Metropolis Reality Forums - Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland

Sponsored by: The Fans!

Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register.
Nov 27^th, 2024, 7:18pm

Upcoming Premiere Dates:
Survivor 23, Season premiere
Thursday, September 14 (8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on CBS

Metropolis Reality Forums Ť Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland ť

   Metropolis Reality Forums
   Off-Topic Forums
   In the News (Moderators: lakelady, yesteach, MediaScribe, Bumper, Isle_be_back)
   Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland

Previous topic | New Topic | Next topic »

Pages: all 1 2 3 ... 7

Add Poll

Notify of replies

Send Topic

Author

Topic: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland (Read 3143 times)

Kramer
ForumsNet Member

Welcome Home Stanley! Hockeytown Loves YOU!

Gender:

Posts: 662

Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« on: Oct 4^th, 2002, 4:24pm »

Quote

Modify

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=519&ncid=718& ;e=4&u=/ap/20021004/ap_on_re_us/maryland_shootings

Pair Sought in Md. Sniper Slays
Fri Oct 4, 3:16 PM ET
By STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer

Maryland police said Friday they were looking for two men — a driver and a sniper — in the fatal shootings of at least five people in the suburbs north of Washington, D.C.

AP Photo

AP Photo
Slideshow: Maryland Shooting Spree

Five Killed in 16 Hours Near D.C.
(AP Video)

Police were still looking for a white cargo van. Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said the description of the van and the two men first came from a single witness at the scene of one of the shootings, but refused to say whether there were other witnesses.

"You've got a driver, you've got a shooter," Moose said.

The development came as scores of law enforcement officers searched suburban Maryland. Investigators were also trying to determine if a fatal shooting late Thursday in nearby Washington was related.

That victim, a 72-year-old pedestrian, was shot once in the chest as he stood at a street corner.

Washington police spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile said "there is nothing at this point to indicate a connection. However, obviously we will take a close, hard look as to whether they are related."

Tests on the bullets and wounds indicated all five Maryland victims were hit from a distance, likely with .223-caliber bullets from an assault or hunting rifle, Moose said. The FBI ( news - web sites) was expected to provide investigators with a profile of the shooter, or shooters, by the end of the day.

Schools opened Friday with extra patrols and calls poured into 911 dispatchers about loud noises.

"People are on edge," Moose said. "We're all human. We're all afraid."

There were no known witnesses to the shootings even though they happened in daylight in public places. All the Montgomery County victims died within five miles of one another during a 16-hour span Wednesday night and Thursday.

At a gas station, a taxi driver slumped, bleeding, onto a minivan. A landscaper mowing the lawn at a car dealership stumbled and fell. A woman at a post office collapsed on a bench. Another victim was vacuuming out her vehicle, and the fifth was in a parking lot.

Moose said the slayings had not definitely been linked but it was a strong possibility. None of the victims appeared to have been robbed, and police said race did not appear to be a motive. The victims were Hispanic and white; one was a native of India.

"There's still no information to lead us to think our victims are associated," Moose said. "They don't appear to be anyone's enemies, just random targets."

Friday morning, police searched for white trucks and vans in the area after reports that a white box truck was seen speeding away from one of the scenes. It was unclear whether the shots were fired from a vehicle or at what range. No stolen vehicles were reported, police said.

"We do have someone that so far has been very accurate in what they are attempting to do, and so we probably have a skilled shooter," Moose said.

Gov. Parris Glendening committed 140 state troopers, a helicopter and whatever additional aid is needed, a spokesman said. The FBI, Secret Service, and ATF also were involved.

Officers were following more than 150 leads, Moose said, and they collected security camera videos from businesses near the shooting scenes, including two grocery stores. He said authorities were reviewing a surveillance tape from one of the scenes, declining to release details except to say "it has been helpful."

Authorities also set up a tip hot line and offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect or suspects.

The killings began Wednesday evening. Around 6 p.m., James D. Martin, 55, of Silver Spring, a program analyst for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was shot in the parking lot of a Wheaton grocery store.

Around 7:45 a.m. Thursday, James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, of Arlington, Va., was killed while cutting grass at a car dealership in the White Flint area. He stumbled toward the building before collapsing as dozens of employees ran toward him.

