Boston on Lockdown as Residents Are Ordered to 'Shelter In Place' While Cops Sweep Watertown

In an unprecedented move, the city of Boston, in its entirety, is being asked to shelter-in-place, with schools and mass transit closed. Nearby Watertown, where police and federal authorities are searching for the Boston Marathon bomber who is still at large, is in lockdown as Friday's manhunt continues.

At this moment, heavily armed members of the military, assisted by local law enforcement, are going door-to-door in Watertown, searching every house, garage, and shed for bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Here's the view from @franforman's front porch. Wartime twitter.com/franforman/sta…

— Kim Bhasin (@KimBhasin) April 19, 2013

In light of that, town authorities have apparently asked businesses to remain closed. According to the Boston Globe, all vehicle traffic is banned in that city.

Police are locking down Watertown. no vehicle traffic is allowed in and out of #watertown ask business not to open all transit shut down

— Pete Quily (@pqpolitics) April 19, 2013

In a press conference this morning, the governor of Massachusetts announced that everyone in Boston was being asked to "shelter-in-place;" that is, not to leave the house or answer the door. In Cambridge, which lies between Boston and Watertown, singer Juliana Hatfield woke up to this notice on her door:

i fell asleep to the sound of helicopters overhead and woke up to this on my front door--whoa twitter.com/julianahatfiel…

— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) April 19, 2013

For many, there's nowhere to go, anyway. Taxi service has been suspended. The regional mass transit has been closed; in part, apparently, because authorities don't want crowds of people gathering together.

#MBTA ALL modes of transportation remain suspended until further notice.Do not wait at T stations. mbta.com

— Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) April 19, 2013

Schools are on a delayed opening, and extracurricular activities have been cancelled. The Boston Globe outlines other closed institutions, including most regional colleges.

 

Maybe the most shocking thing on TV now is nothing--rush hour in Boston & streets near-empty

— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) April 19, 2013

The Boston Police identify other towns with shelter-in-place orders.

#CommunityAlert: Residents of Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge and Allston Brighton reminded to stay indoors.

— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 19, 2013

A resident in the area describes how authorities are informing residents:

I got the emergency texts all night from MIT, and [a friend] had robocalls from Belmont PD telling us to stay inside, one just a minute ago saying town offices and buildings are closed.

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