A day of anxious waiting in lockdown at Brandeis came to an end Friday evening as police captured 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the remaining suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

A mere two hours after Gov. Deval Patrick declared the lengthy "stay in place" lockdown over, allowing Bostonians to go back to their usual business, state and local police announced that Tsarnaev was taken alive. The suspect was brought out of a boat in the backyard of a Watertown, Mass. home and subsequently taken to Mount Auburn Hospital, according to reports from Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB. Police had been searching for Tsarnaev for about 19 hours.

Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel confirmed the news in an email to the Brandeis community. "All stay in place orders have been lifted and we are returning to a normal schedule of activities," the email read.

Flagel went on to acknowledge the efforts of campus safety staff and the students themselves. "As we return to our routines, all of us at Brandeis express our profound gratitude to [Director of Public Safety] Ed Callahan and his dedicated team of police officers who have worked tirelessly to ensure that our campus remains safe and secure," he wrote. "We are so proud of the way you are all supporting one another, and our hearts and prayers continue to be with those who were hurt."

The news of Tsarnaev's arrest first came just before 9 p.m. Friday, following a day during which University officials cancelled activities and stepped up security on campus while local and federal forces searched the area for the probable bomber.

The events of those 24 hours included a wild chase and shootout, which culminated in Watertown early Friday morning. Brandeis administrators maintained that the school was in no danger, but advised off-campus students to stay home, in keeping with the orders of local law enforcement.

The Brandeis Office of Communications first alerted students to the situation in an email sent out at 2 a.m., informing readers of events but assuring them that "[t]here is no threat to the Brandeis campus at this time. All students should stay inside their residence halls and off-campus dwellings and report any suspicious activity."

Campus lockdown mode was suspended around 7:30 p.m., shortly after Patrick declared it over for the rest of the area.
Security efforts had been ramped up by the Department of Public Safety during the day, with University police stationed at the main entrance to campus. "Officers are identifying all individuals who request access to the campus. Perimeter locations are being monitored and are secure as well," wrote Callahan in an email to the Justice.

The University sent text message alerts to students early Friday morning, notifying them that Brandeis was closed for the day. Flagel later announced that classes were cancelled via email, in compliance with a request from the governor's office.

"We have not been informed of any specific threats to Brandeis or our campus," the email read. "Our police are on alert and on-campus students should feel free to go to dining halls and elsewhere on campus. Because of area travel restrictions, off-campus students should remain in place and should not attempt to travel to campus." 

Sherman Dining Hall, Usdan Student Center, Einstein Bros. Bagels, the Stein and Ollie's remained open, following their usual Friday schedules, according to Brandeis University Dining Services' web page. All other campus dining locations were closed. Goldfarb Library was opened at 2:30 p.m. and stayed open until 8:30 p.m., with the Farber Library available until midnight.

The Waltham and Boston-Cambridge shuttles were suspended all day Friday, but resumed on Saturday, according to Flagel. The Crystal shuttle continued to operate on campus, including service to the Charles River Apartments, throughout the day.

In addition to Waltham, Boston and Watertown, the communities of Newton, Belmont and Cambridge were in lockdown mode most of the day on Friday, according to boston.com. Residents of these cities were advised to stay inside and to not answer their doors for anyone other than a clearly identified member of law enforcement. Patrick lifted this restriction at about 6:30 p.m.

Also according to reports from boston.com, all public transportation provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority was suspended until Patrick lifted the ban. The lockdown provisions left an eerily empty city. Taxi service in Boston was also forbidden for about a span of about half an hour earlier Friday afternoon. Logan Airport remained open, according to its website, but was "operating under heightened security." Flights appeared to be arriving and departing normally. Amtrak, however, suspended its service between Boston and Providence, R.I. on Friday, according to reports from boston.com.

The efforts of local law enforcement, Massachusetts State Police, the FBI, Homeland Security, SWAT and K-9 teams were focused on an area surrounding Arsenal Street in Watertown as of Friday afternoon, but moved to Franklin Street later in the night-the eventual site of Tsarnaev's capture. The search around Arsenal Street, which involved going door to door through many neighborhoods, took place about six miles from the Brandeis campus.

The FBI identified the suspects early on in the process as Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, both of Cambridge. Multiple news outlets confirmed that Tamerlan was killed during a shootout with police in Watertown early Friday morning, while his brother remained at-large until late that night. Dzhokhar was described by the FBI as "heavily armed and extremely dangerous."

Several local and national news outlets also confirmed that Dzhokhar was enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. The campus, in North Dartmouth, Mass. was evacuated Friday afternoon.

Police confirmed early Friday morning that the two suspects also carried out the Boston Marathon bombings and were behind a fatal shooting at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology late Thursday night.

The MIT shooting was the catalyst that started Friday's series of events. State Police said at the Friday evening press conference that a convenience store robbery that occurred nearby at around the same time is not connected, to the best of their knowledge.

Just 10 minutes after the robbery, an MIT police officer, 26-year-old Sean Collier, was found shot in his patrol car, according to a timeline of events posted on npr.org. Collier was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and confirmed dead later that night.

Police then followed leads regarding an armed carjacking nearby and pursued the suspects to Watertown, where they engaged the two in a lengthy gunfight at around 1 a.m., according to the NPR timeline. Police reported that the two threw improvised explosive devices from their SUV. Tamerlan was severely wounded as a result, and was later pronounced dead at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center. MBTA police officer Richard Donohue, 33, was also seriously injured in the shootout and remains in critical condition.

While the mention of a possible third suspect was denied in the press conference this evening, the Boston Globe reported that three people were arrested in New Bedford, Mass. after Tsarnaev's capture, in connection with the bombings.

A possible link between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and a 2011 triple homicide in Waltham was also recently uncovered. The Boston Globe reported Saturday that the owner of a gym where Tsarnaev boxed said Tsarnaev introduced one of the victims, Brendan Mess, as his "best friend." Another one of the victims of the Waltham homicide, Raphael Teken, was a 1998 Brandeis graduate.

The Boston Marathon bombings to which the Tsarnaev brothers are connected took place last Monday afternoon at the finish line of the marathon. According to boston.com, three people died and over 170 were injured as a result of the attacks.