Boston bombing suspect awake, can communicate: reports

The suspect in the Boson Marathon bombing is conscious and is able to respond to authorities’ questions by writing, various news sources are reporting.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, has remained in hospital since he was arrested by police Friday. His arrest came after a day-long search that shut down the entire city of Boston and its surrounding suburbs. Authorities finally found Tsarnaev hiding in a boat in a backyard in the Boston suburb of Watertown, Mass.

Sources told NBC News that a throat wound, potentially a suicide attempt, had rendered the young man unable to speak. He continues to be in serious condition, reports NBC. Other reports say Tsarnaev’s neck injury is the result of a gunfight with police before his arrest.

So far, authorities have been able to ask Tsarnaev some questions about other potential bombs and terrorist cell members, reports ABC News.

Over the weekend, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told an interviewer: “We don’t know if we’ll ever be able to question the individual.” He did not elaborate on this statement.

Tsarnaev has not yet been charged. Police said during a press conference Saturday that charges were pending.

Authorities allege that Tsarnaev worked with his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, to plan and execute the bombings. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a police shootout Thursday night, in which MIT campus security guard Sean Collier, 26 was also killed.

News of Tsarnaev’s slow recovery comes as family members of Krystle Campbell, one of three people killed in the bombing, prepare for her funeral. It is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. in Medford, Mass.

Martin Richard, 8, and Lingzi Lu, 23, were also killed in the bombing. Nearly 200 more people were injured and some of them remain in hospital.