MBTA SWAT team members describe capture of bomber number two

(MyFoxBoston.com) – Four MBTA Transit Police SWAT members were in the heat of the action when bomber number two was put into handcuffs in Watertown Friday night.

The MBTA SWAT team members are the same men who one week ago rushed to the side of the victims after the first bomb exploded near the Boston Marathon finish line.

These men have stories that are as inspiring as some of the images we have seen from that disastrous day. The men said that in both instances, Patriots' Day and the capture of bomber number two, they revered back to their training. Their antennas went up and their adrenaline kicked in.

"When the time came to move in on him, the FBI agent said, ‘Okay, you're going to take the lead,'" MBTA Transit Patrolman Saro Thompson said.

"We just want to get him into custody and have the situation come to an end, for us, for the families, and the city," Transit Police Officer Jeff Campbell said of the daring rescue.

MBTA Transit Police Officer Sean Reynolds added, "We really don't have time to be afraid."

The situation unfolded behind a Watertown home located at 67 Franklin Street inside the resident's parked boat.

"When we first started moving up to the boat, he was lying on the side of the boat. He was in and out of consciousness," Patrolman Thompson said.

Thompson, Campbell, Reynolds, and another unidentified member moved in on bomber number two Dzhokhaf Tsarneav, not knowing if he was the suspect they had been searching for since April 15.

"It was unclear because we were scanning different channels, we were hoping that was the case with these three different incidents, but we had no idea at the time," Reynolds said.

The officers also didn't know what kind of weapons the suspect had at his disposal. They did know that before they had arrived, the suspect had exchanged gunfire with authorities.

"The boat had fuel on it. We didn't know what the boat had on it as far as IEDs," Thompson said. "When we got about 10 to 15 yards from him, he sat back up, we moved from behind the shield cover, and we put the cuffs on him."

"I said, ‘We got him'"

Even after the cuffs had been placed on bomber number two, the men knew better than to let their guard down.

"We still had no idea if the boat had been rigged with explosives. He could have done anything with that boat and the explosives he had over the course of the week," Campbell said.

As brave as they were, these men are now downplaying their role saying it was a team effort on behalf of local, state, and federal law enforcement.

"I don't think we were chosen. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time," Thompson said. "I think we all are military veterans. This is new ground. This is something that hopefully we'll never have to experience again."

Cox Media Group