FBI kills man suspected of link to Boston Marathon bombings

Suspect was being questioned over perceived links to the Boston Marathon bombings and was originally cooperative, but was fatally shot after 'attacking the agent', US media reported.

MIAMI // An FBI agent shot and killed a Florida man with suspected links to the Boston Marathon bombings yesterday.

The suspect was being questioned and was originally cooperative, but was fatally shot after attacking the agent, US media reported.

The Orlando Sentinel said a friend had identified the dead man as Ibragim Todashev, 27, of Orlando. The newspaper quoted the friend, Khusn Taramiv, as saying Todashev was being investigated as part of the Boston bombings and knew bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev because both were mixed martial-arts fighters.

Dave Couvertier, an FBI spokesman, could not confirm the dead man's identity nor the potential link to the Boston bombings.

"The agent encountered the suspect while conducting official duties. The suspect is deceased. We do not have any further details at this time," he said.

Tsarnaev, 26, died in a gunfight with police. His brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was arrested four days after the April 15 blasts, which killed three people and injured 264 others at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot in the throat before his capture and is being held in a prison hospital west of Boston.

He faces charges that could carry the death penalty if he is convicted.