Gavin Aronsen

Former high school classmates of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect who remains at large, reacted with shock and disbelief on social media Friday morning. The following screenshots provided to Mother Jones are of Facebook messages posted by former classmates of Tsarnaev, who called him "Jahar." They were provided by a classmate who did not know the suspect well but who was friends with those who did; this source wishes to remain anonymous. Some of the former classmates' comments assume Tsarnaev is guilty, though he is still only a suspect in the bombing, according to law enforcement authorities. In Cambridge, Tsarnaev was reportedly a 2011 City Scholarship recipient and wrestler. One photo posted on Facebook by a classmate appears to show Tsarnaev in a wrestling huddle with teammates:

A second former high school classmate told Mother Jones: "I did know Jahar. In the 4 years of high school I spent with him, he was nothing but a kind, unassuming, gentle person. He was funny, had lots of friends, and was very athletic. I haven't spoken with him since high school (we graduated in the same class from Cambridge Rindge & Latin)."

Another acquaintance said she knew Dzhokhar from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. She said he had a group of "maybe four or five" Russian-speaking friends whom he was never without. "All I really knew of them was that they smoked weed and liked to party, just like regular kids. Jahar was such a sweetheart."

Other former classmates expressed their disbelief on Facebook:

"Watching the news I was texting a friend saying it looks like him as a joke, but to have them identify the person I called a friend..."

"I can't believe I went through four years of high school and was friends with someone who carried out a terrorist attack."

"I remember when he was the new kid in our class back in Cambridge Port. I had classes in high school with him."

"I don't believe I know that bomber… And I've known him for years!"

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's high school yearbook photo:

*The names of two sources initially included in this piece have been removed at those sources' request.

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"Shame on you!" Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, yelled from the Senate gallery on Wednesday afternoon after the amendment to expand gun background checks fell six votes short of the 60 it required to overcome a filibuster. Maisch, regarded as a hero for having grabbed gunman Jared Loughner's third magazine after other bystanders tackled him, was escorted out of the Senate chamber and swarmed by reporters as police attempted to kick her out of the Capitol.

Maisch watched the vote with other survivors and the families of victims of recent mass shootings, who left the chamber raw with emotion. As they waited for Senate Democrats to emerge to speak with reporters, the families of Newtown victims were consoled by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who had introduced a universal background check bill but supported the bill authored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) after his was rejected by Republicans, told reporters, "Today, fear, mistruth, brute political force won out over what is right. America will be a less safer place because of it."

President Barack Obama, who has made a push for expanded background checks a central focus of his second term, railed against the National Rifle Association at a separate Rose Garden press conference. "Instead of supporting this compromise, the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill," he said. "They claimed that it would create some sort of 'Big Brother' gun registry, even though the bill did the opposite."

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