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The Situation Room
Update On Boston Bombings; FBI Releases Photos and Video of Two Suspects
Aired April 18, 2013 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We're waiting for the start of an important FBI news conference. It is about to begin with the latest developments in this investigation. We'll have live coverage as soon as it begins. This is preliminary comments, not the news conference, itself.
They're just giving some instructions out there about the news conference. It should begin within the next few minutes. We'll have live coverage. We've been waiting for more than 24 hours for the start for this FBI news conference to begin. They've just given us -- that man you just saw there -- what they call a five-minute warning. So, it should begin at around 5:05 p.m. eastern.
Here are the latest developments in the investigation into the Boston bombings. First, a source tells CNN two individuals featured in photographs sent to law enforcement agencies are no longer of high interest to investigators. Investigators have been combing through surveillance video dating at least a week before the bombings a source saying they're trying to identify anyone who may have scouted the area.
Technicians by the way, the FBI's national laboratory in Virginia, will try to reconstruct the bombs based on remains of a pressure cooker, metal pellets, and a shredded backpack sent to the scene. Drew Griffin is over at the news conference we're awaiting to start. We'll be hearing from the FBI agent in charge. Drew, set set the scene for us.
VOICE OF DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Well, the scene, it just got very chaotic. The FBI agents brought in two easels. They have two black what look like photos that they're going to turn over and show us at any moment now. So, we may be getting to see the actual evidence that they want us to see, whether that's photos of actual people involved or more photos of devices.
There's a lot of anticipation here, Wolf. And I'll tell you as they brought in the easels, the cameras that are jammed into this small conference room at the Sheraton Hotel just crowded to the front, and now, we are all waiting for an unveiling of whatever this is. We expect to have this news conference under way momentarily. The special agent in charge and I believe you'll be able to -- one other thing I want to send on the line (ph) for all our producers is that whatever they show here, Wolf, will be available on the FBI website as soon as it's revealed -- Wolf.
BLITZER: At some point, and of course CNN.com will have that available as well. We're waiting for the FBI agent in charge, Richard DesLauriers, to come in. He's been briefing reporters. He's been briefing the news media, briefing the American public since these two bombings occurred at the end of the Boston marathon on Monday. Three people were killed. Nearly 200 people were injured.
Richard DesLauriers was supposed to have this news conference yesterday, but it was indefinitely postponed, and now, finally, it will happen and we anticipate getting the very latest from the FBI agent in charge.
Tom Fuentes is here with me as we await the start of this news conference. He is fully prepared, Tom. You're a former FBI assistant director. You're our analyst now, but he's coming in. He knows precisely what he wants the American public to know.
TOM FUENTES, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. That's exactly right, and that's among the considerations that have been going on since yesterday. They have one issue of informing the public. They have the other of having to be careful about what kind of strategy issues they reveal.
BLITZER: Because they don't want to do anything that's going to undermine this investigation. But at the same time, they believe that the American public, people might be able to help them with some evidence.
FUENTES: Well, people might be able to help them, but at the same time, they don't want to possibly jeopardize the potential success of apprehending the right people and being able to prosecute and convict them later. So --
BLITZER: You don't want to do anything that's going to undermine an eventual prosecution, if you will. And we anticipate because it's been delayed now for 24 hours that he, obviously, has something important to say.
FUENTES: Well, I would assume. There's been a lot of things going on behind the scenes over the course of the entire investigation, and it's very difficult to prepare and actually perform these press conferences. It takes a lot of time getting all of the commanders together, have the meeting, the discussion, go over what's going to be said. It takes a lot of time when they're looking at the case, itself, and trying to run this investigation.
BLITZER: This is a complicated investigation. It's not just the FBI. Its state, its local authorities, Boston police. Deborah Feyerick is watching us. We await the start, the FBI agent in charge, Deb, Richard DesLauriers. What is the latest information you're picking up? DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting because they've been very carefully guarding, obviously, by looking at what we see there, who they may show us once the cloths come off the easel. They've been very, very careful. You have to keep in mind, Wolf, they've been going through hundreds if not thousands of photographs isolating individuals who seem to stick out who don't belong where they are.
And so, the expectation is that once they do reveal who is under or what is under those easels we'll have a much clearer sense. Yesterday, we were talking about these two young men who were of keen interest. They were circulating all around an image that went viral, one man in a white baseball hat, another in a blue jacket. But they went from sort of being on the top ten to well below that. So, it'll be interesting to see who they unveil when they pull the cloths off those easels
BLITZER: Fran Townsend is watching all of this unfold. She's here with me. This is an important news conference, I think, it's fair to say based on everything we're hearing, Fran, this FBI agent in charge and he's the man. This is a federal investigation. Local and state authorities are assisting in the investigation, and there are many agencies involved. This is the man who will be doing the briefing, answering questions at this news conference who's in, overall, charge.
FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, absolutely, Wolf. And what they're doing now is making sure that they vetted what he's going to say, what help he's going to ask for, what the message is to the public, and that they're confident that they have a system by which and he's given the number before that they can solicit the public's help.
BLITZER: And basically, if they're going to show us something presumably or say something, they want the American public, especially people in the Boston area to be able to come forward with information.
TOWNSEND: Absolutely. And they've made that clear from the very first day, Wolf. You know, they've been imploring the public. First, it was for videos or any information they have. We know they've been out doing interviews, talking, canvasing the manufacturers of the component parts. And so, they clearly have additional information now that they feel comfortable that they can ask for more specific assistance.
BLITZER: Drew Griffin is inside that briefing, inside that news conference. He's listening. He's watching. He's getting ready. Just give us a little flavor of the sense of anticipation, Drew. What's it like in there?
GRIFFIN: Well, this is the same crowd that I was with for like eight hours yesterday, Wolf, waiting for the FBI to come out. So, there's an incredible amount of anticipation. As soon as we saw the easels come out, everybody realized that this was not going to be just something like something updating. We were actually going to get the real news and then came out these black posters. So, now, we're all anticipating some actionable information that we can work with, work on, and perhaps, I mean, perhaps, help solve this crime. I think the hesitation has been that when you once ask for tips, you know, the receiving end is going to get thousands and thousands of calls from everybody who can recognize some portion of whatever you're going to see (INAUDIBLE) because then you have to read through everything.
