In an ironic twist, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old Chechen Boston bombing suspect at the center of a massive manhunt in Watertown, Mass.,
became a U.S. citizen on Sept. 11, 2012, according to CBS Boston.
Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan, 26, are the
suspects behind the Boston Marathon bombing Monday that killed three and injured more than 150. The brothers were also involved in a massive chase and gunfight early Friday morning, after reportedly robbing a 7-Eleven, shooting an MIT police officer to death, carjacking an SUV, and hurling explosives out the window at police.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in the confrontation, and a Transit Officer was also wounded.
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Details continue to emerge about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, described as an
"amazing child" and an "angel" by family members.
The Tsarnaev brothers reportedly immigrated to the United States in 2000 or 2001 from Dagestan, which neighbors Chechnya in southern Russia, according to an uncle, and had lived on Norfolk Street in Cambridge since then.
Dzhokhar is said to have graduated from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 2011. He was a wrestler there, and was even named a Greater Boston League Winter All Star in 2011.
As a high school senior, Tsarnaev was
awarded a $2,500 City Scholarship from the City of Cambridge to pursue higher education, according to USA Today. He is reportedly currently enrolled as a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Anzor Tsarnaev, the suspects' father, told The Associated Press that Dzhokhar was a medical school student in the U.S.
"My son is a true angel," Tsarnaev said. "Dzhokhar is a second-year medical student in the U.S. He is such an intelligent boy. We expected him to come on holidays here."
Government officials say Tamerlan Tsarnaev traveled to Russia last year and returned to the U.S. six months later. Though there has been speculation that the brothers had been radicalized overseas, officials said there is no evidence of ties to Chechen extremist groups.
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The suspects' aunt said she refuses to believe the allegations against her nephews until there is solid evidence.
"I cannot take this kind of information lightly," the woman told CBS Boston. "We need evidence; otherwise we can't shoot anyone like a chicken on the street. I need evidence. Then come and see my reaction. They cannot go crazy or mad or sick or psycho for one day."