Another shooting alarms Virginia
Posted on 10/20/2002 3:13:40 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Another shooting alarms Virginia
Man wounded by hidden gunman about 90 miles from DC
10/20/2002
ASHLAND, Va. - A man was shot and wounded in a steakhouse parking lot Saturday night while walking to his car with his wife. Authorities were investigating whether the Washington-area sniper who has killed nine people had struck again, for the first time on a weekend.
The couple was leaving a Ponderosa restaurant around 8 p.m. when the 37-year-old man was shot once in the abdomen, authorities said. He was conscious and able to talk to doctors when he arrived at MCV Hospital in Richmond.
The man came out of surgery shortly after midnight after about three hours and was in critical condition, said hospital spokeswoman Pam Lepley. She said his injuries were still life threatening and wouldn't speculate on whether he would recover. Ashland Police Chief Frederic Pleasants said doctors have not removed a bullet from the victim's body.
Some witnesses said they heard the shot coming from a wooded area at the edge of the parking lot, said Pleasants. He said no witnesses reported seeing the shooter.
The shooting was similar to many of the other attacks in that it occurred outside, near a major road or highway, and the victim was hit once, this time in the abdomen. The shooting was, however, more distant from Washington than any of the others. And it would be the sniper's first weekend attack.
Still, the circumstances were similar enough that a task force of federal authorities and police from the counties where the sniper has struck traveled to Ashland.
Col. Stuart Cook of the Hanover County Sheriff's Department said police cannot confirm the sniper was responsible but were proceeding as if that were the case.
"The shot came out of the darkness," Col. Cook said. "We cannot afford to take a chance."
State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said that police set up roadblocks, closing portions of Interstate 95 and a parallel highway and backing up traffic for miles. All roads were opened after about 3 ½ hours.
Maryland State Police Sgt. William Vogt said troopers were on the lookout for a white van with a ladder rack. Similar alerts were issued after several of the sniper shootings.
Col. Cook said that no witness could describe a suspect or a vehicle at the scene, although Ashland police had said earlier that a white van had been seen in the area.
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Victor Johnson, a night clerk at the Hampton Inn motel across the street from the restaurant, said witnesses heard only one gunshot - the hallmark of the sniper.
"They kept saying it's only one shot," Mr. Johnson said. "There was no altercation or anything. They said it just came out of nowhere."
If the shooting were related, the man would be the sniper's 12th victim; nine have died and two have been wounded since the shootings began Oct. 2.
In addition to being the first weekend attack, the shooting Saturday would follow the longest lull between attacks. The sniper last struck Monday in Fairfax County, Va.
Authorities released little information about the victim. Sheriff's officials said that he was a traveler who stopped in Ashland to get gas and eat dinner, but they did not say where he is from.
Ashland, with about 6,000 residents, is a favorite stop for travelers along Interstate 95. It is just off the highway and offers a variety of restaurants and gas stations. It is just north of Interstate 295, a bypass of Richmond and Petersburg.
Raymond Loving, who owns a Texaco station about 50 yards from the steakhouse, told CNN a woman came into his station and said someone had been shot in the parking lot.
"She didn't see anything. She just heard a loud boom," Mr. Loving said.
Setbacks
The shooting occurred as police suffered another setback in the investigation: law enforcement sources said that a shell casing found in a white box truck seized by investigators is of a larger caliber than the ammunition used in the sniper attacks and thus could not fit in the sniper's weapon.
The casing, found by a truck rental company Friday, was for a 7.62mm bullet, which is the equivalent of about .30 caliber, the sources said. Authorities have said that the sniper is using .223-caliber bullets, which are significantly smaller than .30 caliber.
Each bullet size is used in a range of firearms. But .30- and .223-caliber bullets require different sized chambers and barrels and cannot be fired from the same weapon..
 Police officers guard a Ponderosa restaurant in Ashland, Va., following the shooting of a 37-year-man in the parking lot Saturday. (AP) |
A shell casing holds the powder charge for a bullet to be fired.