"I just put my hand on his shoulder and said, 'Help is on the way,'" service director Al Briggs told The Washington Post. "But he was already gone."

Prenkumar Walekar, 54, of Olney was shot about 8:15 a.m., while pumping gas into his cab at a station in the Aspen Hill area.

About a half-hour later, Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring died at a post office next to a retirement community in Silver Spring.

Dolores Wallgren said she saw Ramos slumped over on a bench, bleeding from the head, when she arrived to go to a beauty shop nearby.

"She was sitting on the bench, just sitting there," Wallgren said.

In the fifth shooting, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring was killed about 10 a.m. at a gas station in Kensington. Mechanics said they heard the shot but didn't see who shot Lewis-Rivera, who was vacuuming her van.

The man killed in northwest Washington was identified as Pascal Charlot, 72.

Schools were open Friday, but Carin Saez, 27, retrieved her 12-year-old niece, Kiarra Middleton, less than an hour into the school day after deciding it was too dangerous for her to be there. She didn't plan to let her own children return until the killer was caught.

"I was petrified to even go to the store last night," Saez said. "My kids were scared. They didn't even want to go outside. They're more scared now than on September 11."

The five killings brought the number of homicides in Montgomery County to 25 this year, the most since 1997.

**************
I find this to be terribly disturbing for so many different reasons. First, I was just in this area 6 weeks ago, visiting my best friend who lives there with her husband and two children. Second, it was random, it was everyday people not even knowing it was coming, doing their every day tasks. Third, the two killers are still on the loose.

I hope they find them soon!

IP Logged

Now this looks like a job for Detroit,
So everyone, just follow Steve,
'Cause we need another cup, can't you see,
'Cause it feels so empty without Stanley!

Hockeytown - Home of the Detroit Red Wings
*Go Wings Go*

BlankWillWin
ForumsNet Member

The Psychotic Predictor

Gender:

Posts: 1257

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #1 on: Oct 4^th, 2002, 6:41pm »

Quote

Modify

Great, I'm scheduled to go to Silver Spring next weekend... :uhoh:

Eric.

IP Logged

The Artist formerly known as Tina, Ethan, Neleh, Helen, Deena, Tijuana, & AmberWillWin.

Tsunami
ForumsNet Member

Posts: 79

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #2 on: Oct 6^th, 2002, 5:19pm »

Quote

Modify

Don't worry, they went south, they shot somebody in front of the mall here in Fredricksburg, VA.

IP Logged

Addams
You Bet Your ASS Team
ForumsNet Member

Gender:

Posts: 5398

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #3 on: Oct 6^th, 2002, 6:07pm »

Quote

Modify

this is so tragic. What's it all about? any clues?

IP Logged

Kramer
ForumsNet Member

Welcome Home Stanley! Hockeytown Loves YOU!

Gender:

Posts: 662

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #4 on: Oct 7^th, 2002, 8:20am »

Quote

Modify

Nobody knows what this is all about yet. I am very worried, regardless of where they currently are, it is very alarming that there are what appears to be two professional hitman out terrorizing and murdering completely innocent unsuspecting people.

IP Logged

Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator

Gender:

Posts: 292

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #5 on: Oct 7^th, 2002, 8:26am »

Quote

Modify

Police appeal to public to help catch sniper
Monday, October 7, 2002 Posted: 5:18 AM EDT (0918 GMT)

SUSPECT INFORMATION:
Tip line:
240-777-2600
$50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people involved in the shootings.

Suspect vehicle:
White van, possibly an Isuzu or a Mitsubishi, with black lettering on the side.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- Investigators probing a string of six apparently random killings in the Washington area hope a "geographic profile" will help lead them to a suspect.

D. Kim Rossmo, a former Vancouver, Canada, detective working with investigators, said geographic profiling compares the location of the crimes with other information collected by police to give investigators "some idea of the likely base or residence of the offender responsible."

"In effect, it provides an optimal search strategy," Rossmo said.

Five people were shot and killed in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, during a 16-hour period from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. A sixth victim was shot dead Thursday night on a Washington street.

