Posted on 10/07/2002 2:21:22 PM PDT by caa26
BOWIE, Md. — Police say ballistic evidence they have recovered from a 13-year-old boy shot in front of his school in Bowie, Md., Monday links the shooting to several in the Washington area.
Evidence recovered from the teen has been linked to the other shootings in the Washington area, Prince George's County Police Chief Gerald Wilson said today.
The boy, who sustained a single gunshot wound to the chest, was in critical but stable condition following almost three hours of surgery at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., and doctors said they were "satisfied" with how he got through the operation.
The victims in last week's shootings -- six people killed and one wounded -- also were felled by a single shot.
Dr. Martin Eichelberger said the boy had a gunshot wound to the abdomen, which went through his chest, then into his spleen, stomach, pancreas and lung.
He said the boy's spleen was removed along with part of his stomach and pancreas, but he says those are organs a person can "live without."
Eichelberger said the major concerns now for doctors are whether the boy continues to bleed, and whether he has problems breathing. He said the next eight hours are crucial to determine the boy's recovery.
The doctor said the surgery team made a special effort to find a portion of the bullet, which they gave to police.
FNC Monday's shooting happened well before classes were scheduled to begin, so there were not a lot of witnesses, Wilson said. A gunshot was heard, and the boy slumped over and told his aunt, who had brought him to school, that he thought he had been shot, Wilson said.
His aunt took him to a small hospital in this suburb northeast of Washington, and then he was transferred by helicopter to Children's Hospital.
Police cars surrounded the school and officers put up crime scene tape and searched the campus.
Sharon Healy had just sent her 12-year-old son, Brandon, to school on his bicycle when she heard of the shooting shortly after 8 a.m. outside Benjamin Tasker Middle School. She said she ran there and pulled him out of class.
"You think you're safe, but you're only as safe as your next step," Healy said.
Said her son: "I was scared."
Othar Haskins, 13, standing outside the school with his mother, said he was a friend of the wounded boy.
"He's funny, he's always around friends," Othar said. "He helps you out when you need it. He's a good friend." Othar cried and put his head on his mother's shoulder as he spoke.
AP Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose Last 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.
"All of our victims have been innocent and defenseless, but now we're stepping over the line," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said. "Shooting a kid -- it's getting to be really, really personal now." At one point, tears streamed down his face.
In an afternoon briefing, Moose said police were investigating yet another shooting in Washington.
But Washington police spokesman Kenny Bryson said the shooting occurred in an apparent robbery and there's "no link whatsoever" to the sniper attacks.
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said federal authorities -- the attorney general, Treasury Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- have been "very involved on the ground and have lent support and equipment."
Asked if there was any evidence of terrorism, Fleischer replied: "I've not heard anything like that, but the fact of the matter is that people are trying to determine who the shooter is, or shooters are, and we continue to help local officials in that endeavor."
Montgomery schools had planned a normal schedule with extra security, but after the Prince George's shooting, officials initiated a "code blue" alert, keeping students inside during recess and lunchtime, Moose said. Prince George's schools and some other schools in the region took similar steps.
The five Montgomery County victims were all gunned down in public places: two at gas stations, one outside a grocery, another outside a post office, another as he mowed the grass at an auto dealership, and the sixth, a 72-year-old man, killed on a Washington street corner. Each victim was shot once from a distance. There were no known witnesses.
Tests confirmed that the same weapon was used to kill four victims.
Ballistics evidence also linked the Maryland slayings with the wounding of a 43-year-old woman on Friday. She was shot in the back in a parking lot at a Michaels craft store in Fredericksburg, Va., and was in fair condition Monday at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.
Maybe for the victims, but for all the onlookers too? There could be hundreds or thousands of armed people to each police officer ... if only MD would recognize the right to self defense. However, quite flatly they don't.
I think the police involved in this case are in the unenviable position of trying to find a very elusive target.
Again they could have the assitance of thousands of people to stop him, but they don't.
I'll cut the guy a break
I won't. The chief is in the position to advise people to defend themselves, but he doesn't - instead he grandstands for gun control, talking about "assault weapons" and "sniper rifles" etc, as if the type of gun makes any difference to the past - or future - dead and injured.
But I ask this: Why did he mention that they are defenseless? He enforces gun prohibitions there - he's partially responsible for the very fact of their defenselessness. As an executive official, he could order his officers to ignore gun violations - but he does not.
Maybe it's true the victims would still be dead even if they were armed. But then again, maybe not - and maybe not if onlookers were armed as well. But as it is, the only credible threat to this murderer is police officers - and they can't be everywhere at once.
For the same reason Charlie Manson's disciples killed Sharon Tate, her houseguests, and the LaBiancas.
To ignite a race war.
Someone who wants to be caught (psycho, just wants to see what it is like to kill someone).....possible but not likely
but one thing is for sure it is terrorism.....
Said her son: "I was scared."
I still am. Prayers for this child and the family.
They seem to have settled on the .223 as the round of choice. Not hard to see why, as hateful as its effects have been on the victims. Do any of these come with collapsible stocks that would make them easier to conceal or stash for someone else to pick up? There used to be an AR-7 .22 survival rifle (not the same thing, to be sure) which could be broken down into a small package. The single-shot tactic could lend itself to this; a single-shot .223 could be easier to break down and conceal, or even disguise as a non-weapon. Something to consider until disproved.
Also, watch home-schooling become more popular. Not that there weren't reasons before.
I have fired the M-21 (with suppressor) and the M-24. Most .223 rounds cannot be silenced (unless you get special subsonic rounds). There were "reports" according to the reports, I doubt if he is using a suppressor. He/They clearly can shoot ... as far as I can tell it still could be any weapon.
I don't disagree with you, but if this is an international terrorist plot, why focus on only a relatively small area?
al Queda and/or Iraq could just as easily simultaneously activate several teams in various locals around the U.S. That is one of the main factors that makes me doubt my own instincts about this.
Unfortunately, this may remain unsolved, at least publicly, just like the Anthrax attacks. That means:
1. Justice won't be served; and
2. the media can insert whatever bogeyman they want to as the culprit.
She has been curiously silent during this crisis
Because they don't have one that's worth anything.
Interesting.....the media had been reporting the descrption of the shooter as possibly Hispanic or Middle-Eastern and this has curiously been stomped on and not mentioned in the past few days.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.