But the scene here is suddenly hushed. There may be about 50 cameras in here just waiting and trained on the door to see who's going to come through and unveil these photos to us.
BLITZER: And Drew, we understand he will make -- have an opening presentation. He will speak and tell us what the latest is on the investigation, and then, he will open it up to questions. I'm not sure how many questions, but at some point, reporters will be able to follow up with questions. Is that right?
GRIFFIN: We understand there's going to be a short, prepared statement by Rick DesLauriers, and he will have the U.S. attorney with him. They will have some questions, but we were cautioned by the U.S. attorney's press liaison that the questioning will be very few. So, we will see just how long they will stand here.
Apparently, they have something very specific they want to say to us and, perhaps, not much more than that. So, we will get in as many questions as we can, and we'll just have to wait and see.
BLITZER: Are we also expecting to hear from the U.S. attorney?
GRIFFIN: We were told there would be no prepared remarks from the U.S. attorney. However, the U.S. attorney has answered my questions here before, Carmen Ortiz (ph). And if we get a chance to, of course, we will ask those questions. She, of course, is the one who will have to with her team prosecute the FBI's case in court here in Boston.
So, she is a very important person in terms of the prosecution end while the FBI is, of course, the lead agency in trying to track them and get them into Carmen Ortiz's courtroom.
BLITZER: Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director is watching and we're waiting for these -- the FBI and the U.S. attorney, the FBI agent in charge and the U.S. attorney, to walk in. But, Tom, as we await the arrival, the start of this news conference, is there oftentimes, and you've been involved in some of these investigations, a lot of them as a former FBI assistant director, some tension between the attorney, the U.S. attorney who has to prosecute, and the FBI agent in charge who has to investigate?
FUENTES: I wouldn't call it tension, Wolf. It's just there's a debate of what's involved and what the investigators need to do to get the person into the courtroom, as Drew mentioned, and the debate of not wanting something done during the investigation that jeopardizes the chance or reduces the probability that evidence can be introduced, which would lead to the conviction. So, they have their areas of expertise, and they discuss that, but this is something. The coordination between U.S. attorneys and the FBI and the other law enforcement agencies is ongoing in every major case.
BLITZER: They have to really be sensitive. Fran Townsend, you worked with the justice department. You were a homeland security adviser to President Bush. You have to be very sensitive what you say, so you don't undermine eventually some sort of prosecution.
TOWNSEND: That's right, because oftentimes as you're gathering, for example, they got great forensic evidence that they've been exploiting over the last 48 hours. You want to be able to keep that a secret so that when you're actually, if you get someone in custody and you interview them, you don't want to show your cards publicly.
You don't want them to know what you have because you want to be able to test them in an interview and elicit as much detailed information as you possibly can.
BLITZER: All right. I think some folks are beginning to walk through those doors. I think this is about to get started. Let's see. They said, originally, which started around five minutes after, 11 minutes after the top of the hour. But let's see if they start coming in. Maybe there's some last -- it's not unusual, Fran, for there always to be some last, last-minute issues. They want to make sure they are precise in their words.
TOWNSEND: That's right. I mean, look, given the importance and size of the investigation, Wolf, you can be sure that anything that Rick DesLauriers is going to say has been cleared by FBI headquarters in Washington and coordinated with the Homeland Security Council and other agencies in addition to clearing it with the U.S. attorney who's going to appear with him.
BLITZER: Any new information? Drew, you're inside that room. Are you getting any new information on what's going on?
GRIFFIN: No, I'm not getting any new information. Just another brief delay. Jack Pope (ph) who is an FBI agent was called off the stand in the back room here which I can see, but I can't see who's -- I'm sorry. Oh, yes. We are just waiting. There just seems to be some last-minute logistical operations going on behind the scenes.
We're just waiting. Certainly, we waited eight hours yesterday and here we are again. But obviously, this is going to be a little more fruitful today.
BLITZER: The anticipation that you were talking about, Drew, looking forward to getting some specific information. I was in Boston. Clearly, the city has been shaken, indeed, the state, the entire country has been shaken by this senseless bombings that occurred at the end of the Boston marathon.
There's a lot of frustration at the same time. People want answers, Drew, but sometimes, you don't get answers that quickly. GRIFFIN: But collectively, this entire town, I can tell you, from eating lunch, from sitting on a park bench yesterday with two older men who were discussing in very colorful Boston language who could have done this. Everybody out there is being a sleuth trying to figure out foreign, domestic, local, not local, somebody who knew the marathon, somebody who was in the marathon before, somebody who had a grudge.
Everybody is speculating amongst themselves as who did this, and they're mainly feeding on a bunch of rumors because of the lack of information coming from the officials. I don't mean that as criticism. It's just I can tell you when you say there's frustration and anticipation, Boston wants to know who did this. Mostly now because I think Boston is collectively ticked off. And, so, you have all this anticipation spent up.
And yesterday, as we were waiting for that, I could feel that in the press room and when the fire official came out and said the FBI has canceled the news conference, and there won't be one, there was a lot of frustration among my colleagues, but also, I can tell you as I walked out on the street, a sense of frustration for the public as well.
BLITZER: Yes. There was a shock and anger and people were amazed by what had occurred over these past few days. There is real frustration. There's anger right now. Tom Fuentes, you've been involved in these kinds of investigations over the years when you worked at the FBI.
How many people really know, I mean there's a huge investigation. I would say hundreds if not thousands of people in one way or another have been looking into these crimes. But how many people really are knowledgeable about what's going on?
FUENTES: Actually, a pretty good number of people would because you're sharing that information among all of the investigative agencies so that they know what they're looking at, what they should be looking for.
And I want to also add that one of the difficulties here and one of the delays that comes up is often not just the information you put out about the potential terrorists that you're trying to apprehend, but if you're very cautious about what you put out about people that may turn out to be innocent, and they're not terrorists but would be possibly labeled by law enforcement or by the media as terrorists and we don't want that.
BLITZER: That would be terrible.
FUENTES: Well, the police, they're relying on the trust and cooperation and respect of the public, and they don't want to start doing something in an investigation that causes people to be fearful and would cause potential witnesses to be reluctant to come forward and talk to the FBI thinking my name is going to be out there or my picture might be out there or they might arrest me. So, you have a number of competing concerns that make it very difficult. You're balancing the successful outcome of the investigation, but at the same time, being cautious about these kind of issues.
