FBI via Reuters file
Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is pictured in this undated FBI handout photo.
By Pete Williams and Andrew Rafferty, NBC News
A grand jury has indicted Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on charges of using weapons of mass destruction and killing four people, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Tsarnaev, 19, has been accused of setting off bombs near the finish line of the city's annual race on April 15 with the help of his older brother Tamerlan. The blasts killed three people, and investigators believe the brothers killed a university police officer in the days after the attack while attempting to evade capture.
The indictment alleges that the two men used improvised explosive devices, made from pressure cookers, explosive powder and shrapnel, which were ?were designed to shred skin, shatter bone, and cause extreme pain and suffering, as well as death,? according to the grand jury indictment. ??
Seventeen of the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or death.
The surviving Tsarnaev was arrested while hiding in a boat in the backyard of a Watertown, Mass. home.
Though the brothers have lived in in the United States for about 10 years, they hail from Dagestan, a turbulent region that has become a hotbed for Islamic extremism. In early 2012, Tamerlan Tsarnaev traveled to the region, a move that prompted Russia to alert U.S. authorities of possible terrorist activities. An FBI investigation at the time was inconclusive.
A press conference is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
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