NEWSFLASH: Another shooting, approx. 9 AM, this time near Fredericksburg

The Free Lance-Star ^ | now | Jim Lakely

[seamus]

I work in a newsroom in Fredericksburg, and they heard on the police scanner that a person has been shot at a gas station at "Four Mile Fork" which is a neighborhood just south of the City of Fredericksburg.

No details yet, but I wanted to let y'all know -- and keep up the tradition of FReepers getting news first.

Pray for the victim, and pray that this is a random shooting, and that this monster's terror has not widened yet again.

[floriduh voter]

Get back to work! (lol)

[Joe Hadenuf]

Are you watching TV of the white vehicle that you say is pulled over?

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

That's what I thought. I have no idea how advanced our technology is...but neither does he!

[antidisestablishment]

This was not a sleeper cell: It was quite a few years ago. They were all GSA vehicles. It was just strange, not foreign or sinister. I am pretty sure it was a transfer of sensitive material.

[aristeides]

Shooting victim was a middle-aged man (we think). Again, witnesses are reported to have seen the shooters, not just their van, but the shooters themselves.

Does that mean they shot from outside their vehicle? Will descriptions of the perps be coming?

The stopped van could just have been an aggressive driver, unrelated to the shootings.

[Velveeta]

"shooters" ....more than one shooter seen?

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Can you block future messages from this person?

[Frapster]

Praying for the safety of the officers.

[Kathleen]

I've had about enough of this particular brand of excitement. I want this freak caught now.

[VRWC_minion]

Mostly gas stations. Schools would work also. The show of force couldn't hurt plus it would reduce the number of prefered targets and force him into places he wouldn't want to go.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Are you watching television coverage of this?

[putupon]

Looks like the killer will be eating dinner in Richmond, or perhaps take 64W to Charlottesville?

Thanks alot, now I'm worried about getting get my gas at the cheapo station here in Richmond today and going to the game tommorow in C'ville. Whatever, I gotta be there for the team. Go 'Hoos.

[X_CDN_EH]

Very scarry. My wife kids and I were in Old Town Manassas having dinner and then to RW's for some used books, and see the cat of course. This is too much.

[alisasny]

From ABC'S THE NOTE:

Yesterday's sniper attack in Manassas, VA keeps the sniper front and center again — and it's seeping into Maryland's hotter races.

"One day after vowing to avoid the gun issue as long as a serial sniper is on the prowl," Democratic gubernatorial nominee Kathleen Kennedy Townsend "abruptly shifted gears and yesterday shipped a new ad to Washington TV stations that bashes her GOP opponent in the Maryland governor's race for voting against a ban on 'assault weapons.'"

"In the 30-second ad, which is scheduled to begin airing today, the camera pans over an array of militaristic-looking rifles, then cuts to a man pulling a handgun out of his front pocket. A male announcer tells viewers that Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. 'voted against banning assault weapons and cheap handguns' and earned an F grade from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence."

The Ehrlich campaign accused Townsend of trying to make political hay out of people's fears about the sniper. The Townsend campaign seems to have been prompted to launch the spot after moderate GOP Rep. Connie Morella of Montgomery County went up with a radio ad featuring a complimentary Sarah Brady.

I hope she loses bigtime due to this!!!

[Doc Savage]

It is a distinct possibility that there is no "white van" associated with these murders. Since the description of a white van has been choking the media airwaves for days, and the perp(s) obviously are aware that a white van would draw immediate suspicion at or bear the crime scene, and that such a vehicle would never get through a roadblock, it suggests that only severely brain deficient criminals wouldn't consider switching vehicles or stealing a new vehicle for each new murder attempt.

I hope I'm wrong and they do catch him (them) in a white van. It would certainly make the job of the police a lot easier.

My only experience with rifles was when I worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as a Game Biologist. I used to monitor the walrus hunts off the coast in the Bering Straits. I carried a Weatherby 300 Magnum with a scope. Even when it was zero'd in it was not easy to assure hitting a target at long distance. Of course, when it did find it's target, there wasn't much left as it exited. This guy must be very good and have some excellent equipment to "one-shot" these victims.

[Fred Mertz]

Thanks for the updates. Prayers for the victim's family.

Will the catch the perps this time? And I don't mean alive.

[usapatriot28]

Further it is more than "Maryland" shootings at this point, it is "US CAPITAL AREA-SHOOTINGS"

Does anyone know how they would try a cross-jurisdictional case like this? (If the manage to catch the guy alive) Most the shootings have been in MD, but three of the last four are in VA. I'm hoping they let VA try those cases. Virginia will fry the guy, the liberals in MD won't let them.

[Freedom2specul8]

Have you read the threads about the gun grabbers opinion on this?

[SunnyUsa]

"...but the shooters themselves."

Plural?

I still can't believe more than ONE person is involved in this SICK crime (unless it's a terrorist cell)

[freeperfromnj]

Last week, didn't Bin Laden command militant Muslims to renew attacks on America? Are known sleeper cells being check out?

Yes. That audio was followed up by the Al Zhwahari video which the feds believe is credible. Security noticeably beefed up here in NYC at Penn Station and tunnels today