Posted on 10/14/2002 8:31:38 PM PDT by Savvymusician
Woman Dead in Virginia Shooting Mon Oct 14,11:10 PM ET By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - A woman was killed outside a Home Depot store Monday night, and police were trying to determine whether the shooting was related to the sniper spree responsible for eight deaths in the region in the past 12 days.
Chief Says Reviewing Tips
"A female has been shot and killed," said Fairfax County Police Lt. Amy Lubas. The woman was felled by a single shot at about 9:30 p.m., authorities. All the other deaths were also caused by one shot.
A police spokesman said roads were being closed in the area, about 10 miles west of Washington, D.C. The Maryland task force investigating the sniper attacks was conferring with Fairfax authorities to see if Monday's victim was the sniper's ninth.
Virginia State Police said they were on the lookout for a white Chevrolet Astro van, last seen traveling east on Route 50 from Falls Church. Interstates 66 and I-95 are nearby. Witnesses at some of the earlier shootings said a white van or truck left the scene.
The Home Depot is in the Seven Corners Shopping Center, a 450-thousand-square-foot strip shopping center with a parking garage. The center also has a grocery store, an electronics retailer and a pet supply retailer.
The body of the victim lay under a sheet is in the parking lot in front of the Home Depot, on the first floor of a two-story structure, 30 yards from the store entrance.
Kristin Reed, a supervisor at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in the sprawling strip mall, said six employees were locked inside the store with an FBI (news - web sites) agent.
"Cops and cops and more cops," Reed said of the scene outside. "There's a lot of people walking around."
Reed said no one heard the shot inside her store. But "a customer had just walked outside, then came back in and said `I think I heard a shot.'"
The federal agent in the bookstore "hasn't said anything to us. He was on the phone with someone," she said.
Earlier Monday, the longest lull yet in the Washington sniper's killing spree brought little relief as jittery residents flooded police with calls upon hearing car backfire, firecrackers or breaking glass.
"Everyone is edgy," said Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, who is heading the investigation. "People are hearing things that may normally be overlooked."
President Bush (news - web sites) said the "cold-blooded" attacks have made him sick to his stomach. "I weep for those who have lost their loved ones," he said. "The idea of moms taking their kids to school and sheltering them from a potential sniper attack is not the America that I know."
Four police squad cars rushed to a Silver Spring car dealership Monday after the window of a customer's BMW shattered when he closed the door. The man dialed 911, thinking a bullet broke the glass.
"He had no idea what happened he was just freaked out," said David Earhardt, the dealership's service manager.
"People hear a noise, they're going to call they want to put an end to this just like we do," said Prince William County, Va., Detective Dennis Mangan, whose department brought in a helicopter to search the woods before determining a reported gunshot was just a car backfiring.
Authorities in Baltimore, meanwhile, seized a white van and found an assault rifle, sniper manual and ammunition similar to the .223 bullets used in attacks that have killed eight people and wounded two others, WBAL-TV reported.
MSNBC reported that a tarot card was found in the van and a sign on the dashboard read "Gihad in America." A tarot card was also found at one of the shootings.
The van's owner was being questioned by police Monday night.
"At this time, the task force believes this is not related to our sniper incidents," said Louise Marthens, a Montgomery County police spokeswoman.
Monday marked the sniper's longest break two days and counting since the killing spree began on Oct. 2. The sniper has shot 10 people in all. The eighth and latest killing came Friday morning when a 53-year-old Philadelphia man was gunned down in Spotsylvania County, Va., as he pumped gas. The killer has now gone two straight weekends without an attack.
Profilers say the long break could suggest the sniper is trying to outsmart police and change routine.
"Falling into a pattern is falling into a trap," said Robert K. Ressler, a former FBI profiler who helped investigators track killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer. "People this deep into aberrant behavior aren't just going to hang it up and call it quits. A week may go by now before they strike again, but I believe there are going to be more killings."
Monday was Columbus Day, a holiday for the many federal workers in the Washington area. By midday, none of the thousands of calls received by police were related to the sniper attacks. But as people went about their daily errands, many felt it was only a matter of time.
"He's luring people into being confident again," said Betty Charlton, who shopped with a friend at a Rockville shopping center.
With a new regional task force operating in the Washington area, authorities can immediately shut down roads and highways at the slightest possibility of a sniper shooting.
A 17-mile section of the Capital Beltway in Maryland was closed over the weekend after a woman was shot by an unidentified attacker. State troopers kept a vigil at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River until it was determined the shooting was unrelated.
Many schools remained under lockdown Monday, meaning outdoor recess and physical education classes were canceled, and students were kept indoors all day.