A cleaning crew working for a truck rental agency near Dulles International Airport found the shell casing inside a white box truck after it was returned. The company notified police Friday afternoon, and authorities confiscated the casing and the truck. The casing was tested at a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms laboratory in Rockville, Md.
Police have been searching for a white box truck since witnesses reported seeing one near some of the shooting scenes Oct. 3 in Montgomery County.
Asked specifically Saturday night about the 7.62mm casing, Montgomery County police spokesman Derek Baliles would not confirm what size shell had been found in the truck.
The information police are seeking from tipsters relates to vehicles described by witnesses: a white box truck with black lettering and damage to its rear that was reportedly seen in Montgomery and a Chevrolet Astro van or Ford Econoline van with a ladder rack, which was reportedly seen near an Oct. 9 shooting.
"Until we can finish this work on this truck, yes, we are still interested in white box trucks and two composite [images of] vans that were issued from the Spotsylvania sheriff's office from the shooting there," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said Saturday.
Altered lives
Even before the shooting Saturday night in Ashland, Washington-area residents continued to alter their lives in hopes of avoiding the sniper.
Across the region, high school football games were canceled or moved to locations that were not disclosed publicly, and businesses suffered as shoppers stayed away.
Fort Belvoir, an Army post in Virginia south of Washington, offered the security of a military base for a football marathon for youth players from northern Virginia - 111 games Saturday and Sunday, moved from other locations for safety.
Games were played on nine fields hastily assembled from the post parade field.
"It is a huge undertaking," said Chris Condetti, Fort Belvoir's sports director.
The games for 7- to 16-year-old players were held at least one mile from the post perimeter and were watched over by "a very large MP presence," Mr. Condetti said.
The Associated Press, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
needs to be stopped. 
When this was breaking last night FOX NEWS had an expert on saying the same thing I thought last week. Since it was leaked that military would be flying drone missions over the original area (shooting of firearms were banned in 3-4 counties-because of low flying military aircraft) and the heat was turned up in the original area the sniper moved.
I kind of doubt that they'll give cops a choice. Either way's fine with me.
Yes. Just an update of the shooting last night, victim #12.....
He had surgery and is in critical condition. He might not make it, possibly....
This update still doesn't give his identity.
Police officers guard a Ponderosa
restaurant in Ashland, Va., following
the shooting of a 37-year-man in the
parking lot Saturday.
(AP)
I didn't know about the "back shot" part, but the age was a bad report. I'm sure 37 is correct...
Oh, they left the bullet in. Apparently it lodged in a place where it's dangerous to take out. Spine, maybe?
heh heh ! 
You can see from the pic, that this place is surrounded by woods. I'm wondering if the sniper did not hoof it overland to some safehouse? The white truck being used as a blind and was driven back to the rental agency by a lone driver/accompice (without a rifle)... the driver having some superficially valid reason for renting the truck.
There are gov't officals who tell us we must live in fear, that nothing can be done, that they will strike again, that we will lose the open characteristic of our society.
The one thing these same govt officials will never do, is protect our borders and clear out the nests of hostile, middle eastern illegals.
I happen to agree that we have been egging him on...
I listened last night and even Fox on average has lousy analysts......
There was an execution type murder of two middle-aged people in Virginia in an intersection about the middle of August....there was the execution of the Short family....
I don't know if any of that is related.....but all of these things were executions...
the Short murders may be sexually motivated....but remove that idea and what you have is 5 people murdered in August in Virginia.....and as far as I know there are no perps....althought they do have some nut case in Canada they want to question about the Shorts....
I think the white van is actually being used as a way to mislead. By now if this was an American psychopath, he'd have caught on to news reports about the white van and have obtained another vehicle. I bet if this is a group, the white van may be part of it but isn't necessarily the car with the shooter, it might be used to draw attention from the shooter, like some kind of decoy.
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