In early October of 2002, a serial
sniper began shooting an apparently random list of people throughout
Maryland,
Virginia, and
DC. The following is a list of his
victims to date.
Date/Time Location Dist to nearest Michaels Crafts
#0 9/14, near a liquor store, Silver Spring, MD
#1 10/2, 5:20pm Michaels Crafts, Aspen Hill MD target of attack
#2 10/2, 6:04pm Shoppers FW, Wheaton MD 2.7 miles
#3 10/3, 7:41am Fitsgerald Auto Mall, White Flint MD 6 miles
#4 10/3, 8:12am Mobil gas station, Aspen Hill MD 0.4 miles
#5 10/3, 8:37am Post office, Silver Spring MD 1.5 miles
#6 10/3, 9:58am Shell gas station, Kensington MD 4.2 miles
#7 10/3, 9:20pm Street corner (Georgia & Kalmia), NW DC
#8 10/4, 2:30pm Michaels Crafts, Fredricksburg, VA victim in Michaels parking lot
#9 10/7, 8:08am Benjamin Tasker Middle School, Bowie MD 3 miles
#10 10/9, 8:18pm Sunoco Gas station, Manassas VA 1.45 miles
#11 10/11, 9:40am Exxon gas station, Fredricksburg, VA 6 miles
#12 10/14, 9:30pm Home Depot, Falls Church, VA same shopping center
#13 10/19, 7:59pm Ponderosa restaurant, Ashland, VA 7 miles (Glen Allen, VA)
#14 10/22, 5:56am Passenger bus, Aspen Hill, MD
Breaking News
Some interesting facts
- It is currently unknown whether incident #0 is truly linked to the other shootings. Ballistics tests were inconclusive.
- Near the scene of attack #9, a Tarot death card was found bearing the writing "Dear policeman, I am God"
- After attack #11, police completely shut down Interstate 95 for hours while they search that road for two suspects in a white van (possibly a Chevrolet Astro which was seen leaving the scene of the crime, colliding with other vehicles.
- In the first attack, the sniper apparently missed his target, a clerk standing inside the Michaels craft store.
- The other attacks left 10 dead and 3 wounded (#8, #9 and #13).
- A key witness to attack #12 was charged with filing a false police report regarding the incident.
- An expert sniper-in-training from the French school Saint-Cyr has been reported to have not returned from an August trip to the US and Canada.
- On 10/23, it was announced that the sniper had requested the police state that they had the sniper caught "like a duck in a noose".
Some theories I've heard
- He's been seen w/ a partner/spotter, so maybe he's had military training.
- He doesn't own a white vehicle. After one was spotted near an early shooting, he made sure to only shoot when a white van or box truck was nearby.
- evidence: After incident #10, police searched for a white van that was spotted driving away from the shooting. The driver of that van later came to the police & explained that he drove by the scene but was not involved.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/10/21/france.awol/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/daily/oct02/snipershootings.htm