Dunkin' Donuts remained open during Boston siege

BOSTON, April 20 (UPI) -- Boston was locked down during the search for suspects in the Boston Marathon attack but some Dunkin' Donuts restaurants remained open at the request of police.

Authorities had ordered the city locked down, with businesses closed and residents staying indoors, while they searched for the suspects in Monday's bombings, which killed three people and injured about 170.

First responders and police still required hot coffee and food, so the lights stayed on at a few select Dunkin' Donuts, The Boston Globe reported Saturday.

"At the direction of authorities, select Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the Boston area are open to take care of needs of law enforcement and first responders," company spokeswoman Lindsay Harrington said in an email.

"We are encouraging our guests to stay home today and abide by the lock-down, per the governor's recommendations," she said.

The manhunt ended Friday evening when the surviving suspect in the bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured in Watertown.

For those involved in the manhunt, coffee and donuts were on the house for the day Friday. The few stragglers from the public who came in were also served, the newspaper said.

The stores that remained open were in neighborhoods where police activity was heaviest, including Dorchester and Watertown, the epicenter of the search for men who were described as extremely dangerous.

"There's a lot of police presence. I don't think anything crazy is going to happen," said Don Foley, a glazier who stepped into the Dorchester Dunkin' Donuts with co-workers.

They had gone to work before hearing of the lockdown and stayed because it seemed like the best option at the time.

Demitrus Glover, a worker at the franchise, said he was lucky to have been close by so he could open the store, as requested.