Still in hospital, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been formally charged just days after an intense police manhunt ended in his dramatic capture.
Tsarnaev was charged Monday, with one count of using a weapon of mass destruction and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.
If found guilty, Tsarnaev could face a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Tsarnaev made his initial court appearance in the Boston-area hospital room where he is being treated.
鈥淎lthough our investigation is ongoing, today鈥檚 charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston, and for our country,鈥� Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. 鈥淲e will hold those who are responsible for these heinous acts accountable to the fullest extent of the law.鈥�
The 19-year-old is said to be in serious, but stable, condition with a gunshot wound to his throat.
On Monday the White House said Tsarnaev will be prosecuted in the federal court system, and not in a military tribunal. White House spokesperson Jay Carney said Tsarnaev, as a naturalized U.S. citizen, cannot be tried in a military commission as an enemy combatant.
Tsarnaev was said to be conscious and even communicating with authorities on Monday.
In a brief statement posted on the FBI website Monday morning, the agency said: 鈥淎ccording to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains in serious condition.鈥�
The FBI said it released the information at the request of the hospital.
Tsarnaev was arrested in connection with the marathon explosions as well as the gun battle with police that left his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, dead late last week.
The FBI identified Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev as the two suspects sought in connection with last week鈥檚 twin bombings that left three dead and injured more than 170 others at the finish line of Boston鈥檚 famed running race.
While details of Dzhokhar鈥檚 precise condition in hospital are unclear, NBC News has reported that he is responding to investigators鈥� questions in writing.
A U.S. senator confirmed Sunday that Tsarnaev was shot in the throat. Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana told The Associated Press that questions have been raised as to whether the bombing suspect will be able to talk again.
After his arrest, Tsarnaev was immediately rushed to Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he was put under heavy sedation and remains under heavy guard.
On Sunday, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told CBS鈥� "Face the Nation" that after the firefight between police and the suspects, authorities discovered more than 250 rounds of ammunition and a number of homemade explosives, leading them to believe the brothers were planning other attacks.
"We have reason to believe, based upon the evidence that was found at that scene -- the explosions, the explosive ordnance that was unexploded and the firepower that they had -- that they were going to attack other individuals," Davis said. "That's my belief at this point."
He did not say whether investigators have identified a specific target.
Davis described the brothers as the "two major actors in the violence that occurred," and told CNN on Sunday that he believes the two people behind the attacks are either "dead or arrested."
U.S. officials had said they will question Tsarnaev without reading him his Miranda rights, which guarantees accused the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
The exemption is allowed on a limited basis in circumstances where the public may face immediate danger, such as when planted bombs are ready to go off, however, civil liberties groups have criticized the decision.
"Investigators want to know what drove the attacks, who were these people鈥檚 influences and if there is a wider network out there," CTV鈥檚 Joy Malbon said Monday from Boston .
Many Boston residents were heading back to workplaces and schools for the first time since a dramatic week came to an even more dramatic end. Traffic was building on major arteries into the city Monday morning.
Seven days after the deadly explosions, city officials began the process of re-opening the six-block site around Boylston Street where the bombs were detonated.
Boston residents observed a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m. ET Monday afternoon 鈥� which marked exactly one week since the first of the two bombs exploded near the marathon finish line.
In Ottawa, a walk from Parliament Hill to the U.S. Embassy took place earlier in the afternoon.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson led the walk, which was a sign of solidarity with Boston.
The Tsarnaev family is originally from the Russian republic of Chechnya and fled the brutal wars there in the 1990s. The two brothers were born in Kyrgyzstan, authorities said.
An FBI official said agents interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 at the request of the Russian government. The FBI said Russia claimed that he was a follower of radical Islam. Since the deadly bombings, Tsarnaev鈥檚 family members have said the older brother changed drastically after a trip to Chechnya last year.
With files from The Associated Press