Friday afternoon, a 43-year-old woman who had been loading purchases from Michaels Crafts store in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a suburb south of Washington, was hit by a bullet that pierced her lower back, exited her chest and came to rest inside her Toyota minivan. She was in stable condition in a Fairfax hospital.

Maj. Howard Smith of the Spotsylvania County, Virginia, sheriff's office said testing by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms concluded the .223-caliber slug from the van of the Virginia victim matched rounds taken from three of the people killed in Maryland and the man killed in Washington.

Authorities said bullet fragments from the other two Maryland shootings presumably were fired by the same weapon but were too damaged to be conclusively linked.

Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said the FBI was also trying to develop a psychological profile of the killer or killers.

Authorities have received about 4,500 calls to a hot line, giving them about 900 leads, said Montgomery County police spokeswoman Nancy Demme.

Rossmo, now director of research for the Washington-based Police Foundation, said crimes typically take place "fairly close to an offender's home, but not too close."

"At some point, for a given offender, their desire for anonymity balances their desire to operate in their comfort zone. Where that exact point is will vary on the offender, their mode of transportation and also maybe their degree of confidence," Rossmo said.

Police said the technique was not meant to predict attacks or a suspect's possible characteristics, nor would it replace the work of skilled investigators, "but there is something here that's going to assist them," Moose said.

Mourners attended a funeral Sunday for one of Thursday's victims, Prenkumar Walekar, 54, a taxi driver from Olney, Maryland, who was killed while filling his minivan with gas at a service station in nearby Aspen Hill.

The shootings began late Wednesday afternoon when someone fired a shot through a window at another Michaels crafts store, this one in Wheaton, Maryland, but no one was hit. A spokesman said there is no indication the chain had been targeted.

The first killing took place Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. when 55-year-old James D. Martin, a program analyst for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was shot in the parking lot of Shoppers Food Warehouse in Wheaton.

At 7:41 a.m. Thursday, police were called to a crime scene and found James L. Buchanan, a 39-year-old landscaper who had been shot while mowing a lawn at a commercial establishment near Rockville. Buchanan was identified as the son of a retired Montgomery County police officer.

At 8:12 a.m. Thursday, a caller reported the shooting death of Walekar.

At 8:37 a.m. Thursday, Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring was killed at a post office near Leisure World, a retirement community. Immediately after the shooting, a witness reporting seeing a white van or truck speed from the post office parking lot.

At 9:58 a.m. Thursday, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring was reported shot at a Shell gas station in Kensington where she was vacuuming her van.

At about 9:15 p.m. Thursday, in the only killing in Washington and the only one to occur at night, Pascal Charlot, 72, was shot in the chest as he walked along Georgia Avenue. He was taken to a hospital, where he died less than an hour later.

Authorities said each victim was shot once and that the victims appeared to have been chosen at random.

'They may be gloating'
Earlier, Moose urged residents to be vigilant. "We remain convinced that someone in our community knows who's engaged in this," he told reporters.

He urged residents to heighten their suspicions of people who appear unusual.

"[Someone] is aware that they haven't been around, is aware that they have been acting differently, that they have altered their schedule, that they may be gloating," he said.

Police continued searching for the white van, which the witness described as a six-wheeled boxy vehicle with its rear passenger side black bumper bent and two lines of dark purple or faded black block lettering on its front and sides.

The witness told police two people who "appeared to be males" were in the truck, Moose said.

"We remain very interested in the white truck," Moose said.

Moose said police would keep a high profile as students returned to area schools Monday. But he cautioned parents not to expect a police officer would be posted at "every school, every hour, every minute."

School officials had not determined whether to reinstate restrictions on outdoor activities for students at area schools, Moose said.

Authorities have offered up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person suspected in the killings.

IP Logged

Kramer
ForumsNet Member

Welcome Home Stanley! Hockeytown Loves YOU!

Gender:

Posts: 662

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #6 on: Oct 7^th, 2002, 9:12am »

Quote

Modify

Boy Critically Hurt in Md. Shooting
Mon Oct 7, 9:17 AM ET

BOWIE, Md. (AP) - A 13-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded Monday outside a school, authorities said. Police hunting for a serial sniper in neighboring Montgomery County rushed investigators to the scene.

