresses across the three episodes. All the segments of the narrative spill over in the episodes making the final product seem like a three-hour-long movie.
Episode 1: “White Hat, Black Hat”
The title for this episode is derived from the first characterization of the suspects of the bombing by the local police and FBI. American Manhunt begins on 15 April 2013. Patriot’s Day is when the city of Boston comes alive, according to the interviewers. Boston PD superintendent Billy Evans played a starring role in the Manhunt and says, “If people really want to hurt other people, they’ll find a way.” Boston has a lot of history. It is the only city that celebrates Patriot’s Day with the Marathon, which is the oldest marathon in America.
All buses and trains are closed, and people flood the streets. Karen and Kevin McWatters are those who were deeply affected by the bombings. They are part of the interviewers explaining that faithful day. While Karen was a regular spectator of the marathon, Kevin was an active runner. The marathon starts in Hopkinton and ends in Boston City. That day was a Monday. 2.49 pm, 5 hours into the race, the two explosions happened almost simultaneously. Janelle Jimenez, part of the EMT (a.k.a First Responders), was called onto the scene along with her team. The two bombs go off near the finish line.
Police Commissioner Ed Davis took charge of the first response to the bombings. The police spread across the area to help. There was panic and shock among the locals. Rumors of more bombs went around the city. There was a dubious fire at JFK Library as well, just after the incident. Phillip Martin, the investigative journalist, provided insights from the view of someone watching on the sidelines and seeing the human impact on the ground. Special Agent in Charge Rick Deslauriers from the FBI was tasked with helping Davis.
The first thing was to secure the entire area and make sure there were no more bombs. Bomb-sniffing dogs and bomb techs were sent down to ensure that. Carmen Ortiz, United States Attorney Massachusetts, would be the one to prosecute the bombers. She became part of the manhunt to nab the bombers. The Black Falcon Terminal was used as an evidence processing site. Afterward, it was flown down to Quantico, Virginia, to the FBI headquarters.
The injured were questioned, and someone pointed the finger at a Saudi national. He was taken into custody, and the police went to his house and got some suspicious stuff. But he was not involved. There was serious prejudice against people from the Middle East at that moment. Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, created the task force to look into the bombings and characterized it as a “terrorist attack.”
Karen visited the marathon with her best friend Krystle. Kevin and Joe, Krystle’s husband, went looking for Krystle and Karen as they only knew of the bombings from the news. Karen wasn’t there, but Krystle was found. Karen was found in the operating room at the same hospital. She lost her leg due to the bombings. Kevin Swindon, Supervisor of Cyber Squad, Boston FBI office, was tasked with collecting and analyzing footage of videos from the marathon. The evidence was overwhelming. Thousands of people sent videos and images via email to them.
John Foley, Assistant Special Agent in charge FBI, was in Arizona on holiday. He was called in. On Tuesday, they found shredded bags that held the bombs. Shrapnel all around confirmed it was indeed a terrorist attack. Pressure cooker bombs were used to execute it. These were remote-controlled and fairly difficult to make. Ismail Fenni of the Islamic Society of Boston represent the Muslim view at that time. According to him, 9/11 was a turning point for Muslims in America.
He wished this time was different. But he was about to be proved wrong. Youssef Eddafali was a college student and a friend of one of the bombers. But he did not suspect him one bit, and the bomber got away. CCTV footage from the Forum Restaurant was at a vantage point where explosions went off. Someone calls the FBI, saying they have still shots of someone just before the explosion. A person with a white hat is suspected. He can be clearly seen dropping the bag.
Subsequently, intense speculation and accusations against Islam were spread on the internet. More footage from Whiskey’s Bar was used to confirm the identity of the “white hat.” Time synced the videos and found him. And another person suspected to be the other bomber was a person wearing a “black hat.” Photos were grainy and facial recognition software was not as advanced. The next question confronting them was: Should the images be released to the public?
Ed believed it should be released, but Carmen and Rick did not. They decided that they were not going to release them. President Obama visited Boston to rejuvenate people and reassure them. His rousing speech brought everyone to their feet.
Episode 2: “The American Dream”
The images were made public before Officer Sean Collier was shot at the MIT campus by the same suspects. Danny Meng, a tech entrepreneur, also became the focus of this episode. His 2013 Mercedes car was entered by “white hat,” and he asked Meng to drive. Black Hat ditched the old car and started driving the Mercedes. All three were in it at that point. Black Hat told him they were the bombers, and they killed the cop in Cambridge. Was this a downside to releasing the photos?
The police were in a frenzy and came down to the campus. The three men stopped at an ATM and took cash from Meng’s debit card. Black Hat even said they will let him go. They stopped at a gas station to refill as they wanted to go to New York. Meng spots an opportunity and escapes. He goes to a gas station across the street and pleads with the shopkeeper for help. They’re able to call the police. Meng remembered the GPS number on the tracker in his car. He was so excited about this at first that he knew everything about the car!
He told the police, and they tracked it down to Watertown, Massachusetts. Officer MacLellan and Sergeant John Pugliese were among those from the police department who responded on the ground. Officer Reynolds was the closest to the attackers when they got the news. Pugliese and MacLellan joined soon enough when matters started becoming worse. The Watertown police didn’t know who they really were. They thought it was a routine carjacking incident.
Reynolds followed the black SUV. They were driving another vehicle also. MacLellan caught up to them. Shots were fired viciously in the street. The cavalry arrived from Boston when they got the news. Gunfire was exchanged between the police and the bombers. One of the attackers kept throwing stick bombs while the other kept firing at them. He then threw a pressure cooker bomb. But fortunately, it was clipped and didn’t do a lot of damage.