BLITZER: And Fran, there's at least one killer out there on the loose, maybe more. We don't know. You don't want to do anything that's going to aid that killer in his escape or her escape or their escape.
TOWNSEND: That's exactly right, Wolf. And that's why particularly with forensics but with most of the information related directly to the core of the investigation, they'll be very careful. They're not going to release it, unless, they absolutely have to because they want to solicit the public's help. And I think that's what you're seeing here today.
BLITZER: And these days later, Fran, there's still no one has claimed responsibility for this heinous crime.
TOWNSEND: Right. And you know, people ask, we've asked, what does that mean?
BLITZER: What does it mean?
TOWNSEND: Well, it's hard, Wolf, because look, we're normally used to seeing if it was an al Qaeda-related in some way, a claim of responsibility. There's been none. On the other hand, communications for them can be difficult in terms of getting their claim of responsibility out. It really, Wolf, I don't know how to read it, frankly, because it's -- right now, there are so many potentials, paths to walk down.
And that's what I think the FBI is doing. They're trying to walk down every single one of those to eliminate those that are not fruitful.
BLITZER: Do you read anything into this no one making a claim of responsibility, Tom?
FUENTES: My impression of that is that it may not have been coordinated in any way from overseas. So, you don't have al Qaeda central or al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or Pakistani-Taliban involved in this directly, but they may have inspired somebody here to self-radicalize and do it.
So, it could be somebody learning from "Inspire" magazine that we've talked about before or on the internet that's learned how to do this and does it because they're in support of the same objectives as al Qaeda without actually being directed in any way by them from overseas.
BLITZER: At the same time, it could be a domestic homegrown Timothy McVeigh type of terrorist.
TOWNSEND: That's right, Wolf, because of course, the same recipe is in the anarchist's manual. And so, it could be a radical domestic inspired event.
BLITZER: Timothy McVeigh responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing of the federal office building, the Murrah Federal Office Building back in 1995. Deb Feyerick, you're on the scene for us in Boston. You're speaking with law enforcement, local, state, federal law enforcement types.
Any sense of sort of a general description of where this investigation stands right now, infancy, middle, advanced, anything along those lines?
FEYERICK: Earlier in the week. We have been told that forensic teams were expected to wrap up towards the end of the week. There's been no update on that. So, we're not clear whether in fact they have gotten all the evidence they need from various locations. The location by the tree where one of the devices went off, also the location by the finish line where another device went off. So, they've been canvasing all that area now.
And we're told that there were other people. You know, through the course of the last couple of days, we've seen a number of photographs of people who investigators are interested in speaking with. It'll be very, very interesting if the photographs that we have seen are an individual or individuals who now they are looking for. There were a couple of people that we saw, who were very difficult to identify.
There was nothing sort of that stood out about them. In fact, they almost seemed to appear to be shielding themselves, to be shielding their faces. So again, those were the pictures that were sort of circulating. The ones that we saw, those two individuals yesterday, the individuals who have such high interest who now really are of lower interest, they knew their faces and they were able to identify them.
And, we're told by one individual that one of those men actually walked in and said, you know, it's not me. It's not me. So --
BLITZER: All right. Hold on.
FEYERICK: -- be curious. OK. And they're coming in?
BLITZER: I think they're coming in. Some of their aides just came in. They're going to be sitting in the front row. Richard DesLauriers, the FBI agent in charge is going to be walking in right now. He'll open with what has been described as a relatively brief statement. Afterwards, he'll take a few questions. The U.S. attorney in the Boston area will be coming in as well.
This is about to begin so the anticipation has been intense over the past 24 hours or so since this news conference is supposed to take place at 5:00 p.m. eastern yesterday. That was delayed and then postponed. And now, finally, it's going to take place. So, this is one of those moments that we will all be anxious to get some more information, because we certainly know there are so many questions that remain unanswered. Here comes Richard DesLauriers, the FBI agent in charge.
(BEGIN LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE COVERAGE)
RICK DESLAURIERS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Good afternoon. My name is Richard DesLauriers. I am the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston division. Since Monday's bombings, the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been working around the clock and are fully committed to investigating this matter to bring those responsible to justice. Our collective law enforcement team has pursued thousands of leads and tips.
As I said two days ago, we are working methodically and with a sense of urgency to identify those responsible for the bombings. Within the last day or so, through that careful process, we initially developed a single person of interest. Not knowing if the individual was acting alone or in concert with others, we obviously worked with extreme purpose to make that determination.
The entire force of the federal government, the FBI in Boston, around the world as well as our partners in the Boston police, ATF, Massachusetts state police, and more than 30 agencies of the Boston joint terrorism task force have set about to ensure that all responsible for the bombings will be brought to justice. More importantly, it was done to ensure the future safety of the city of Boston, the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the country.
Indeed, through that process, the FBI developed a second suspect. Today, we are listing the public's help to identify the two suspects. After a very detailed analysis of photo, video, and other evidence, we are releasing photos of these two suspects. They are identified as suspect one and suspect two. They appear to be associated. Suspect one is wearing a dark hat. Suspect two is wearing a white hat.
Suspect two set down a backpack at the site of the second explosion just in front of the foreign restaurant. We strongly encourage those who were at the forum restaurant who have not contacted us yet to do so. As you can see from one of the images, suspects one and two appear to be walking together through the marathon crowd on Boylston Street in the direction of the finish line. That image was captured as they walked on Boylston in the vicinity of the intersection with Gloucester Street.
As you can see, the quality of the photos is quite good, but we will continue to work on developing additional images to improve their identification value. Further, on FBI.gov, we have photos of the suspects. The photos and videos are posted for the public and media to use, review, and publicize. For clarity, these images should be the only ones and I emphasize the only ones that the public should view to assist us.
Other photos should not be deemed credible and they unnecessarily divert the public's attention in the wrong direction and create undue work for vital law enforcement resources. For more than 100 years, the FBI has relied upon the public to be its eyes and ears. With the media's help, in an instant, these images will be delivered directly into the hands of millions around the world.
We know the public will play a critical role in identifying and locating these individuals. Somebody out there knows these individuals as friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members of the suspects. Though, it may be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us. No bit of information no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential is too small for us to see.
