Editor’s Note: Throughout the course of the afternoon there were conflicting reports concerning the status of a suspect in the Boston bombings. Some media organizations reported that a suspect was in custody while others reported that there was no suspect at all. As a member of the Associated Press and a CBS affiliate we were presented with a situation where our two primary news partners presented conflicting information. At this point we decided to simply present the information as it was provided to us being careful to cite our sources.
DEVELOPING STORY
WASHINGTON – Initially, the Associated Press reported that the suspect was in custody. CNN and Fox News reported a suspect was under arrest.
BREAKING: Law enforcement official: Boston Marathon bomb suspect in custody, expected in federal court. -BW
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 17, 2013
Suspect arrested in Boston terror attack, source says: on.cnn.com/15fo2LB
— CNN (@CNN) April 17, 2013
#BREAKING NEWS: FoxNews.com confirms arrest made in deadly #Boston Marathon bombing fxn.ws/YSLNGJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 17, 2013
Within minutes, conflicting reports began to surface from CBS, ABC, The Boston Globe and NBC news that no arrest had been made.
Boston Police: There has not been an arrest in the Marathon attack
— ABC News (@ABC) April 17, 2013
JUST IN: @cbsnews has learned that NO ARREST has been made in Boston Marathon bombing case CBSNews.com
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 17, 2013
US Attorney’s office: There is no marathon bombing suspect in custody and no arrest
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) April 17, 2013
“All we can say for certain, is that all of our sources say no arrest.” – @petewilliamsnbc
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 17, 2013
Then, CNN and Fox News began to walk back their statements, saying a suspect was not under arrest, but rather in custody. Then they backed off that report.
CNN’s @joejohnscnn reports no arrest has been made – details on our live blog and on @cnn TV: on.cnn.com/15fRbX7
— CNN (@CNN) April 17, 2013
#BREAKING: Conflicting reports over report of possible suspect in #Boston Marathon bombing fxn.ws/YSLNGJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 17, 2013
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