Alleged Tsarnaev Carjacking Victim: Bombers Spared Me Because I'm Not American (And Said Something About 'Manhattan')

This combination of undated photos shows Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, left, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. (Credit: AP)

The alleged carjacking victim of the Boston bombing suspects says his life was spared because he "wasn't an American," according to a new report.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim (who has asked to remain anonymous) was stopped by the Tsarnaev brothers Thursday night, and they even boasted of their role in the Boston bombings to let him know they were "serious."

"Did you hear about the Boston explosion?" one of the two said according to the federal affidavit. "I did that."

The victim recounted a harrowing interlude where the suspects drove to multiple ATMs across the city and forced him to withdraw money, before he was driven to a Shell gas station in Watertown, Mass.

There, the new report says, the suspects “declared...that they were the Boston Marathon bombers and would not kill him because he wasn’t an American."

Not long after, the suspects allegedly shot an MIT police officer "in the head, unprovoked," CBS News special correspondent John Miller noted.

The carjacking victim called 911 after the suspects drove off, and recalled what he heard for police.  In addition to helping authorities track down the brothers, he says he heard snippets of an alarming conversation.

The suspects weren't speaking English, but the victim thinks he heard the word "Manhattan."

He described it as, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, Manhattan blah, blah, blah," according to Pete Williams at NBC News, who has been in contact with the victim over email.

According to CBS News, the word "tripped a lot" of alarms for authorities, who immediately alerted their counterparts in New York City.  It is unclear whether the brothers were planning another attack, whether they planned to flee to the city or, indeed, if they even said the word at all.

Williams noted that the victim's first language also isn't English and, when speaking of Manhattan, how many people actually choose that word?  Most simply say "New York," he said.

"I talked to somebody this morning about this," Williams remarked, "and I don't think they're putting a lot of credibility into it."

Watch Williams complete interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe":

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