Each piece moves us forward toward justice. It is extremely important to contact us with any information regarding the identities of suspect one, suspect two, and their location. We consider them to be armed and extremely dangerous. No one should approach them. No one should attempt to apprehend them except law enforcement.
Let me reiterate that caution. Do not take any action on your own. If you see these men, contact law enforcement. If you know anything about the bombings or the men pictured here, please call the telephone listed on the photo arrays. That's 1-800-CALL-FBI. Again, that's 1-800-225-5324. All calls will be kept confidential.
We have also established a website for tips that directly relates to the bombing. Please contact us at BostonMarathonTips.FBI.gov. Again, that website is BostonMarathonTips.FBI.gov. The photos can be viewed on our website, FBI.gov. It is important to emphasize the images from Monday are indelible and the horror of that day will remain with us forever.
This further underscores our obligation to investigate this crime judiciously in order to bring those responsible to justice. The victims and the survivors deserve nothing more. Nothing less, excuse me. As to Monday's victims, the FBI's committed to ensuring that victims receive the rights they are entitled to and the assistance they need to cope with the crime.
Treating victims with respect and providing them with assistance, benefits, and help and assistance will better our cases. Our resources include an office of victim assistance at FBI headquarters and victim specialists nationwide. These highly trained professionals can assist victims and coordinate with other agencies to provide victims with the support, information, and resources necessary to effectively meet their needs.
Our victims specialist team continues to work around the clock to bring assistance to the victims of this heinous act. Identifying and locating those responsible is now our highest priority. No other details of the investigation will be released at this time because this is our focus now. It continues to be an ongoing, active investigation. Review these photographs and contact us at 1-800-CALL- FBI or WWW.BostonMarathonTips.FBI.gov immediately. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
DESLAURIERS: Karen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering if should there be an arrest, what are the potential charges at this point?
DESLAURIERS: I wouldn't want to comment on that Karen right now. I would allow U.S. Attorney Ortiz to comment on that aspect.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got photographs, folks --
DESLAURIERS: Next question please. Next question please. Yes?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are both suspects seen planting these devices at the finish line of the Boston marathon?
DESLAURIERS: No. The only one who was observed planting what we believe to be the device is suspect number two with the white cap.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time did they put those devices down?
DESLAURIERS: I don't have the precise time in front of me. It was shortly before the bomb blast went off.
(CROSSTALK)
DESLAURIERS: Within minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. DesLauriers, are these the sole people of interest in the FBI at this point in the investigation?
DESLAURIERS: At this time, these are the people of interest to the FBI.
(CROSSTALK)
DESLAURIERS: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any information on what they did after the explosions? Any indications they were around watching? Do you have anything on them walking away?
DESLAURIERS: Suspect number two with the white cap on proceeded west on Boylston Street and that's all we know right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, can you address -- there are newspapers all over the country including the "New York Post" that identified two men as potential suspects. I just wonder what it does to your investigation when things like this get out and --
DESLAURIERS: I think I addressed that. Thank you. I think I addressed question that in my statement by saying the only photos that should be officially relied upon in this investigation are those you see before you today.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you stand by your earlier statement that there is no additional danger to the public?
DESLAURIERS: I do stand by that statement right now. There's no additional imminent danger that we are aware of right now.
(CROSSTALK)
DESLAURIERS: Again, the photos are available at FBI.gov. We'll have more information when we have something to release publicly. We'll be back, but we'll let you know. Check our website FBI.com.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: all right. So there you see some of the video that was also made available of these two suspects, suspect described suspect number one, suspect number two, suspect number two with the white cap, suspect number one with the dark baseball cap. Suspect number two, the FBI agent in charge said, seen planting the bag that they believe eventually exploded and started to kill and injure individuals.
Suspect number one, they don't actually have video of this individual allegedly planting the bag at the explosive site. But these are dramatic developments. By the way, we've just been told that the FBI's website, FBI.gov, is apparently just crashed. So many people are going there to try to take a look at the picture. You can go to CNN.com, and we can show you these pictures as well, the still photos that the FBI agent, Richard DesLauriers released.
Also this videotape that has been made available to news organizations by the FBI as well showing these two suspects, suspect number one, suspect number two, clearly, a major, major breakthrough in this investigation. We're going to go through this frame by frame by frame to make sure that all of our viewers here in the United States and around the world have a chance to take a look at these two suspects, these two individuals.
They're described as suspects by the FBI agent in charge, and maybe someone will recognize either one of them and maybe have some information to help locate them. Tom Fuentes is here with me. You looked at these videos, Tom, you looked at the still photos.
FUENTES: Yes.
BLITZER: You heard the appeal from the FBI agent in charge. You're a former assistant director of the FBI. This is pretty powerful stuff.
FUENTES: Yes, it is. It's expected that as of right now millions of people are watching this worldwide and are seeing it, plus all of the other media outlets putting it on their websites and on their broadcasts, so, yes. This is very powerful stuff to put this out like this right now.
BLITZER: Fran, and they clearly want someone to call that number 800 -- 1-800-CALL-FBI and provide a name or some information about these two suspects. FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. And, Wolf, we should -- we should remind our viewers, the bureau takes it very -- a real seriously responsibility --
BLITZER: The bureau, you mean the FBI.
TOWNSEND: The FBI. In terms of putting these photographs out. And so they wouldn't have done it unless they had real reason to believe these guys were connected. So -- you talked about suspect number two in the white hat, video of him putting the package down. You can see in the video as they're walking past, you see their bags. They had clear pictures of the backpack.
Remember they got forensic evidence including pieces of a backpack. And so you bet you that in addition to the photographs and seeing them planted they've gone through the forensic evidence and matched it up to these videos and photographs to ensure that when they're asking for the public's help it's because they have a serious belief that these people were involved.
BLITZER: Because when the bags exploded, some residue, some elements of those bags survived. They could get the manufacturer. They could get the name. They could then take a look at the video and see if it's the same thing.
TOWNSEND: That's right. And remember the other thing that the FBI has gotten is the lid to the pressure cooker. They'll go over that and see if there are fingerprints or DNA or anything that may also tie these suspects to -- to the bombing.
BLITZER: It looks -- you know, you look at the video, Tom. They seem to be pretty cocky these two guys walking around. They got a backpack, they got baseball cap. They're just sort of walking through the crowd as if nothing is going on.
