Updated 8.25pm

BOSTON POLICE HAVE said there has been no arrest in the investigation into the double bombing at the city’s marathon on Monday.

The department was responding to earlier reports by CNN and Associated Press that an arrest had been made and the suspect was due in court later today.

CNN cited two separate law enforcement sources in reporting the information but has since said that no arrest has been made while Associated Press cited a senior law enforcement official in saying a suspect had been arrested.

The official spoke to AP shortly after several media outlets reported that a suspect had been identified from surveillance video taken at a Lord & Taylor store between the sites of the two bomb blasts.

Separately the FBI issued a statement this evening which in addition to pouring cold water on reports of an arrest also criticised “a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate”.

The statement added: “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.”

Earlier, authorities were reported to be close to identifying a suspect in the twin bombings at the finish line of the marathon which left three dead and over 100 people injured.

The Boston Globe reported that authorities have an image of a suspect carrying and perhaps dropping a black bag at the scene of the second bombing on Bolyston Street.

Three people died and 183 were injured, 23 critically, after two explosions within seconds of each other rocked the finishing line at the marathon on Monday afternoon.

Column: Downtown Boston is a crime scene and I’m sitting in my office a few miles away

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