NEW YORK – The Massachusetts university attended by the man convicted in the Boston Marathon bombing has told filmmakers they cannot shoot scenes on campus for an upcoming movie about the deadly attack.
Gerry Kavanaugh, the acting chancellor of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, said in a statement that the school would turn down the request from CBS Films because a movie shoot would be “too disruptive to our campus community”.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a sophomore at the school when he and his older brother, Tamerlan, carried out the April 2013 bombing, which killed three and injured hundreds.
The movie, called Patriots Day, stars Mark Wahlberg and is scheduled for release in December.
Kavanaugh said the administration had discussed the producers’ request with students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders before deciding to decline it.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted at trial and sentenced to death. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police in Watertown, Massachusetts.
Last month, Watertown officials said they had rejected a request from the filmmakers to recreate the shootout in the neighbourhood where it occurred because it was not in the town’s best interest.
A spokeswoman for the production team said it had explored all of the locations where the events occurred for the sake of authenticity but that respecting those affected by the bombing is the movie’s top priority. The filmmakers have also scouted alternate sites.
Two of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friends at UMass Dartmouth were sentenced to prison for removing a backpack containing empty fireworks shells from his dormitory room while a massive manhunt was underway three days after the attack. A third college friend was sentenced for lying to investigators about the incident. (Reuters)
