Boston Marathon bombing

=== Backgrounds === 
[[File:4.20.13 6023BuchananPlaceByLuigiNovi4.jpg|thumb|upright|An apartment was searched in [[West New York, New Jersey]], that belonged to a sister of the Tsarnaevs.]]

{{See also|Tamerlan Tsarnaev#Personal background|Dzhokhar Tsarnaev#Personal background}}
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was born in 1986 in the [[Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]], [[North Caucasus]].<ref name="Wall Street Journal" /> Dzhokhar was born in 1993 in [[Kyrgyzstan]], although some reports say that his family claims that he was born in [[Dagestan]].<ref name="GuardianBirthplace" /> The family spent time in [[Tokmok]], Kyrgyzstan, and in [[Makhachkala]], Dagestan.<ref name="WashPost04192013" /><ref name="SullivanAP04192013" />
They are half [[Chechen people|Chechen]] through their father Anzor, and half [[Avar people (Caucasus)|Avar]]<ref name=thestarCarus /> through their mother Zubeidat. They never lived in [[Chechnya]], yet the brothers identified themselves as Chechen.<ref name="GuardianBirthplace" /><ref name="NYTimes04192013" /><ref name="HuffPost04192013" /><ref name="HuffPostNoronha04192013" />

The Tsarnaev family [[Immigration to the United States|immigrated]] to the United States in 2002<ref name="NY Times Standoff" /><ref name="NYTimes04192013" /><ref name="autogenerated4" /><ref name="AutoLC-105" /> where they applied for [[Asylum in the United States|political asylum]], settling in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref name="AtlanticWire04192013" /> Tamerlan Tsarnaev attended [[Bunker Hill Community College]] but dropped out to become a boxer. His goal was to gain a place on the U.S. Olympic boxing team, saying that, "unless his native [[Chechnya]] becomes independent", he would "rather compete for the United States than for Russia".<ref name="thecomment" /><ref name="deadspin" /> He married U.S. citizen Katherine Russell on July 15, 2010, in the Masjid Al Quran Mosque. While initially quoted in a student magazine as saying, "I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them," a later FBI interview report documents Tamerlan stating it was a misquote, and that most of his friends were American.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/tamerlan-tsarnaev|title=Tamerlan Tsarnaev|work=FBI|access-date=October 12, 2017|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/11/us/tamerlan-tsarnaev-fbi-boston-marathon-interview/index.html|title=Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev told FBI he never picked a fight|first=Eric |last=Levenson|work=CNN|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref>  He had a history of violence, including an arrest in July 2009 for assaulting his girlfriend.<ref name="AutoLC-107" />

The brothers were [[Muslim]]; Tamerlan's aunt stated that he had recently become a devout Muslim.<ref name="HuffPost04192013" /><ref name="HuffPostNoronha04192013" /> Tamerlan became more devout and religious after 2009,<ref name="cnn20130420" /><ref name="nyd20130421" /> and a YouTube channel in his name was linked to [[Salafi movement|Salafist]]<ref name="cnn20130420" /> and [[Islamism|Islamist]]<ref name="NYTimes20130420" /><ref name="AutoLC-108" /> videos. The FBI was informed by the Russian [[Federal Security Service]] (FSB) in 2011 that he was a "follower of radical Islam".<ref name="NYTimes20130420" /> In response, the FBI interviewed Tamerlan and his family and searched databases, but they did not find any evidence of "terrorism activity, domestic or foreign".<ref name="AutoLC-109" /><ref name="latimes20130420" /><ref name="AutoLC-110" /><ref name="AutoLC-111" /><ref name="AP FSB" /><ref name="Englund20130420" /> During the 2012 trip to Dagestan, Tamerlan was reportedly a frequent visitor at a mosque on Kotrova Street in Makhachkala,<ref name="AutoLC-112" /><ref name=dailybeastcaucasus /><ref name="AutoLC-113" /> believed by the FSB to be linked with radical Islam.<ref name="dailybeastcaucasus" /> Some believe that "they were motivated by their faith, apparently an anti-American, radical version of Islam" acquired in the U.S.,<ref name="AutoLC-114" /> while others believe that the turn happened in Dagestan.<ref name="AutoLC-115" />

At the time of the bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student at the [[University of Massachusetts Dartmouth]] with a major in [[marine biology]].<ref name="AutoLC-116" /> He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 11, 2012.<ref name="AutoLC-117" /> Tamerlan's boxing coach reported to NBC that the young brother was greatly affected by Tamerlan and admired him.<ref name="AutoLC-118" /><ref name="AutoLC-119" />

Tamerlan was previously connected to [[2011 Waltham triple murder|the triple homicide]] in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], on the evening of September 11, 2011, but he was not a suspect at the time.<ref name=probe>{{cite news|url=https://boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/22/police-probe-possible-link-between-marathon-bomber-and-unsolved-triple-homicide-waltham/T6MgaX0lur7plZrGj0HsvO/story.html|first=Michael|last=Rezendes|title=Police probe possible link between Marathon bomber and unsolved triple homicide in Waltham|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=April 22, 2013|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-date=April 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422230931/http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/22/police-probe-possible-link-between-marathon-bomber-and-unsolved-triple-homicide-waltham/T6MgaX0lur7plZrGj0HsvO/story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/boston-bombing-brings-twist-cold-murder-case/story?id=19063282&page=2 |title=Boston Bombing Brings Twist to Cold Murder Case |work=ABC News |date=April 29, 2013 |access-date=May 6, 2013}}</ref> [[Brendan Mess]], [[Erik Weissman]], and [[Raphael Teken]] were murdered in Mess's apartment. All had their throats slit from ear to ear with such great force that they were nearly [[decapitation|decapitated]]. The local district attorney said that it appeared that the killer and the victims knew each other, and that the murders were not random.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/09/14/they-all-dead-waltham-killings-likely-not-random/Jmz6xjUgA7wqt1TZIak33J/story.html|title='They're all dead': Waltham killings likely not random – Metro – The Boston Globe|work=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=April 8, 2015}}</ref> Tamerlan Tsarnaev had previously described murder victim Brendan Mess as his "best friend".<ref name= NYT1 /> After the bombing and subsequent revelations of Tsarnaev's personal life, the Waltham murders case was reexamined in April 2013 with Tsarnaev as a new suspect.<ref name=probe /> Both [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and ''The New York Times'' have reported that there is strong evidence which implicates Tsarnaev in this triple homicide.<ref name=NYT1>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/us/boston-bombing-suspect-is-said-to-be-linked-to-2011-triple-murder-case.html|title=In 2011 Murder Inquiry, Hints of Missed Chance to Avert Boston Bombing|date=July 11, 2013|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="tabletmag1">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/130396/boston-bomber-suspected-in-triple-homicide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423013635/http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/130396/boston-bomber-suspected-in-triple-homicide |archive-date=2013-04-23 |first=Adam|last=Chandler|title=Boston Bomber Suspected in Triple Homicide|magazine=Tablet|date=April 22, 2013|access-date=April 23, 2013}}</ref>

Some analysts claim that the Tsarnaevs' mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva is a radical extremist and supporter of jihad who influenced her sons' behavior.<ref name="Auto9P-4" /><ref name="Auto9P-5" /> This prompted the Russian government to warn the U.S. government on two occasions about the family's behavior. Both Tamerlan and his mother were placed on a terrorism watch list about 18 months before the bombing took place.<ref name="AutoQU-8" />