WATERTOWN, Mass.—Residents in this Boston suburb breathed relief Saturday, while details emerged about the Boston Marathon bombings suspect's initial escape from police here and his eventual capture based on a lucky tip.



As the Boston Red Sox returned to Fenway, in a game that became a tribute to the bombing victims and first responders, neighbors in Watertown began returning to daily routines, relieved but still shaken by their ordeal.

"It was a relief when they captured him and we could all step outside onto the front porch," said Adam Levy, 32, who lives about five houses from the crime scene. "It was a relief that it ended and to see everyone step out and see everybody safe."

Law-enforcement officials and residents described a harrowing day in Watertown on Friday that began with a bloody shootout in which hundreds of rounds of ammunition were fired and the suspects threw several explosive devices at police, including one that police think was similar to the "pressure-cooker bomb" used in Monday's marathon attacks that killed three people and injured more than 170. A transit police officer was wounded, as was one of the suspects, who later died. Police told residents to remain indoors as they searched for the remaining suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who sped away from the shooting and eluded an intensive manhunt for nearly 20 hours.

Law-enforcement officials said Saturday that they had found five pipe bombs and three grenades after the firefight with police early Friday morning. Authorities also recovered at least one handgun and one long gun at the gunfire scene Friday.

It was only when police told residents they could leave their houses Friday evening that Mr. Tsarnaev was discovered, when a man stepped into his backyard to get fresh air and spotted blood inside his tarp-covered boat. The resident alerted police and dozens of law-enforcement officers raced to the scene, discovering Mr. Tsarnaev hiding in the boat. More shots were fired before they captured the wounded suspect and transported him to the hospital.

On Saturday, the house at 67 Franklin St.—which sits in a usually quiet neighborhood of historic homes—remained a crime scene, as police combed the area for evidence and retraced Mr. Tsarnaev's steps.

The chase for Mr. Tsarnaev and his brother and alleged accomplice, Tamerlan, began Thursday night with the fatal shooting of a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After the shooting, the brothers allegedly used a gun to steal a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle, forcing the driver to give them his ATM number before pushing him out of the car.

The brothers fled, one driving the stolen Mercedes and the other their own Honda. They used the Mercedes' owner's ATM to withdraw $800. Police were able to track the Mercedes using its owner's cellphone—which had been left inside during the carjacking—to a back street in East Watertown, Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said in an interview Saturday.

About 12:25 a.m. a Watertown police officer spotted the cars and began pursuit. The officer's superiors told him not to stop the cars until backup arrived. But within two blocks, the brothers halted.

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"All of a sudden they stop, jump out of the car and immediately start shooting at my police officer," Mr. Deveau said.

The officer backed up, and from 30 feet away began returning fire. Five more officers arrived. More than 200 gunshots were fired during a roughly 10-minute exchange. At one point, a suspect hurled a bomb that caused a "huge explosion," Mr. Deveau said. Police believe that bomb was like those used in Monday's attack because they later found a pressure-cooker lid embedded in a nearby car. The brothers also hurled four smaller grenade-like devices. Two exploded. Two failed to detonate.

At some point, Tamerlan Tsarnaev left cover and approached the police, firing. When the suspect ran out of ammunition, an officer tackled him in the street. As officers tried to apply handcuffs, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sped at them in the stolen Mercedes.

"Somebody yells, 'Get out of the way,'" Mr. Deveau said. "They look up and here comes the brother in the black SUV roaring at them. They dive out of the way, barely get out of the way."

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ran over his brother, dragging him under the car for about 40 feet. The brother was then taken to Beth Israel Deaconness Hospital where he died.

As Mr. Tsarnaev drove off, the police realized that a transit police officer at the scene had been shot and was bleeding profusely. Some attended to him as others pursued the car. By the time they found it, about 300 yards away, Mr. Tsarnaev had fled on foot into the darkness.

"We get to the car and he's gone," the chief said.