AP Photo
Slideshow: Maryland Shooting Spree

The boy was shot in the chest and abdomen outside Benjamin Tasker Middle School shortly after 8 a.m., Prince George's County emergency officials said.

His mother took him to Bowie Health Center, a small hospital. A Maryland State Police helicopter was to fly the child to a hospital specializing in traumatic injuries in children, authorities said.

"The child is suffering from extensive blood loss and is in critical condition," said Mark Brady of the county fire department.

On Wednesday and Thursday, five people were shot to death by a sniper in a 16-hour span in Montgomery County. A sixth victim was killed Thursday in Washington, D.C. On Friday, a woman was shot and wounded in Virginia.

"We are certainly very concerned about this situation in Prince George's County," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said. But he stressed that it was too early to know whether the shooting was related.

Montgomery County investigators were being sent to Bowie, Moose said.

In Bowie, police cars surrounded the building and officers put up crime scene tape and searched the campus.

IP Logged

Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator

Gender:

Posts: 292

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #7 on: Oct 7^th, 2002, 9:21am »

Quote

Modify

I think if I lived on the east coast, I would not be letting my children walk to school or ride the bus today...I would get them there in person.

IP Logged

Roo94
ForumsNet Member

Gender:

Posts: 125

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #8 on: Oct 7^th, 2002, 10:40am »

Quote

Modify

on Oct 6^th, 2002, 5:19pm, Tsunami wrote:

Don't worry, they went south, they shot somebody in front of the mall here in Fredricksburg, VA.

I lived in Fredericksburg for two years. Not the kind of place you would expect to see this happen. This whole thing is very disturbing. Let's home they catch the guy soon and there are no copycat shootings!

IP Logged

BlankWillWin
ForumsNet Member

The Psychotic Predictor

Gender:

Posts: 1257

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #9 on: Oct 8^th, 2002, 8:08am »

Quote

Modify

on Oct 7^th, 2002, 9:21am, Rhune wrote:

I think if I lived on the east coast, I would not be letting my children walk to school or ride the bus today...I would get them there in person.

Of course, the boy who was shot at school had just been dropped off by his Aunt. He's still alive, in large part, because she picked him up and drove him to the hospital immediately.

Eric.

IP Logged

The Artist formerly known as Tina, Ethan, Neleh, Helen, Deena, Tijuana, & AmberWillWin.

Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator

Gender:

Posts: 292

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #10 on: Oct 8^th, 2002, 8:19am »

Quote

Modify

Yikes...I guess you can't just stop going out of your house and going to work or school....but I think I'd be damned tempted to for a few days. Sad

IP Logged

Addams
You Bet Your ASS Team
ForumsNet Member

Gender:

Posts: 5398

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #11 on: Oct 8^th, 2002, 9:33pm »

Quote

Modify

and of course Gomez has a business trip in DC next week for 4 days. Great. :bomb:

IP Logged

Kramer
ForumsNet Member

Welcome Home Stanley! Hockeytown Loves YOU!

Gender:

Posts: 662

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #12 on: Oct 9^th, 2002, 9:11am »

Quote

Modify

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=514&ncid=514&am p;e=2&u=/ap/20021009/ap_on_re_us/sniper_shootings_28

D.C. Sniper Reportedly Leaves Card
Wed Oct 9, 8:17 AM ET
By DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press Writer

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - A sniper terrorizing the Washington suburbs reportedly left behind a Tarot card with the words, "Dear policeman, I am God," near a bullet casing outside the school where a 13-year-old boy was critically wounded.

Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, who has been leading the investigation, wouldn't confirm the media reports about the card, saying he was concerned that unapproved information was leaked.

"It is inappropriate to comment about this card," Moose said Wednesday. "I need to make sure I don't do anything to hinder our ability to bring this person or these people into custody."

The taunting message, first reported Tuesday night on WUSA-TV, was left on a Tarot card known as the Death card. Unidentified sources cited by The Washington Post confirmed the report.

The shell casing was being checked against the National Ballistics Identification Network, a database of crime-scene firearms evidence maintained by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The motive for the seemingly random crimes still eluded police Wednesday, one week after the first of six slayings. Nearly 200 investigators were working their way through 1,600 leads culled from 8,000 tips.

