The deceased man who was allegedly connected to one of the Boston bombing suspects was unarmed when he was shot and killed by an FBI agent during an interview last week.
On May 22, a special agent and two Massachusetts State Police troopers interviewed Ibragim Todashev regarding his connections to the 26-year-old Boston bomber who was shot by police, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Although he was originally cooperative, the FBI says that Todashev allegedly attacked the agent and was subsequently shot and killed in his apartment in Orlando, Fla. According to the FBI, Todashev was apparently about to sign a confession connecting himself and Tsarnaev to a gruesome triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011 before he was killed.
Law enforcement officials initially told ABC News that Todashev "just went crazy" and used a knife to stab the FBI agent. However, an unnamed source contradicted that account, telling the Washington Post on Thurday that Todashev did not have weapon. Instead, the source says that Todashev flipped over the table and lunge at the FBI agent.
In a statement, the FBI announced that it will conduct an internal review of the use of deadly force in this incident:
"The FBI is conducting a review of the May 22, 2013 shooting of Ibragim Todashev, 27, which occurred at Todashev's residence, at 6022 Peregrine Avenue, Orlando, Fla. The FBI's shooting incident review team interviews witnesses and gathers information regarding the shooting incident for presentation to a Shooting Incident Review Group (SIRG), which consists of members from the FBI and the Department of Justice. The SIRG examines all of the information and determines the reasonableness of the application of deadly force in accordance with the Department of Justice's Deadly Force Policy and the law. While this internal review process is occurring, we cannot comment regarding investigative details.
"The FBI takes very seriously any shooting incidents involving our agents and as such we have an effective, time-tested process for addressing them internally. The review process is thorough and objective and conducted as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances."
Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev reportedly met and became friends through their participation in mixed martial arts and boxing in the Camrbidge, Mass. area. Authorities now believe Todashev was involved with Tsarnaev in an unsolved triple homicide in 2011. Unidentified sources confirmed to CNN that police have confirmed the two were responsible for the deaths of three men in an apparent drug ripoff.