FUENTES: That's right. They attract no special attention walking around. And so, you know, we've been advocating, as we always will, see -- if you see it say it, what do you see there that would cause you to say anything? Two guys, baseball hats, walking around down the sidewalk, you know, like going to a picnic and no one is going to be suspicious of that by itself.
BLITZER: Now they say that suspect -- the FBI agent in charge Richard DesLauriers says that they have video of suspect number two with the white cap actually planting the bag along the curb, I guess, near that mailbox or whatever, and they see that. But they aren't releasing that.
Is there an explanation why they might not be releasing that specific video, those frames?
FUENTES: The only thing I can say about that, maybe there is not a good picture of the subject's faces. He's bent over or something. At least here you're seeing they're upright, you see their faces, you see what they're wearing from head to toe. You see the backpack. And I think maybe this is just that they have a better video here. BLITZER: But it's interesting, Fran, that they say they do have that video, not of suspect number one but suspect number two actually laying down that bed.
TOWNSEND: Very powerful, Wolf. But for the purpose that they've asked the public's help they're only going to release the minimal amount of information they have to to get the help they need. And so to Tom's point these are -- these are videos and pictures in which you can see their face. The rest of it they won't use and frankly if you apprehend these guys and you're doing an interview and interrogation you may ask them to describe planting the device and then you have the picture and the video to look at to see if they're telling the truth.
BLITZER: And it's interesting, Fran, they said that in the last day or so they did isolate one single person of interest. One of these two suspects. But having done that, that led them more recently to the second suspect as well and if they were involved with others, then obviously they're looking for other people that may be involved, although they don't seem to -- they certainly didn't suggest today there were others involved in some sort of conspiracy with these two men.
TOWNSEND: I suspect what Richard DesLauriers was referring to, because they had the video of suspect number two in the white hat planting the device, they then want back through all the video and they looked for him in that video and was there anybody else? And what are you -- lo and behold what do you find? But reason to believe on the video that not only is the guy in the white hat responsible for planting something but he seems to be associated with suspect number one, the guy in the dark hat.
And so I -- based on my experience would say to you that's how they did it. The key here was the video of the guy planting -- the suspect number two in the white hat planting the device.
BLITZER: And we don't know at this point how those two bombs were detonated, whether there was a timer inside those backpacks, whether there was a cell phone that could have detonated. The FBI is not telling us anything along those lines.
TOWNSEND: They haven't told us anything about that, Wolf. We know from some of these online manuals that they often use with the pressure cooker a timer but we've also heard rumor of the possibility of using a cell phone and certainly the FBI is looking at both.
BLITZER: Drew Griffin was inside that news conference with the FBI agent in charge. He's now outside.
Drew, what did you think? Give us your thoughts on what we heard.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he talked about the first suspect. The single suspect. But when he said second suspect, you know, I gasped a little bit. Because I think that changes things. Obviously Fran and Tom Fuentes know a lot more than -- about these kind of things than I do. But it took -- for me it took away the idea of just a lone wolf crazy. When you have two people together they usually have some sort of plan they've been working on and I would assume a plan after the fact.
How they would potentially get away or, quote-unquote, "pull this off." It reminded me of a lone wolf case I did in Toronto where the kids were trying to blow up a tower. They were sympathizers with the overseas terrorists and thought by doing this they would eventually blow up the tower and run to a foreign country and be welcomed with open arms into a terrorist group.
I'm just merely speculating, but I would love to hear what Fran and Tom think about that now that we have two suspects instead of one.
BLITZER: Well, let me ask them. Fran?
TOWNSEND: Yes -- no, I tend to agree with Drew that the fact that there are two of them suggest that this was well planned and coordinated. The bureau said that from the beginning. You've got to assume that they -- as part of their planning they had an escape plan to get away.
Interesting to see. You can't tell from the video whether these are Americans or these are not Americans. So that remains an open question but it also explains why the bureau has been so sort of diligent about watching flights right after the attack of people trying to leave the area.
BLITZER: I suspect, Tom Fuentes, they don't know if these are Americans or not Americans. They just have these two images. They don't -- they don't have any hard evidence one way or another but I could be wrong.
FUENTES: No, that's true. I think they don't know and this gives them an opportunity for worldwide distribution of these images on networks, you know, everywhere. Also the fact that there's two, on the one hand, it shows us not maybe the single person lone wolf but on the other hand if they're not brothers living together it doubles the number of family members, neighbors, friends, that could potentially provide information and identify.
Now you just need one of the people identified and theoretically that would lead you to both of them.
BLITZER: Unless these two have long gone and either left the country or escaped some place that they won't be found. But I'm sure there's going to be a worldwide manhunt under way for these two suspects right now. They probably have two of the most famous faces within the next few hours in the world. Everybody will be studying those faces.
Joe Johns, our crime and justice correspondent, is joining us.
What's going to be the next break in this case, Joe? You've been talking to sources.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly all about the public right now, Wolf. And as you know, there was a lot of debate about the timing of releasing these pictures. Whether to release them at all and now the FBI has taken that step and it's important to say that these individuals, however fuzzy the picture may be, however good the picture may be, will become some of the most famous people in the world for a while as the public looks at those pictures and everybody tries to decide, do I know who this person is?
I know years and years ago here in Washington, D.C. when we had the first breaks in the Washington sniper case there was just this dragnet and people everywhere were looking for the individuals whose description had been put out. Their car had been put out. In this case they didn't have pictures. Now there are pictures so you can bet that people everywhere are going to be looking for them and as we've already been told the FBI's site has crashed. So many people going to look for it. That's going to be repeated. It's also on CNN.com as I understand it. Our site hasn't crashed so you can certainly see it there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: They certainly can. And I just want to repeat the phone number. If people start recognizing either one of these two suspects, they can call 1-800-CALL, C-A-L-L, FBI, in order to provide some the FBI with some information that potentially could lead to the apprehension of either or both of these two suspects.
Jake Tapper is on the scene for us in Boston.
Jake, you got to admit this was a dramatic moment when this FBI agent came out, showed the still pictures, the FBI also releasing the video.
JAKE TAPPER, ANCHOR, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": Dramatic and in some ways chilling, Wolf, to see the actual individuals suspected. We should point that out, suspected, not confirmed as having carried out these terrorist attacks. But definitely a moment where some of us felt something in the pit of our stomach about this is actually perhaps the -- who was behind this, although I have to say on one level it's great that the FBI is working so hard.
