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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.

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April 22nd, 2013
06:10 PM ET

What we know now about the Boston bombing suspect

Sources say a bullet wound in the neck is preventing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from voicing what could have possibly been going through his mind one week ago, when he and his brother allegedly bombed the Boston Marathon.

We do know that he has regained at least some consciousness. Sources tell CNN that investigators have been questioning him since yesterday, and that Tsarnaev is communicating through writing. It is not clear what he has told authorities.

"People are focused on what he may be able to say, but there's also a lot of work going on by the federal authorities," said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. "I'm sure what he is saying, if he is saying anything, is important but it's not the only piece of the investigation."

It is not clear how Tsarnaev received his wound. It could have been in Friday night's final shootout with police, when thermal images showed Tsarnaev, cowering in a boat parked in a Watertown backyard. After 25 minutes of negotiating, police moved in and took him alive.

"We have a million questions. And those questions need to be answered," said Gov. Deval Patrick.

Tsarnaev could have been shot earlier, in the violent showdown that police say he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had with officers early Friday morning in Watertown. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev may have even killed his own brother in his haste to escape the scene.

"My understanding is his brother was run over and the other brother was driving the car when that happened. I don't know what the cause of death was and we won't know that until the medical examiner rules," said Commissioner Ed Davis, with the Boston Police.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "ran over his brother. And he was alive before he got run over, before he was run over," said Capt. Raymond Dupuis, of the Watertown police department.

The brothers also allegedly shot and killed MIT officer Sean Collier. They are said to have been armed with handguns, at least one rifle, and several explosives. But police now say that neither brother was licensed to carry a gun in Massachusetts.

"Neither one of them had a license. The younger brother, by virtue of his age, wouldn't be eligible to get a license, and we have no record of them ever applying," said Commissioner Robert Haas, with the Cambridge Police Department.

The Tsarnaev brothers threw explosives at officers, police say, and had in their possession another pressure cooker bomb, similar to the ones believed to have been used on the marathon, leading investigators to believe they were planning more carnage.

"I believe that the only reason that someone would have those in their possession was to further attack people and cause more - more death and destruction," said Davis.

But the two would not get a chance to stage another terror attack. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, is dead. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is in custody, facing the prospect of the death penalty.

The people of Boston are now reclaiming their city.

"Now it's just about trying to move on, putting the pieces together and getting ready for next year," said Stephanie Riley, who ran the marathon.

Many people returned back to work Monday for the first time since Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture, and since the manhunt paralyzed the city.

Hundreds lined up to say goodbye Monday morning at funeral services for Krystle Campbell, one of the three people killed in the terrorist attack. Later Monday evening, a memorial is planned for Lu Lingzi, the Boston University graduate student from China also killed one week ago.

Life is moving forward for Boston. Mayor Thomas Menino reopened Copley square, the site of the bombings one week ago, late Monday afternoon.

City buses, flashing the unofficial slogan that has emerged from this nightmare: "Boston Strong."

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