Man Shot in Boston Bombing Probe       05/22 12:35

   ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities 
while being questioned in theBoston Marathon bombing case early Wednesday after 
he lunged at an FBI agent with a knife, officials said.

   Ibragim Todashev, a 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, was gunned down 
at his home during a meeting with the agent and two Massachusetts state 
troopers, authorities said. The agent was taken to a hospital with injuries 
that were not life-threatening.

   The FBI gave no details on why they were interested in Todashev. But 
acquaintances said Todashev knew one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, 
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, from mixed martial arts fighting in Boston. Public records 
also show Todashev lived in Watertown, Mass., just outside Boston, last year.

   Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police days after the April 
15 bombings. His brother, Dzhokhar, survived and is charged with carrying out 
the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260.

   Muslin Chapkhanov, a former roommate of Todashev's in the Orlando suburb of 
Kissimmee, Fla., said Todashev knew the older Tsarnaev brother. "He was living 
in Boston and I think he trained with him," Chapkhanov told The Associated 
Press.

   Saeed Dunkaev, a roommate of Todashev's, told The Associated Press that 
Todashev had lived off and on with a group of other Chechens in a townhouse in 
Kissimmee.

   "He's a regular guy, nothing wrong," Dunkaev said.

   Another roommate, Khusen Tamarov, said the roommates were questioned by 
authorities Tuesday night. Todashev was afraid of being interrogated at a law 
enforcement office and had asked that the questioning take place someplace 
else, Tamarov said.

   "This is the last thing I thought they would do," Tamarov said. "We had 
nothing to do with this. He had nothing to do with this."

   Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because 
they were not authorized to release details of the investigation, said Todashev 
came at the FBI agent with a knife before he was shot. The FBI initially said 
the agent fired the fatal shot, but later in the day the bureau left open the 
question of who was responsible.

   An FBI team was dispatched from Washington to review the shooting, a 
standard step in such cases.

   Todashev was arrested earlier this month on a charge of aggravated battery 
after getting into a fight over a parking spot with two men --- a father and 
son --- at an Orlando shopping mall. The son was hospitalized with a split lip 
and several teeth knocked out, according to a report from the Orange County 
Sheriff's Office. Todashev claimed self-defense.

   "Also by his own admission Todashev was recently a former mixed martial arts 
fighter," the arresting deputy said in his report. "This skill puts his 
fighting ability way above that of a normal person."

   Todashev was released on $3,500 bail after his May 4 arrest. His attorney, 
Alain Rivas, didn't immediately respond to a call for comment Wednesday.

   Police tape blocked off the complex of townhouses near Universal Studios 
where Todashev was shot.


(KA)