Police set up a perimeter around a 20-square-block area, stopping anyone who is outside. As residents awoke, authorities told them to stay in their homes, warning that one suspect was at large and considered extremely dangerous. Hundreds of police, many armed with rifles, swarmed the Watertown neighborhood. Helicopters flew overhead.

About 7:30 a.m. teams of police began searching house to house. Shortly afterward, they found urine and a pool of blood outside a home near where Mr. Tsarnaev fled. But the suspect wasn't there, and the trail went cold again.

Residents who live in the area said police were checking basements and backyards Friday morning. Some later returned with German Shepherds. Mr. Levy, the neighbor, said law-enforcement officials, guns drawn, searched his backyard. David Harrison, 50, who lives about two blocks away, said a heavily armed team searched his backyard, including an uninhabited carriage house.

But 67 Franklin St. was about a block outside the search perimeter, police said. After hours of fruitless searching, authorities called a news conference about 6 p.m. and announced that residents could leave their homes.

"We certainly did not give an all clear," Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said later. "This was a very serious and dangerous situation. We had no information that the suspect was still holed up in this particular area. He managed to elude us by being just slightly outside of the perimeter that we set up."

Within 15 minutes of the announcement, the Franklin Street house's resident, David Henneberry, went out to his yard to get a breath of fresh air. Mr. Henneberry noticed that the tarp on his winterized boat was flapping in the wind, which he thought was odd because it should have been tightly secured, his stepson, Robert Duffy, told CNN. Mr. Henneberry peeked under the tarp and saw a pool of blood and "something crumpled up in a ball" in the front of the boat that he couldn't make out in the dimming light, Mr. Duffy said. At that point, Mr. Henneberry alerted local police.

That set off a new round of frightening events for residents who were emerging from their homes.

Chuck Thibeault and his son had just walked down their driveway Friday night after being holed up for 24 hours when "a barrage of cops come down the road and shoved us back in the house," he said. "Not a minute later they opened fire on a boat at the end of the street. There were like 150 cops here."

Mr. Thibeault, age 62, said, "As soon as they started shooting I hit the floor."

Police set up a perimeter around that boat. They proceeded cautiously, fearing that Mr. Tsarnaev was wearing explosives or that they might accidentally hit the fuel tank of the boat, which they were told was half full, state police said.

Mr. Davis said police wanted to capture Mr. Tsarnaev alive "so we can find out how it happened, why it happened and we can hold them for justice."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a hostage-negotiating team. A helicopter outfitted with an infrared camera was able to tell police that Mr. Tsarnaev was moving around inside the boat, police said. Authorities used "flash bangs"—loud explosive devices intended to stun their targets —and Mr. Tsarnaev soon went quiet, Mr. Deveau, the Watertown police chief, said.

Negotiators spoke to Mr. Tsarnaev for 20 to 30 minutes. The suspect finally relented. He rose from the boat, and officers asked him to show his hands, then to lift up his shirt.

"We see that there is no explosive devices strapped to his chest," Mr. Deveau said. "That's when they grab him and pull him out."

Stephen DePamphilis, who lives down the street, said he heard someone announce into a bullhorn that the suspect had been "secured and apprehended." Then the law enforcement officers gathered on the street—Mr. DePamphilis counted 200 of them—started cheering.

Residents who had been on edge all day also burst into applause upon hearing the news that Mr. Tsarnaev was in custody.

"We are so happy, we are relieved," said Ashot Davtian." I feel bad for the people who lost their lives, but I am happy it's over."

Mr. Tsarnaev was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and placed in FBI custody, awaiting charges by the United States Attorney's office in Boston. Police said he had lost a lot of blood from injuries he sustained during the Friday-morning gunfight with police. It was unclear whether he was struck during a firefight with police before his capture, Mr. Davis said.

—-Anton Troianovski, Devlin Barrett, Gary Fields, Michael Amon and Evan Perez contributed to this article.

Write to Douglas Belkin at doug.belkin@wsj.com and Jennifer Smith at jennifer.smith@wsj.com