Possible New Image Emerges

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There’s been some debate online tonight about an image that’s emerged in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. The photo shows crowds scrambling after one of Monday’s explosions. It also shows, on the left-hand side of the image, a man in a white ball cap who looks a lot like a man that the FBI announced earlier in the day was a suspect in the attack.

Amateur sleuths have debated whether the photo is real or Photoshopped. But now, the New York Times has talked to a guy who says he snapped it with his iPhone right after the explosion. He says it’s the real deal. (More after the jump.)

In an interview late Thursday, [David] Green, who runs a sportswear company in Florida, confirmed that the picture was genuine, and that the F.B.I. had contacted him and requested a copy. “I have spoken to several agents,” Mr. Green said, “and they have got the photos, they are picking up material from me, and I don’t think there’s any doubt.”

Agents had told him, he said, that his picture was the best they had, because it was taken from a better camera than the others that were posted.

However, TPM’s Eric Lach, who’s been in Boston this week covering the bombing, reached out to the FBI about the same photo earlier tonight. In response, a spokesman sort of threw cold water on it, but he also didn’t address the image in particular.

“Any images not released via FBI official channels should not be considered credible,” spokesman Christopher Allen wrote in the email to TPM.

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