There is some reason for a moment of pause here. Obviously, when you're asking for the public's help, it's because you need the public's help. And the idea that law enforcement, with all the capabilities and all the money and technical know-how, and individuals who are working this case, the idea that, despite all of that, they have no idea who these two individuals are and they need to go to the public. To a degree, that might not reassure some members of the public.
Also, of course, these individuals are at large and as the FBI official said they are suspected to be extremely dangerous and armed. Armed and extremely dangerous. And so these two individuals, assuming that they are guilty, are at large, they're out there, and while on one level it's great that the case has been narrowed to these individuals, to another level it's a bit nerve-racking here in Boston -- Wolf. BLITZER: I'm sure it is knowing that two alleged killers are on the loose right now. They may be in the Boston area. Maybe have moved on elsewhere. Who knows? Since Monday afternoon you can get pretty far away from downtown Boston if you know what you're doing.
Deborah Feyerick is watching what's going on, she's on the scene speaking to law enforcement authorities in the Boston area as well.
What do you think, Deb? Is it going to take a long time to get some names behind these two suspects?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's fascinating. Clearly not if somebody recognizes them and then alerts the FBI. That's interesting because two folks yesterday, that's exactly how sort of the identity became known. That's why as Jake said they're looking for these two individuals. They want to cast as wide a net as possible to make sure that anybody who may know them will step forward.
What is interesting, what we didn't hear from the press conference, we didn't hear, you know, any sort of nationality. We didn't hear any real physical description. I think the FBI right now is letting these pictures speak for themselves. They don't want to add anything that is not in the photos. And we are being told that there is some video. There are some images of one of those men who is quite near the backpack as it is placed on the ground.
And that's all things that are developing but again the FBI being very careful about what they will say and very careful about what they will not say. Again, I just want to go back to some of the reporting from yesterday. And that is, you know, there still has not been any sort of chatter on any of these transnational websites, any of these forums. Nobody who is even sort of remotely claiming that they know who may have done this or claiming responsibility.
So with Patriots Day being so close, there is a strong emphasis on whether these folks may be domestic. And so, again, FBI, all they're saying, we want to talk to these guys. But they're not adding any other details, any other qualifiers to help people sort of figure out where they are.
BLITZER: Good point. Tom Foreman is over here with Tom Fuentes, the former FBI assistant director and CNN analyst now.
Tom, take us through this video, these still photos frame by frame so our viewers in the United States and around the world get a better sense of the evidence that the FBI has now released.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sure, Wolf. As we've seen, there really are three pieces of video here. This first one is the head on view of them or the front view of them walking by. Then we get a secondary view from behind as you see them walking away there. And then we get a third view of them coming around a corner, which offers another perspective on all of them.
Tom, one of the things I was struck by was that they said in the presser here that they seem to be associated with each other. What would make you believe that? Yes, they're walking the same direction on the same sidewalk. But why would you believe there's an association?
FUENTES: Well, you might not from these videos. Again, they have more videos that they've looked at. So maybe the way they were in other parts of the sidewalk or at other times of the day. I mean, they're going to have more than just this little clip. This is the only thing they'll release to the public. But they have their reason to believe of maybe they've had them conversing in a couple of other videos or they've put the bag down together, you know, we don't know.
FOREMAN: Something that shows them in the same proximity for a while.
FUENTES: Right. At this point they're just both --
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: And one other thing here that I think is really interesting about this. If we come in close, we stop this, right about here, one of the questions, this image sort of breaks up a little bit here, but if you look at the outline of the backpack, it's harder to see here. This is a fairly substantial pack here. We've been talking about the idea that it could hold one of these pots or something. If you compare it to the shape of the person here that's a fairly substantial thing and he's wearing both straps over his shoulders.
We talked a lot about the issue of weight. I'm guessing that's the kind of thing they also look at.
FUENTES: Right. And the other backpack the other individual is carrying looks heavy, too. So one of the things, you know, we're not clear from these videos, we're kind of thinking that maybe they've already planted one of the devices and maybe they're walking away but it could be they haven't planted either one yet. Maybe they're going on their way to plant one and do that and then go to the other location and plant it and walk away and then both go off later.
FOREMAN: Sure.
(CROSSTALK)
FUENTES: Or they've done one and they're on their way to put the second one so.
FOREMAN: So we have no sequence. Here's that second pattern we told you about.
FUENTES: Right. This bag here also appears to be hanging off the shoulder.
FOREMAN: Same thing. It's also shouldered here.
FUENTES: Right. FOREMAN: And if you look at the dimensions of the bag this bag looks somewhat smaller but if you sort of trace the architecture of the bag, you get a bag about this big.
FUENTES: Right.
FOREMAN: Which is again it seems to be plenty big enough to hold this kind of pot we've been talking about.
FUENTES: Right. So that's what I'm saying is right now you could have both of these individuals carrying both devices. Having not -- not having planted one or the other yet. So they might be on their way to one location, set one down, go to another location, set the other one down. They're both carrying -- you know, I would not think that they would take whatever is in that backpack out of it. They probably would just set the whole backpack down. So that's another issue.
FOREMAN: And just as a practical matter, in general terms, what else would investigators be looking at here?
FUENTES: Well, I think what else I would look at is if there's anybody else around that may be having a camera or paying attention to them but you looked at them walking down the street. You don't see them turning anybody's heads. You don't see them, you know, people go about their business doing other things even as they walk by so.
FOREMAN: And we don't see any sign of them interacting with anyone or for that matter watching the race which is happening right here. You can see all the runners going by right --
(CROSSTALK)
FUENTES: No, that's true. But we have, you know, how many of these other people are also ambivalent to the race?
FOREMAN: Yes, standing around looking up.
FUENTES: So in other words they're just like everybody else. The assumption that other people might have is they've already seen their person, the person they're here to watch, go by and maybe at this point they're on their way to the finish line.
FOREMAN: Sure.
(CROSSTALK)
FUENTES: You know, to meet someone.
FOREMAN: Like anybody else walking on the sidewalk.
FUENTES: Right. Right. The reason for them to be there is over. They're walking away to go home.
