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.
You know, in some ways, it almost seems as if the variety of targets is almost too deliberate... Hmmm...
Congratulations to the doctors and team out there!
Let's pray that this little innocent kid does well!
AMERICANS
Who would do such a thing?
The 5.45 round is specifically designed to tumble inside a human through the use of what is essentially a covered hollow point in front of the solid core. The intense tissue shock caused by these rounds allows someone to kill their target by hitting them nearly anywhere - if it hits bone it's going to run along it. After all, this projectile is designed for combat by the Russians - during their Afghanistan experience - when it was considered a good thing to be able to shoot someone let's say in the thigh and have the round exit at their collar bone.
Because they don't have one that's worth anything.
Who made them defenseless? Could the tears be tears of guilt?
Hey it would be personal if it was me shot too! Don't all those others count?
I'm thinking at this point its to protect the privacy of the family.
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