NY Post Claims These Are the Two Men Police Are Looking for in Boston Bombings -- But One Is a Local Teen Who's in Shock

UPDATE II: ABC News has interviewed Salah Barhoun, one of the young men in the NY Post's cover photograph. The 17-year-old detailed his surprise when he saw his face showing up on social media and through other outlets. TheBlaze has a follow-up report with additional details.

UPDATE:

Following the New York Post's report, Gawker noted that the men shown by the outlet are apparently two locals who were merely spectators at the event -- and, as TheBlaze initially reported, were not named as suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Photo Credit: NY Post 

Business Insider has more, noting that the picture shown on the cover of the Post is apparently not one that will be disseminated by authorities today:

CBS correspondent John Miller said Thursday morning that purported pictures of alleged suspects in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings floating around "the Internet and the papers" are not the same ones that will be eventually released by authorities.

Miller, a former FBI assistant director, said the FBI has been "shaken" by the amount of information that continues to leak in the case. One photo made its way to the cover of the New York Post on Thursday.

According to a transcript from CBS, anchor Gayle King asked Miller if the photos in "the papers and the Internet" should be discounted.

"Those are not the pictures that are going to be released today by the authorities," Miller said.

"And in fact, here’s what happens. Those pictures were on the Internet yesterday morning and then they started going viral on different sites, and then different intelligence fusion centers around the country picked those up and they post them into bulletins and say any law enforcement agencies who can identify these people, we’ll take that information. Then it ends up leaking back to the newspaper, so it comes out in one big circle."

 

Original story below

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As authorities continue their search for clues in the Boston Marathon bombings, the New York Post has released photos claiming to show two men that investigators are looking for. Neither the Post, nor the email it obtained regarding the pictures, called the men "suspects."

The photos have not been released to the public but have been circulated among law enforcement. Select members of the mainstream media have also seen them. TheBlaze has not viewed them.

But in a confusing twist, while sources told the outlet that the names of the men are known there apparently isn't enough evidence yet to warrant an arrest.

In the Post's image analysis, one of the men is seen carrying a blue bag and the other is wearing a black backpack. As for the latter individual, while he's seen with the black bag in a 10:53 a.m. photograph, another taken at 12:30 p.m. apparently shows him without it.

"The attached photos are being circulated in an attempt to identify the individuals highlighted therein," reads an e-mail the Post apparently obtained from authorities. "Feel free to pass this around to any of your fellow agents elsewhere."

Below, see one of the images that the outlet posted, circling the two men in red:

Photo Credit: NY Post/Aaron “Tango” Tang

In addition to the Post photo, the internet community 4chan captured photos of the same men. They posted them on Wednesday in a photo essay identifying a slew of people they thought might look suspicious:

Photo Credit: 4Chan

Photo Credit: 4Chan

Photo Credit: 4chan ThinkTank

Similarly, a Blaze reader submitted photos (which appear not to be original) noting the same thing. The man appears to have a backpack in the photo on the left, but doesn't on the right:

Credit (Blaze reader)

The Post also claims that, in addition to the photo evidence, authorities have purportedly identified two suspects seen on surveillance video before the bombs detonated.

The Boston Globe notes that while the photos haven't been released publicly yet, authorities plan to do so today:

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape -- one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

That official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cell phone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

Separately, President Obama is due to visit Boston today.