FOREMAN: And our time stamps here show a variety of times. Around 13, 15 minutes before the blast actually occurred. Anything else in particular they're going to look for here? Obviously clothing, things like that. They're wearing hats that have certain insignias on them, I'm guessing that that's of attention. May bring us back to the video, we'll keep playing this whole time.
FUENTES: Well, I think the issue of whether they appeared to make any kind of contact with someone else along the way, does it appear that there's a third person that knows them or talks to them, or they hand something or receive something from someone else. So if the two of them only walk down the sidewalk and don't interact with any other person, and then you know, that's of interest, too.
FOREMAN: And you and I talk about --
FUENTES: But here's another factor is if they're going this way, they both tend to be following each other. So I think that, you know, the entire amount of video that they have only releasing these small clips, that I'm sure that gave them enough indication to want to link them together and say subjects one and two.
FOREMAN: And you and I talked the other day about reverse engineering once you've identified certain suspects here. The fact that these people are together here, I'm guessing it would be an odd thing if these in fact were the people who were involved. It would be odd for them to have come separately and then joined up to do this. This would seem to suggest they somehow came together to this event I would guess.
(CROSSTALK)
FUENTES: Well, that would be a guess.
FOREMAN: But then -- if they left together.
FUENTES: That would be a guess.
FOREMAN: Yes.
FUENTES: But you also have the situation now that with the clarity of their faces and clothing description, now you go back to all the public transportation in town, the subways or bus stations, and look at do you see them going through turn styles getting to a train or after this event, after now, leaving? And also you do that with all of the video security cameras you have at airports.
So you try to determine whether or not they may have gone through an airport either coming into Boston or in the days since leaving Boston.
FOREMAN: I don't know if it was a fashion statement or what but it is interesting when you look at this. This is a hat. He seems to have dark glasses under there. His hood is up here. He is not -- he's really not nearly as easy to see. The second one, though, I'm guessing as an investigator, this is something that's very helpful. Here's somebody who came in. He puts his hat on backward. His face is not covered. No sort of glasses. And clearly, the images of his face seem to be clearer than the ones of the first guy.
FUENTES: Well, sure a lot easier to see his face. But since you have the camera above them, good thing he has a hat on backwards. That's quite helpful on his part.
FOREMAN: Yes. It's fascinating video to look at. I'm sure they'll be looking at it a tremendous amount.
FUENTES: Yes.
FOREMAN: As they continue to pore through all of this -- Wolf.
FUENTES: Again, you don't know how much more they have than just --
FOREMAN: Sure.
FUENTES: They have probably, you know, hours, maybe of just these guys already.
FOREMAN: And to what degree are they reaching out to all these other people that we see in the video who clearly were close to them? Is there an effort? You and I talked the other day about how the runners going by over there, all have tracking chips on, and can tell you where their families is here. Is -- are they going to engineer that where they say, look, we have a picture and we have somebody who is in here do we want to find these people, and say, he passed right by you, did you see him?
FUENTES: OK. Well, let's say -- looking at this picture. Let's say the FBI is able through the runner to get a hold of every single human being on that sidewalk besides these two, look at this and name one that even has paid the slightest attention to it.
FOREMAN: Sure. Sure.
FUENTES: That's the other issue. Not one of these people even would have seen him at all. They go by this girl, she doesn't care.
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: So that may be very --
FUENTES: She doesn't -- and they past this person who is interested in something else.
FOREMAN: Very limited now.
FUENTES: So -- so I think that they are -- they are so nondescript as they walk around, that they're not going to attract anybody's attention.
FOREMAN: Yes.
FUENTES: So that makes it harder as well. And again -- FOREMAN: And to clarify -- well, to clarify for our viewers, because we're talking about it the other day, every runner in a big race like this wears an electronic tracking chip so the race organizers know where they are. Not exactly minute by minute but by map, they can though.
And, Tom, as you pointed out, the runners won't see anything, but they would know where family and friends are. So maybe, you know, if these people aren't noticing, if you know where they wound up, you get a little bit connected to somebody else on the sidewalk and you know how to reach out to those people.
FUENTES: Right.
FOREMAN: All right. We'll be looking at a lot more of this -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, guys. A good analysis.
Fran, I want to go through the still photos that the FBI has now released of suspect number one and suspect number two. Suspect number one has the black cap, suspect number two has the white cap. They've released four still photos of suspect number -- that's suspect number two but let's go to suspect number one, and start -- and go through these pictures. I want to show our viewers these still photos that the FBI released just a little while ago.
You see suspect number one with the black cap. And you really can't see, in this picture, his face that well. You just sort of see his body. You can see his T-shirt, you see his pants and his jacket. That backpack is gone because we assume the bomb was in the backpack that he dropped off -- that he dropped off at the end of the Boston marathon. But when you see that picture, potentially could be helpful.
TOWNSEND: Absolutely, Wolf. I -- if you look at the back of him, it actually looks to me as though that backpack is still on there.
BLITZER: Yes.
TOWNSEND: And we don't know --
BLITZER: Right.
TOWNSEND: Timing wise, right, whether or not this is before or after they planted the device. But by the shear appearance of weight, it looks as though it is still full.
BLITZER: All right. Let's take a look at the second picture that the FBI released of suspect number one. Here we get a little better shot, I think, of his face.
TOWNSEND: Yes. Absolutely, Wolf. And you've got to believe it's not an accident that he's got his hat pulled on. He's got the glasses on. Understanding -- look, these guys planned this. They went to excruciating painful detail and planning to make these devices. And so they had to have thought through hat were they going to wear. It's basically nondescript. The one mistake he's made is there's an insignia on the cap, but other than that, he's got a blue jacket and khaki pants like a thousand other people.
BLITZER: Blends in like anybody else. A college student or whatever.
TOWNSEND: Exactly right.
BLITZER: No one would pay much attention to a young guy walking around with a backpack and a baseball cap. Here's the third still photo of suspect number one. There you see a little bit different shot. You see the glasses he's wearing as well.
TOWNSEND: Yes, this is the -- this is the closest shot, frankly, Wolf, full-on, as full-on as we've got of this suspect number one. It's a little blurry, it's difficult to see. But there's enough in terms of his body mass and how he holds himself. I mean, you know, when you -- you don't realize the way the mind works, you process a lot of information. And so you don't just process somebody's face, you process how they move, what their stance is. And that's why these pictures are especially helpful, even when they don't have a clear shot of his face.
