The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a statement Wednesday afternoon essentially scolding several media outlets after they incorrectly reported that an arrest had been made in the investigation of Monday's bombing attacks against the Boston Marathon.
"Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack," reads the FBI's unusual statement.
"Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate," it continued. "Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting."
The FBI's statement came after a hectic early afternoon of media coverage of the attack and investigation.
CNN's John King was the first to report that an arrest in the case had been made, a claim later backed up by the Boston Globe, Fox News and the Associated Press. However, NBC's Pete Williams said his sources were vehemently denying an arrest had been made. CBS, too, reported there was no arrest. The Boston Police Department even took to Twitter to dispel the arrest story.
Despite reports to the contrary there has not been an arrest in the Marathon attack.— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 17, 2013
It soon became clear that CNN's report of an arrest was most likely inaccurate and they began walking back the story on live air. Most of the other media outlets who had also reported an arrest joined CNN in backtracking -- but not before chaos and confusion spread on social media to the point of farce:
The last hour of CNN: Suspect ID'd. Arrest imminent. Arrest made. Confirmed arrest made. Wait, maybe no arrest. Confirmed arrest not made.— Ben Dimiero (@bendimiero) April 17, 2013
AP, Boston Globe, CNN reporting arrest made; NBC, CBS reporting arrest not made. Keller reporting headache, blurred vision.— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) April 17, 2013
Schrödinger's Suspect— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) April 17, 2013
Here is what we know.— Kevin Depew (@kevindepew) April 17, 2013
Is the race to be first hurting news organizations' accuracy and trust levels? Share your thoughts in the comments.