Alina Tsarnaeva, Sister of Bomber Suspects, Calls Brothers ‘Great People’

A woman in West New York, New Jersey, when questioned by NJ.com, identified the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as her brothers and subsequently said: “They were great people.”

The Star-Ledger reports that at around 11 a.m, Friday morning, around 12 FBI officers arrived at the woman’s home and were allowed access.

Tsarnaeva told NJ.com:

They were great people. I never would have expected it, they are smart – I don’t know what’s gotten into them….I’m hurt for everyone who has been hurt. I’m sorry for all the people who are hurt and for all the people who lost their lives.

Her husband, who also spoke to reporters but has not yet been identified, said that because he was not Muslim, her brothers never accepted him and never met him.

Police have cordoned off the area around the woman’s home in West New York.