In Fredericksburg, Va., a field hockey game was canceled at James Monroe High School. Monday night's rescheduled homecoming game was still on, but moved to a nearby rural county where there have been no shootings.
"I'm looking around for every white van I see," said Richard Spears, who was mowing grass at the school. "It makes you a little leery."
Composite drawings of the white box truck that the killer is believed to be using have "yielded good results," Moose said.
Also, Moose said people can now write as well as call with their tips. He gave an address: P.O. Box 7875, Gaithersburg, Md., 20898-7875.
Federal and local investigators refuse to discuss any details of the manhunt. But they have logged some consistencies: the killer favors suburban gas stations; takes down each victim with a single bullet; and, judging from the tarot card left at one of the shootings, appears to enjoy taunting police. It read: "Dear Policeman, I am God."
"I think this person is waiting for an opportune moment," said Navy chaplain Jane Vieira, who mailed a letter Monday at a Rockville shopping mall. "He is taking precautions. This guy isn't stupid."
Speculation is that the cream color is actually white but the garage lights may have made it appear cream.
The Crusades were expeditions undertaken, in fulfilment of a solemn vow, to deliver the Holy Places from Mohammedan tyranny.
The origin of the word may be traced to the cross made of cloth and worn as a badge on the outer garment of those who took part in these enterprises. Medieval writers use the terms crux (pro cruce transmarina, Charter of 1284, cited by Du Cange s.v. crux), croisement (Joinville), croiserie (Monstrelet), etc. Since the Middle Ages the meaning of the word crusade has been extended to include all wars undertaken in pursuance of a vow, and directed against infidels, i.e. against Mohammedans, pagans, heretics, or those under the ban of excommunication. The wars waged by the Spaniards against the Moors constituted a continual crusade from the eleventh to the sixteenth century; in the north of Europe crusades were organized against the Prussians and Lithuanians; the extermination of the Albigensian heresy was due to a crusade, and, in the thirteenth century the popes preached crusades against John Lackland and Frederick II. But modern literature has abused the word by applying it to all wars of a religious character, as, for instance, the expedition of Heraclius against the Persians in the seventh century and the conquest of Saxony by Charlemagne. The idea of the crusade corresponds to a political conception which was realized in Christendom only from the eleventh to the fifteenth century; this supposes a union of all peoples and sovereigns under the direction of the popes. All crusades were announced by preaching. After pronouncing a solemn vow, each warrior received a cross from the hands of the pope or his legates, and was thenceforth considered a soldier of the Church. Crusaders were also granted indulgences and temporal privileges, such as exemption from civil jurisdiction, inviolability of persons or lands, etc. Of all these wars undertaken in the name of Christendom, the most important were the Eastern Crusades, which are the only ones treated in this article.
If this is a plausible theory, perhaps the terrorists are applying, in reverse (now to us), the Crusades originally directed against them during the middle ages.
We have heard that the death card, the tarot card, was a "crusader" death card, perhaps like this one:
So, was this guy being set up? Van + Tarot card in the van + dashboard sign "Gihad in America" + assault rifle + .223 ammo + sniper manuals....and the cops interview the guy and say, nope, not him. Is this the same guy who got shot by his girlfriend in a domestic dispute? So was he being set up or what?
TABLE REV # 6 - 10/14/02 Late evening THIS ANIMAL NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!!! If you find errors on this table - Please privately FReep mail me (brigette), so that I do not miss your message. This table was created on 10/12/02 and it has been revised 4 times since 10/12/02 |
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Date/Time (time in between shootings) |
Location & Mileage from last location | Victim Name Shooting #, (Victim #), & (Death #) |
Sex | Ethnicity | Age & Victims Home | Condition | Circumstances |
10/2/02 5:20 PM Wednesday Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 13850 Georgia Ave - Michaels is the second building over to the left of the red marker |
Michaels Craft Store 13850 Georgia Ave Aspen Hill, MD |
No Injuries Shooting #1 (Victim #0) |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Store Window Shot through - Bullet just misses a female store clerk |
