Thread: Man Being Queried on Tsarnaev Ties Is Killed by Officer

FBI: Kissimmee man shot after attacking agent during questioning in Boston Marathon bombings

A Central Florida man who was killed early Wednesday, May 22, 2013, had been questioned in connection with the Boston bombings, according to another man who claimed to be his friend. (via WOFL Fox 35)

By Jerriann Sullivan and Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel
11:45 a.m. EDT, May 22, 2013

A Central Florida man who was shot and killed by an FBI agent early Wednesday morning was being investigated by the FBI and Massachusetts authorities in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings.

The FBI told the Orlando Sentinel that during the early morning hours Wednesday, an FBI agent — along with two Massachusetts State Police troopers and other law enforcement personnel — were interviewing 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing investigation when a violent confrontation was initiated by Todashev.

"During the confrontation, the individual was killed and the agent sustained non-life threatening injuries," , FBI Special Agent Dave Couvertier, a spokesman for the Orlando region, said in an email statement. "As this incident is under review, we have no further details at this time."

Todashev was shot in a condo at 6022 Peregrine Ave. in the Windhover community, a quiet residential area near Universal Studios. Todashev's home address is in Kissimmee; it's not clear why he was at the Orlando apartment or why he was being questioned there.

An FBI post-shooting incident review team has been dispatched from Washington, D.C., and is expected to arrive in Orlando within 24 hours, Couvertier said.

Friend: Todashev, others have been questioned

Todashev lived in a gated community in Kissimmee called Orlando Sun Village, longtime friend Saeed Dunkaev told the Sentinel.

Dunkaev, 25, said he and other Chechens were taken to the Kissimmee Police Department two days ago and interviewed by the FBI for three hours.

They asked a lot of questions about religion, Dunkaev said.

Dunkaev, a California resident and mixed martial-mrts fan, is a truck driver who stays with Todashev and other Chechens at Orlando Sun Village when he is in Florida, he said.

Near the scene of the shooting Wednesday morning, Khusn Taramiv, who described himself as a friend of Todashev, told several television outlets that his friend was being investigated in relation to the Boston bombings. He also said that Todashev knew bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev because both were mixed martial-arts fighters.

Taramiv told television reporters that Todashev had lived in Boston, did MMA fighting with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and that Todashev had last talked to Tamerlan Tsarnaev about a month ago by phone.

Ever since the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing attack, Taramiv said, the FBI have been questioning Todashev, and have also talked to him.

Taramiv said Todashev was reluctant to talk to the FBI. "I told him, 'well if you don't feel like going there, don't go there, but if we don't go, it's going to be more suspicious, they are going to start following us even more.' So we decided to go," Taramiv said.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev — the older of two Chechen-born brothers accused in the bombings — died after a shootout with police in Boston after the bombing.

His brother, 19-year-old Dzhokar, is charged with carrying out the April 15 Boston Marathon attack that killed three and injured 260.

NBC News reported Wednesday morning that law enforcement officials said Todashev had confessed to the agent in Florida that he played a role in a triple murder in 2011 in which three men were killed in an apartment in Waltham, Mass.

Their throats had been cut, and their bodies were covered with marijuana. No suspects had been arrested in that case, but it has been reported that authorities suspected Tamerlan Tsarnaev was also involved in that triple murder.

The NBC News report said FBI agents were questioning Todashev on Tuesday. He was cooperative at first, law enforcement officials told NBC, but late Tuesday night, he attacked the agent with a knife — and the agent shot and killed him.

The NBC report says that Todashev became violent as he was about to sign a written statement based on his confession.

The officials told NBC that Todashev had some connections with radical Chechen rebels, but it was not clear whether he had any role in radicalizing Tsarnaev.

Todashev recently arrested in Orlando

Todashev was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office on May 4 and charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

In that incident, Todashev told deputies he got in a fight with a man over a parking space at the Orlando Premium Outlet mall and "was only fighting to protect his knee because he had surgery in March," according to the arrest report.

The Sheriff's office report says that two men were fighting and one — later identified as Todashev — was leaving the scene in a vehicle, while the other was on the ground, appeared unconscious, and surrounded by "a considerable amount of blood."

Deputies pursued Todashev, pulled him over and ordered him out of his car at gunpoint, according to the report. The victim, who had a split upper lip and "several teeth knocked out of place," did not want to press charges, according to the report.

'Flipped out'

According to WESH Channel 2, who got information from an unnamed FBI source, Todashev "flipped out" during an interview Tuesday night and an agent was forced to shoot him.

FBI sources also told WESH that Todashev has extremist friends overseas.

Couvertier would not confirm that information.

"We are still gathering facts involving the shooting incident," he said.

The Medical Examiner's office will conduct an autopsy on Todashev's body Wednesday.

Suspect a MMA fighter

Near the scene Wednesday morning, Bob Tursky – whose son lives a few doors down from Todashev said he was acquainted with Todashev, who he said always seemed like a nice guy, and that the two often made small talk.

Tursky said Todashev told him he was a martial arts fighter and once told him he won $500 in a bout.

An Internet search shows Todashev won an MMA fight in July 2012 at the A La Carte Event Pavilion in Tampa. Todashev fights out of Kissimmee, according to multiple websites.

Florida state records show Todashev was issued a Mixed Martial Arts license on Aug. 14. That license, which is required to participate in an MMA event in Florida, expired Dec. 31.

Todashev was also issued a Federal Identification number for Mixed Martial Arts on Aug. 14. That is good through Aug. 17, 2016, and that federal license is required to participate in MMA matches, according to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Neighbors roamed around the condos sharing stories and getting a peek at the rear of the unit where FBI agents set up a tent and are collecting evidence inside.

No one knew the suspect well but say the community is tight-knit and frequently people get together and talk around the complex's pond.

In the last two months, neighbors reported unfamiliar cars and men walking around the complex and parking near the condo.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Arelis Hernandez and Desiree Stennett contributed to this report. jesullivan@tribune.com or 407-420-5620

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