By STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press Writer
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - Two men, a driver and a shooter, are being sought for the deaths of five people gunned down in the Washington suburbs hours and miles apart from each other, police said Friday.
 |
|
| Police are searching for a truck similar to one of these. Police believe it has writing on the side and may have damage to the rear lift. (Photo/ Montgomery County Police) | |
The description of the van and two men first came from a single witness at the scene of one of the shootings, but Moose refused to say whether that was the only witness.
"You've got a driver, you've got a shooter," Moose said.
"In terms of whether that turns out to be a mistake, I want to say no lead is a mistake. We will search down all leads, if we track down the truck and it turns out not to be involved then that is the case."
Moose said investigators were tracking down more than 200 leads. A man arrested near the scene of one of the shootings turned out not to be involved, the police chief said.
"We really don't know when the big break is going to come," the police chief said.
"This is not the only case in America that hasn't been solved. We're certainly not many hours into this investigation."
The FBI, meanwhile, would not have a psychological profile by the end of Friday as previously announced. The ATF also brought in a "geographical profiler," who deals with "location and physical boundaries to determine patterns," Moose said.
Scores of officers searched for the sniper, who is believed to have randomly targeted the five, killing each with a single shot from a high-powered weapon. Moose also said police were looking into a shooting Thursday night in Washington to see if it was related. In that shooting, Pascal Charlot, 72, of Washington, was shot once in the chest as he stood on a street corner in Northwest Washington.
Moose said investigators would wait for forensic results before deciding.
"I'm not denying we have extreme interest, but we are going to wait for the science," Moose said.
Washington police spokesman Joe Gentile said "nothing has been ruled out."
"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," Gentile said.
Autopsies on the victims have also been completed, and the bodies are being returned to their families. The first funeral could be held as early as Sunday, Moose said.
A $50,000 reward was offered as evidence indicated all five were hit from a distance, likely with .223-caliber bullets from an assault or hunting rifle, Moose said.
Classes, meanwhile, were held at schools Friday with extra patrols, and residents were fearful. Calls poured into 911 dispatchers about loud noises, but all the reports were investigated, Moose said.
"People are on edge," Moose said. "We're all human. We're all afraid."
At a gas station in Rockville, a 42-year-old woman from Washington could be seen ducking as she filled her gas tank.
"I'm concerned that somebody in a truck might take a shot at me," said the woman, who refused to give her name.
Joseph Riehl, a spokesman for the Baltimore office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, would not comment on whether any slugs had been recovered.
Investigators are "90 percent" certain the five were all killed with a .223-caliber weapon, police said.
Riehl, however, said a person with reasonable shooting skills could accurately use a weapon loaded with .223 rounds from about 150 yards. Riehl said such weapons can be accurate up to 600 meters, or about 650 yards.
"Probably you're going to have better success if a weapon has a scope, but that's not to say people using a weapon without a scope couldn't be just as accurate," Riehl said.
There were no known witnesses to the shootings even though the shootings happened in daylight in public places. All the victims died within five miles of one another during a 16-hour span Wednesday and Thursday.
"There's still no information to lead us to think our victims are associated," Moose said Friday. "They don't appear to be anyone's enemies, just random targets."
Police searched for white trucks and vans in the area after a witness reported seeing a white box truck speeding away from one shooting.
Officers also collected security camera videos from businesses near the shooting scenes, including two grocery stores. Moose said authorities were reviewing a surveillance tape from one of the scenes but he declined to release details.
Authorities also set up a tip hotline for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspects.
The killings began early 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, 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.
Prenkumar Walekar, 54, of Olney, was shot about 8:15 a.m., while pumping gas into his cab at a Mobil station in the Aspen Hill area. About a half-hour later, Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring, died at a post office next to the Leisure World retirement community in Silver Spring.
In the fifth shooting, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring, was shot and killed about 10 a.m. at a Shell gas station in Kensington. Mechanics said they heard the shot but didn't see who shot Lewis-Rivera, who was vacuuming her van.
Montgomery County school officials said extracurricular activities would be held as planned, including football games scheduled Friday night and other athletic events.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)