Sergeant Pugliese flanked them and kept shooting at them. They returned gunfire but didn’t hit him. MacLellan ran out of ammo. Black Hat was also out of ammo. He charged towards the firing officers. Pugliese and MacLellan knocked him out. White Hat got into the Mercedes and ran over the black hat, trying to kill him. He went through the barricading cars and escaped on foot.
All of this happened on 19th April 2013. The other suspect, codenamed black hat died. They got fingerprints and searched various databases looking for a hit. They finally got one: Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Rick was shocked. He informed Ed that The Guardian search revealed Tamerlan’s name previously. They were warned he was a terrorist. But the FBI didn’t disclose any of this information to the Boston police. The Guardian is the first level of scrutiny where basic information is passed on to further process and investigate it.
David Filipov, a Boston Globe reporter, wanted to understand the bombers’ story. Tamerlan’s family was from Chechnya. They came to the USA after the persecution of the community in the 1990s. Tamerlan was a talented boxer. John Allan, who ran a gym in the city, was his trainer in Boston. His father trained him and wanted Tamerlan to become a champion. He had dreams of competing in the Olympics. But the rule change before the tournament denied Tamerlan that opportunity.
Only US citizens could represent the country at the Olympics after the rule change. He thought it was because he was a Muslim, and everything was rigged against them. Tamerlan’s disillusionment increased after that. This happened in 2008. He became very religious after that and used Islam to justify his discontent about his own life.
Two years before the bombing, three people are found dead in Waltham, Massachusetts. One of them was Brendan Mess, Tamerlan’s best friend. They trained together at the gym. Allan consoled Tamelran after Brendan’s death. But his response to the death was shocking. He told Allan that those who sell drugs deserve to die. He showed no remorse. Tamerlan went to Dagestan in 2012. He was heard saying “jihad” on the phone call, and The Guardian assessment was done because of that. But the FBI didn’t pursue it.
Episode 3: “You Can’t Interview a Corpse”
Dzhokhar is Tamelran’s younger brother, who is the other bomber. Filipov takes us back to where it all started. In 1944, the Soviet Union attacked Chechnya. Stalin was convinced Chechnya was helping Nazi Germany. People started escaping Central Asia. Tamerlan’s grandfather also escaped. But unfortunately, the American dream didn’t become a reality for them. A manhunt ensued to track down Dzokhar. The Governor shut down the entire city.
Katherine Russell was Tamerlan’s wife, and she wasn’t cooperating. She was aligned with Tamerlan and his radical beliefs. His family went back to Dagestan and asked for him to be brought alive. Larry Aaronson was a teacher at Dzhokhar’s high school. His assessment of Dzokhar was that he was a great guy. He didn’t believe Dzhokhar did the bombing.
Youssef was best friends with Dzhokhar. He was not radical at all. Dzokhar was very popular with the students. The parents got divorced and went back to Dagestan, which had a negative impact on him. Dzhokhar became closer to his brother after that. Their rage was shared and became mutual. Tamerlan was like Dzhokhar’s father in radicalizing him. The task force got a whiff that Dzkhar could be at his university dorm. The entire Dartmouth University was emptied. But he wasn’t there in the room at Dartmouth University. They had to lift the shelter in place. The investigation was shut down momentarily.
Dzhokhar was suspected of being in the boat of a resident in Watertown the same day. The cavalry arrived after Evans and another officer went to confirm. Gunfire ensued but not from Dzokhar’s side. He was badly injured in the boat, but police were not sure if he had some sort of suicide vest on him. Many unauthorized police officers who weren’t part of the task force shot and missed the boat. Shots went all over the place, endangering citizens.
More than a hundred rounds were shot. Miraculously, Dzhokhar was down but still alive. They got him to come out alive in custody, and Cameron Ortiz, the Massachusetts USA, was relieved. The 4-day manhunt ended on Friday at the 101st hour. The “Boston Strong” chant rose up in the city, and everyone celebrated his arrest.
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (2023) ‘Netflix’ Docuseries Ending, Explained:
Dzhokhar wasn’t able to respond and wrote a few things that we see in the documentary. He wanted his lawyer and said he knew his rights. His friends were interrogated as well. Youssef and his Mulsim peers were targeted. Two friends of Dzokhar, who were his roommates at Dartmouth, knew about Dzokhar after watching the news. They disposed of the evidence, which was later found at the garbage site. They were charged with obstruction of justice.
Police interrogated Ibragim Todashev, a friend of Tamerlan. He confessed to killing the three people at Waltham, and Tamelran was involved too. But he was killed during interrogation as the police claimed Ibragim rushed toward them. Martin, the journalist, wondered if this act of the police was deliberate
Filipov dug deeper and wanted to understand Tamerlan’s journey. He was a part of the Union of the Just movement. But it wasn’t a radical organization. It was in Dagestan. Filipov says Tamerlan went to Dagestan to get closer to his faith and roots. He wanted to find meaning in life after the Olympics disappointment. No evidence was found at the place confirming Tamerlan was radicalized in Dagestan.
By making them look like ordinary people, an attempt to rationalize their actions was made by Filipov. He was targeted over his perceived sympathies towards the bombers. Filipov’s father was killed in the 9/11 bombings, and he revealed that it should give him enough reason to hate all Muslims. But that is not how all people in the community are. The brothers became the bombers; they weren’t born bombers, said Filipov.
A trial was conducted in 2015. The real question was: would he get the death penalty? Dzhokhar was caught showing his middle finger to the camera in jail. This was interpreted as being against the people of Boston. In the background of the case, the judge also denied allowing into evidence the killings in Waltham as the Defense tried to prove Dzokhar did it because of undue influence from Tamerlan. He was sentenced to death but is still awaiting execution.
Evans says there’s no justice because of the lost lives in the end. Something like this will keep on happening as he goes back to the statement he made at the beginning of the series.
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