December 22, 2024 18:54 PM

Tsarnaev Friend Killed in Orlando: Ibrahim Todashev Shot & Killed by FBI

A friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by the FBI in Orlando on Wednesday. The man that was killed had ties to the older brother involved in the deadly Boston Marathon bombing.

John Miller, a CBS News senior correspondent and a former FBI assistant director spoke the "CBS This Morning" about the incident and said that the man that was killed, Ibrahim Todashev, was friends with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who is responsible for killing three people and injuring 260 others along with his brother at the Boston Marathon.

The FBI has not provided any further details about the connection between Todashev and Tsarnaev.

Central Florida News 13 spoke to Khasuen Taramov, who said he is a friend of the slain man.

"(Todashev) wasn't like real close friends (with Tsarnaev), but he just happened to know him," Taramov told the TV station. "... But he had no idea that they were up to something like that, like bombings and everything, you know what I mean?"

According to Miller, FBI agents went to Todashev's apartment in the early hours of Wednesday morning to question him. The FBI had been keeping tabs on Todashev since Tsarnaev was identified as a suspect.

"He had been interviewed along with a number of other people in the apartment complex, but the interest in him was higher because of a couple of factors: He was in contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He had been to Boston to visit him, and he was planning a trip to Chechnya," Miller said.

The FBI decided to question Todashev after he canceled his trip to Chechnya, however the questioning turned into a deadly shootout.

"In the encounter in the apartment, something went wrong," Miller said.

The FBI released a statement saying, "We are currently responding to a shooting incident involving an FBI special agent. The incident occurred in Orlando Florida. The agent encountered the suspect while conducting official duties. The suspect is deceased. We do not have any further details at this time. We expect to have more information later this morning."

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police outside Boston in the days after the marathon bombings. His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, remains in federal custody awaiting trial.

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