So according to the news - the bombers let the carjacked victim go free?

[nadine_mn]

Ok - I am hearing all kinds of random news, but I am struck by the fact that they (allegedly) killed the MIT campus officer, had a shoot out with police but let the carjacked victim go free?

Just wondering your thoughts on this.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. It's hard to kill someone once you get to know them

They become a "person like you" instead of an "outsider".

[nadine_mn]

3. That was my first thought too - they were anonymous as bombers

they didn't know who was going to be hurt or killed. But up close and personal - they can't do it.

[graham4anything]

2. They wanted him to pass the message along that it was them. Fame/Ego?

like the hatred of the asssassin that killed the man of peace John Lennon seemed to only want fame and to connect himself with a big name

[nolabear]

4. Idealogues might be loathe to think of themselves as murderers.

Shooting a real person instead of a faceless "them" would threaten the rationale, perhaps.

[Uzair]

5. EVERYBODY who knows them says they're great guys

There's something not computing here about this whole thing that's really bothering me. I thought the same thing about that: WTF? They let a guy go when they have no problem indiscriminately murdering innocent people? Then they interview friends, and former coaches, and God know who else and all we hear is these guys would never do something like what they've been accused of. The nicest guys in the world. Normal, well adjusted people. No signs of any malicious intent.

It's really, really weird.

[nadine_mn]

7. Not even the "he was always a loner" comment

Well, the uncle says loser but still so many reports that they were so nice. I hope the younger one is taken alive so we can find out more.

I know that does nothing to ease the pain of the victims or their families, but just calling them "evil" doesn't help prevent this in the future.

[Barack_America]

11. The father's interview revealed that he was pretty critical of the older son...

...for dropping out of school and getting married. He was also arrested in 2009 for domestic violence. I wonder if this is when the extended family wrote them off as 'losers'? They keep saying that they haven't seen the boys in 'a few years'.

[Barack_America]

8. If it wasn't for the events of last night...

...I would ask whether they actually knew what was in those backpacks.

[Barack_America]

6. I don't know if their contributions to this were equal.

Maybe when they were both in the car with the guy, one of the brothers talked the other out of harming him.

[Marrah_G]

9. We probably won't ever know why

could just be one little thing the victim said...... it's not like these guys were/are thinking rationally.

[flamingdem]

10. He had a CO-EXIST bumper sticker

[John1956PA]

12. As I understand it, the carjack victim provided the police with lead which led to the car chase.

The brothers knew that, by letting the carjack victim go, they were sealing their own doom. Nonetheless, they let him go. I agree with the comment above that the brothers psyche became tuned into the fact that carjack victim was a real person with family and feelings. I am reminded of Pulp Fiction when one of the two hit men accidentally shot to death the hostage in the back seat of the car, whereupon both the shooter and the other hit man felt regret.