BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT – DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV, CAPTURED FOLLOWING MANHUNT!

The hunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ended Friday night when authorities captured the suspect wanted in connection to the bombing Monday at the Boston Marathon, according to the Boston Police Department.

Law enforcement officials in Watertown, Mass. responded to the site of reported gunfire around 7:00 p.m. — approximately one hour after lifting a lockdown on the area — where they found Tsarnaev, 19, hiding inside a small boat. Police cornered the suspect, not far the site of a shootout the previous night that killed his brother and supposed accomplice, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The streets of Watertown erupted in cheers as news came that the suspect had been captured alive, according to HuffPost reporters Christina Wilkie and Michael McLaughlin.

“I’m happy they caught him. Im happy he’s alive. I want to know why,” said Jeannette Harvey, a Watertown resident who works at Massachusetts General Hospital in the trauma ward.

Residents were relieved as a heavily guarded ambulance heading east on Mount Auburn Street. It was unclear who was riding inside, but there was a sense that the danger was over.

The violent manhunt unfolded one night after FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers vowed that the alleged bombers, first identified as “Suspect 1” and “Suspect 2” would be “brought to justice.”

This is a breaking news story.

More from the Associated Press

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, MEGHAN BARR and KATIE ZEZIMAWATERTOWN, Mass. — A 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody Friday evening after a manhunt that left the city virtually paralyzed and his older brother and accomplice dead.

Police announced via Twitter that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was in custody. His brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, was killed Friday in a furious attempt to escape police.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been holed up in a boat in a Watertown neighborhood. The crowd gathered near the scene let out a cheer when spectators saw officers clapping.

“Everyone wants him alive,” said Kathleen Paolillo, a 27-year-old teacher who lives in Watertown.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino tweeted “We got him,” along with a photo of the police commissioner speaking to him.