Posted on 12/09/2003 8:10:17 PM PST by flutters
Sixth Shooting Tied To Same Weapon
Number Of Serial Shootings Stands At 15
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Authorities on Tuesday linked a sixth shooting to the same weapon that killed a Central Ohio woman last month, NewsChannel 4 reported.
The shooting occurred Nov. 10 at Paydays South, located at 3408 S. High St. On Monday, investigators examined a bullet that was pulled from a van at the used car lot in southern Franklin County. Ballistic evidence linked the bullet to the one that killed Gail Knisley, 62, of Washington Court House. It is the 15th shooting that authorities believe is connected to a serial shooter or shooters.
The owner of Paydays South first noticed damage to the van last month, NewsChannel 4's Beth Dal Ponte reported.
The business' general manager told Dal Ponte that he first saw the bullet inside a van that was parked at his lot between four and five weeks ago. The bullet hit the lower driver's-side door of a Chevrolet Astrovan.
He first called police two weeks ago following Knisley's death. Knisley was passenger in a white Grand Am along Interstate 270 when she was shot Nov. 25.
Following Knisley's death, several calls were phoned in to local authorities, including the one from Paydays' general manager.
Dal Ponte reported that police checked out the bullet hole two weeks ago but did not remove the bullet until Monday morning.
The business is located about 1 mile from Interstate 270 in southern Franklin County, where the majority of the shootings have occurred.
One Report Of Weapon Eliminated
Authorities eliminated one of two reports from the public Tuesday of people with weapons, Franklin County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Steve Martin said.
A man driving east on Interstate 270, just east of U.S. Route 23, told Franklin County sheriff's deputies that he heard two gunshots at about 9 a.m. and believed the shots came from a tan-colored vehicle. Police investigated and eliminated it from the case. The incident turned out to be an old truck that backfired, Martin said.
About 45 minutes after that report, a woman driving along U.S. 23, just south of Interstate 270, called 911 after she said she saw a man waving a gun out the tinted window of a tan-colored vehicle. That report is still being investigated, Martin said.
The woman sounded panicked when calling 911. She told a dispatcher that she did not know if the gun was a rifle or handgun.
Taft Comments On Shootings
Gov. Bob Taft on Tuesday called for a better effort to connect pattern assaults earlier, such as the serial shootings currently being investigated along the Interstate 270 outerbelt, NewsChannel 4 reported.
Taft said he has received daily reports on the serial shootings investigation that started with Knisley's death.
Taft said that he wants a system in place in the future that would connect state, county and city information in a central location to see patterns quicker.
"We need to be able to connect that pattern as soon as possible," Taft said.
When asked if he thought the shooter or shooters would be captured, Taft said yes, "without a doubt."
Police have received 1,520 tips about the shootings.
Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at (614) 462-4646.
Just kiddin',gundog...could "not" resist....don't be having nightmares.HeHe. ;O)
The shoebomber,Moh and Malvo weren't the sharpist and I could imagine them involved in something like this.
Could easily be a young terrorist "sympathizer",too,but likely is some kid that's gotten ahold of a gun and is feeling "powerfull" for the first time in his miserable existance.
Terrorists and their "sympathizers" are like a bad cancer,you don't really know where it'll pop up next.
But I do tend to lean toward the idea of a local nut,also,at this time.
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