"We need just a shred of evidence," Prince George's County Police Chief Gerald Wilson said.

Police sources told the newspaper that the Tarot card was found next to the spent shell casing in a wooded area about 150 yards from the school entrance in an area of matted grass, suggesting the gunman had lain in wait.

Prince George's County police issued a statement saying: "We're not commenting on any potential evidence that may have been located." Joseph Riehl, an agent for the ATF, also declined comment.

Even as they discarded one lead — a man was released after police questioned him about at least one rifle in his home — investigators wondered whether the sniper might have struck weeks earlier, on Sept. 14, when a liquor store employee in Montgomery County was wounded by an unknown assailant.

Bullet fragments recovered from the clerk who was wounded at a shopping center in Silver Spring have been examined, but the analysis has proved inconclusive.

"We are not linking it, we are not ruling it out," ATF agent Michael Bouchard said of the shooting in the Hillandale Shopping Center.

In Montgomery County, where five of the deaths occurred, Moose urged people to keep calling in tips. The reward swelled to more than $237,000.

"We feel like someone has information that will help us bring this situation to closure," Moose said.

Gov. Parris Glendening took a confrontational tone, repeatedly calling the shooter "a coward" during a news conference.

Police believe the sniper has shot eight people, including a woman wounded 50 miles away in Virginia. One death occurred on a Washington street; the others came within five miles of each other in Montgomery County.

Investigators say the sniper apparently picked victims at random and fired from a distance with a high-powered hunting or military-style rifle. All the victims were felled by a single bullet.

The Sept. 14 shooting occurred outside the Hillandale Beer and Wine store. Owner Arnie Zelkovitz said police interviewed him about the incident, in which his 22-year-old employee was shot in the back.

Zelkovitz said he believes the man was another sniper victim: "It just seems too coincidental."

The 13-year-old boy, who police have not identified, was in critical but stable condition Tuesday with a wound to the chest. He was shot early Monday after his aunt dropped him off at Benjamin Tasker Middle School.

Ballistics tests found that the bullet that struck him was of the same caliber as those that killed some of the others and wounded a woman in Virginia. That woman was released from the hospital Tuesday.

The FBI (news - web sites) has set up command posts in Montgomery County and provided helicopter, field office, lab and computer support.

Many Tasker parents kept their children home Tuesday; attendance was down by one-third. Other parents served as volunteer guards, watching over intersections.

"Usually I'm embarrassed to walk around and hold my mom's hand, but I don't care today," said Tasker student Amanda Wiedmaier, 13.

Dorothy Prather, a Tasker teacher, was impressed by how well students responded to the traumatic events. "They came right in today and sat down and went right on with their work," she said. "The only ones who seemed really concerned were the parents."

At a mall near Tasker, employees at a Coldwell Banker real estate office noticed shoppers were edgy.

"They don't get out of their car without looking around, then they dash in the store," Polly Rogers said. "You don't see people on their porch, or playing tennis. We're not used to this — we think Bowie is the safest place."

« Last Edit: Oct 9^th, 2002, 9:12am by Kramer »

IP Logged

Addams
You Bet Your ASS Team
ForumsNet Member

Gender:

Posts: 5398

Re: Two snipers go on killing spree in Maryland
« Reply #13 on: Oct 9^th, 2002, 9:31am »

Quote

Modify

I read in today's paper that a few years ago a sniper killed or injured 7 people in the NY City area and the sniper was never caught. :furious2: :argue:

If I was the family of a victim of the sniper I would have only one solution :rifle:

IP Logged

Kramer
ForumsNet Member

Welcome Home Stanley! Hockeytown Loves YOU!

Gender:

Posts: 662

Another man shot in Virginia - Wednesday Night
« Reply #14 on: Oct 10^th, 2002, 6:56am »

Quote

Modify

Another man is shot dead by a single bullet. They have not confirmed if this is from the sniper or not, but it sounds like it was.

I wont post the entire news article, because a lot of it is repetetive to what is already in this thread, but if you want to read it:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021010/ap_on_re_ us/sniper_shootings_52

IP Logged

Pages: all 1 2 3 ... 7

Add Poll

Notify of replies

Send Topic


Previous topic \| New Topic \| Next topic »