Tsarnaevs Said They Had ‘Intermediate’ Handgun Experience in Firing Range Visit
By their own evaluation, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev had “intermediate’’ experience in firing handguns a month before they allegedly carried out the Boston Marathon bombing and fired at least 61 bullets at authorities a few days later, an FBI agent testified Tuesday in Dzhokhar’s trial.
This self-analysis was revealed as part of evidence from Manchester Firing Line Range, a New Hampshire gun range the Tsarnaev brothers visited March 20, 2013, according to FBI agent Matthew Riportella. A receipt, a form, and surveillance video from the range were collected by Riportella.
According to the receipt, Dzhokhar rented two Glock guns and four boxes of 9 millimeter ammunition for a total of $170. Tamerlan did not rent any weapons or ammunition, Riportella testified.
On a form completed by the brothers at the firing range, each of the brothers indicated they had “intermediate’’ experience with handguns, did not have a history of mental illness, and were not addicted to drugs, he said.
In addition, video surveillance showed Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev entering and leaving the range. Dzhokhar appeared to be wearing a winter hat, jacket, and the black Adidas sweatshirt that he would eventually be captured in on April 19, 2013 in Watertown.
In earlier testimony, Massachusetts State Police Lieutenant David Cahill said the gun recovered at the scene of the Watertown shootout was a Ruger 9mm pistol. According to Cahill, investigators recovered five 9mm casings at MIT, where officer Sean Collier was shot and killed, and recovered 56 9mm casings in Watertown, where an explosive shootout occurred between the Tsarnaevs and police.
Cahill, an expert in firearms identification, testified that all of the 9mm shell casings recovered at those crime scenes came from the Tsarnaevs’ Ruger 9mm pistol. Police weapons do not use 9mm ammunition, he said.
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