Maryland Uncle Says Boston Bombing Suspects Never Lived With Him (UPDATED)

Bombing Suspects' Maryland Connection

Ruslan Tsarni, the uncle of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects -- who told CBS that the men "do not deserve to live on this earth" -- lives in a Maryland suburb just outside the nation's capital.

NBC4 spoke with Tsarni's neighbors in Montgomery Village, which is part of the city of Gaithersburg:

Neighbors said the family has lived on the street for five to seven years. They said the family is pleasant and there have never been any problems in the home.

"They are lovely neighbors, very cordial, always looking after their home and always aware of their neighbors," said neighbor Adam Mason.

"I feel like Boston's now in my back yard," Mason said. "It's a shame because they are lovely people."

Neighbors said they were surprised by Friday morning's police activity.

Just before 11:45 a.m., Tsarni told reporters outside his home that the the suspects, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, "never lived here," and that he had not seen them since December, 2005.

"My family has nothing to do with that family," he said.

Tamerlan Tsarnev was killed on Friday morning. Dzhokhar is still at large. At the press conference, Tsarni urged Dzhokhar to surrender to police, reports Fox News:

“I say Dzhokhar, if you’re alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness from the victims, from the injured,” a visibly angry Tsarni said, adding that he would have alerted authorities if he knew of his nephews’ alleged plan.

“I respect this country, I love this country,” he continued. “[The bombing] has nothing to do with Chechnya … He put a shame on our family, he put a shame on the entire Chechnyan ethnicity.”

Another uncle lives not far from Tsarni, reports the Baltimore Sun:

Alvi Tsarnaev, another uncle, who lives about a mile from Tsarni, declined to comment when reached by phone Friday, but he gave an interview with a television station early this morning. "I can't believe this what happened," he said in that interview. "I can't believe this, it's not possible."

He said that he had not talked to the suspects for several years because of problems in the family but did not elaborate.

"Yesterday he called me and said forgive me," Alvi Tsarnaev said, referring to Tamerlan.

Update, 7:30 p.m.: Patch spoke with other residents of Montgomery Village, who talked about the influx of interest in their neighborhood:

When Richard Kaplan left his home in Montgomery Village's Fairidge community Friday morning, he couldn't have anticipated the scene upon his return.

"I came home from the dentist's office and I couldn't believe what was happening," the 62-year-old said.

Throngs of reporters from national and local media converged on his normally quiet neighborhood after reports that a resident of the community was the uncle of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

"I asked a neighbor and they told me what was going on. ... It's been going on since 10:30 [a.m.]," Kaplan said. "I'm surprised to see there aren't more neighbors out seeing what's going on."

This is a developing story...

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