BLITZER: Now here's the fourth still photo from the video that the FBI released, once again, suspect number one with the black cap. And once again, you just see a profile. You don't see very much of his face.
TOWNSEND: Right. No, but it's a good shot to give people. You know, people may remember being bumped into or knocked into if they were standing near this guy or turned around. And so what the backpack looks like is significant. If somebody saw it put down, that may be the thing that they call the FBI to give them a tip about. And all those little leads are incredibly helpful.
BLITZER: Tom Fuentes is here as well.
The FBI -- I'm going to go to the second suspect in a second, Tom, but the FBI has new facial recognition technology that they're trying to advance to see -- to make sure that they get the right suspect in a case like this.
FUENTES: They use that. It's difficult to use at this angle where you have a subject with a baseball hat, sunglasses and looking down. The other picture of the other suspect where it's a more frontal view with no baseball cap, no glasses, you would have a higher degree of success.
But I'd like to add another point to the delay in releasing these videos. If they had these pictures and they wanted to show it to somebody in the video, maybe the police have some description that oh, I saw somebody wearing khaki pants, black hooded jacket, a black baseball cap, another guy was with them, they might want to show these pictures because you might not -- you know, if suspect number one passed me on the street, I wouldn't recognize him if he's wearing a red jacket now and no baseball hat and something different, or he's wearing a tuxedo.
But the fact that what he's wearing there, he may not have changed clothes yet in these days since the bombing. Now that this is out there, if he's watched himself on television, that jacket, hat, pants, shirt, are going to be gone.
BLITZER: Yes.
FUENTES: Because the totality of his image wearing the whole outfit may be something that he kept wearing in the days after that and someone might recognize that.
BLITZER: Yes. That's why maybe they delayed releasing these pictures.
Let's go to suspect number two wearing the white cap. They released the eight photos. And here, Fran, this is a -- it's a little blurry obviously, but you can begin to make out some facial -- some features of this individual. It looks like, what, his hands are up there a little bit scratching his head or whatever.
TOWNSEND: Yes, you know, the thing that strikes me about this, Wolf, is he doesn't have sort of the -- what we call op-sec, operational security of the first suspect, whose pictures you've just looked at. Hat turned back, no glasses on, you get a very clear view of his face. And he looks -- relatively young. Younger certainly than the first suspect. You know, and he's got very light colored skin. I mean, he just lends himself to a more easy identification. Even with the blurriness of that photo.
BLITZER: Let's go to the second photo of suspect number two. Here it is. You get a pretty good profile there with the baseball cap turned backwards.
TOWNSEND: That's right. And the interesting thing about the profile, right, we all have a very unique and distinctive profile. You're always looking at the profile, at the nose, and how the -- both the shape of the nose and how it meets the skull both at the top and the bottom, the shape of the tip. And those -- that's a very clear picture of that.
BLITZER: Tom, you agree, right?
FUENTES: Absolutely. Including the length of his hair and the way he wears his hat, the position of his neck, how high up he holds his head. And -- and his demeanor is, I'm really cool.
BLITZER: Yes. He looks a little cocky.
FUENTES: People would know that about him.
BLITZER: But it's a distinctive profile, obviously, that -- if people spot this and see him, they may have a clue, a tip to give to the FBI. But I just want to remind our viewers what the FBI special agent Richard DesLauriers said. Don't try to apprehend. Don't try to stop these two individuals. They are armed, armed and very, very dangerous. Try not to be a hero. Call the FBI. Call local law enforcement. Call the police. Don't try to do it yourself.
I'm going to get back to these other still photos, but I want to go back to Drew Griffin, who's getting some more information.
What are you picking up, Drew?
GRIFFIN: I just want to add one more thing to suspect number two. We didn't get many questions in, but we did get at least one question and suspect number two, according to Rick DesLauriers, walked away from the scene, walking west on Boylston Street.
I hate to be that specific, but who knows, that could spark some attention as well. I just wanted to jump in on the conversation there. Suspect number two didn't walk away west on Boyle Street -- Boylston Street. We didn't get any indication that they had follow-up video of suspect number one.
BLITZER: I know that they're searching all the video. And there's a lot of video down in downtown Boston that they're going through.
All right. Here's another still photo, Fran, of suspect number two. This is the individual with the white cap. He actually was seen on other videotape that the FBI has not released yet planting that backpack along the sidewalk over there at the end of the Boston marathon.
TOWNSEND: You know, one of the things that strikes me about this whole set of photographs, we know, Wolf, that they were going to manufacture pressure cookers and batteries and sort of the circuit boards and all that. What they clearly, what they were doing was going with photographs, right? Because you don't just go and say, do you recall somebody purchasing these recently in this area.
But you go with the photographs, do you recognize this person, what did this person buy, when did they buy it. And so in that regard, to develop additional leads, and create the timeline, the photographs are incredibly helpful to investigators.
BLITZER: You've got to believe police are going to be studying these pictures frame by frame by frame, Tom. CNN.com has them, the FBI website, FBI.gov, it hasn't really crashed, it's just slow right now because so many millions of people are trying to go to that website to take a closer look at these two suspects.
FUENTES: And if I could add the examiners at the FBI lab will be doing like they would do with bank robber photographs, you know, taken from the bank, they will be trying to construct how tall they are, how much they weigh, you know, all of that. You see subject two, he's got the length of his nose, the skinniness of his face, let's say, or his neck. Those are things that can't be easily altered later. They can change jackets, they could throw the hats away, but they're not going to be able to dramatically change the size of their bodies in a short period of time.
BLITZER: The fear, though, I suspect, Fran, is that it's been since Monday afternoon, now Thursday afternoon. They potentially could have escaped the country, if they have plenty of time to do so.
TOWNSEND: Well, that's right. I mean, if -- for two people or more, but these two men that the FBI's identified, clearly went to great lengths to plan and execute this attack to get all the component pieces, to put it together successfully, to plant it and have it go off, we've got to presume, and I'm sure the FBI does, that they also had an escape plan, whether that was plain tickets or trains or whatever.
BLITZER: All right. It's the top of the hour. I just want to reset for our viewers here in the United States and around the world who might just be tuning in, I'm Wolf Blitzer. We're watching this dramatic situation here in THE SITUATION ROOM