10/2/02 6:04 PM Wednesday (44 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 2201 Randolph Rd - Shoppers Food Warehouse is the large build just to the left of the red marker |
Shoppers Food Warehouse 2201 Randolph Rd Wheaton, MD (2.60 miles from 13850 Georgia Ave) |
James D. Martin Shooting #2 (Victim #1) (1st to die) |
Male | Caucasian | 55 Silver Spring, Md |
Dead | Shot while standing in parking lot of Shoppers Food Warehouse |
10/3/02 7:41 AM Thursday (13 hrs & 37 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 11407 Rockville Pike |
Fitzgerald Auto Mall 11407 Rockville Pike Kensington, MD (4.89 miles from 2201 Randolph Rd) |
James L. "Sonny" Buchanan Shooting #3 (Victim #2) (2nd to die) |
Male | Caucasian | 39 Arlington, Va |
Dead | Shot while mowing lawn at Auto Mall |
10/3/02 8:12 AM Thursday (31 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 4100 Aspen Hill Rd |
Mobil Gas Station 4100 Aspen Hill Rd Rockville, MD (4.62 miles from 11407 Rockville Pike) |
Prem Kumar A Walekar Shooting #4 (Victim #3) (3rd to die) |
Male | Indian (Born in India) |
54 Olney, Md. |
Dead | Shot while pumping gas into his Taxi Cab |
10/3/02 8.37 AM Thursday (25 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 3802 International Dr - PO is located in the strip mall just below the red marker |
USPS Post Office 3802 International Dr Silver Spring, MD (1.85 miles from 4100 Aspen Hill Rd) |
Sarah Ramos Shooting #5 (Victim #4) (4th to die) |
Female | Hispanic (Immigrant from El Salvador) | 34 Silver Spring, Md |
Dead | Shot in head while sitting on the park bench in front of the PO |
10/3/02 9:58 AM Thursday (1 hr & 28 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 10515 Connecticut Ave |
Shell Gas Station 10515 Connecticut Ave Kensington, MD (5.0 miles from 3802 International Dr) |
Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera Shooting #6 (Victim #5) (5th to die) |
Female | Caucasian | 25 Silver Spring, Md |
Dead | Shot while vacuuming her mini van |
10/3/02 9:20 PM Thursday (11 hrs & 22 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 1100 block of Kalmia Rd |
Street Corner of Georgia Ave & 1100 Block of Kalmia Rd. NW, Washington DC (4.79 miles from 10515 Connecticut Ave) |
Pascal Charlot Shooting #7 (Victim #6) (6th to die) |
Male | African American | 72 Washington, D.C |
Dead | Shot below the neck while crossing the street |
10/4/02 2:30 PM Friday (17 hrs & 10 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1989 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 299 Spotsylvania Mall - Michaels is the large building to the right of the red marker |
Parking Lot of Michaels Craft Store in Spotsylvania County 299 Spotsylvania Mall Fredericksburg, VA (68.32 miles from 1100 Block of Kalmia Rd. NW) |
Identity Withheld Shooting #8 (Victim #7) (1st Wounded, 1st to Survive) |
Female | Caucasian | 43 Withheld |
Wounded and now released from hospital | Shot in the back while loading packages in her car |
10/7/02 8:08 AM Monday (65 hrs & 38 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1993 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 4901 Collington Rd |
Benjamin Tasker Middle School 4901 Collington Rd Bowie MD (70.58 miles from 299 Spotsylvania Mall) |
Identity Withheld Shooting #9 (Victim #8) (2nd Wounded, 2nd to Survive) |
Male | African American | 13 Withheld |
Wounded and in critical but stable condition | Shot when he was dropped off at school by his Aunt. Death Tarot card left behind by sniper with the words handwritten on the card. Dear Policeman, "I am God" and 1 bullet shell was found also near the tarot card |
10/9/02 8:18 PM Wednesday (60 hrs & 10 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1989 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 7203 Sudley Rd |
Sunoco Gas Station 7203 Sudley Rd (Rt 234) and Balls Ford Road, Prince William County, Manassas, VA (52.51 miles from 4901 Collington Rd) |
Dean H Meyers Shooting #10 (Victim #9) (7th to die) |
Male | Caucasian | 53 Gaithersburg, Md |
Dead | Shot in head while pumping gas into his car. |
10/11/02 9:30 AM Friday (37 hrs 12 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1994 - Red Marker points to exact address location of 5326 Jefferson Davis Hwy |
Exxon Gas Station 5326 Jefferson Davis Hwy Massaponax, VA (54.34 miles from 7203 Sudley Rd) |
Kenneth Bridges Shooting #11 (Victim #10) (8th to die) |
Male | African American | 53 Philadelphia, PA |
Dead | Shot in Upper Left Back while pumping gas into his rental car. |
10/14/02 9:15 PM Monday (83 hrs 15 mins) Click here for USGS aerial photograph taken in 1988 - Red Marker points to address location of 6210 Seven Corners Ctr - it is to the left of the red marker and is the 3 section long building |
Parking Lot of Home Depot at Seven Corners Shopping Center 6210 Seven Corners Ctr Falls Church, VA 22044 Fairfax County |
Identity Not Released Yet Shooting #12 (Victim #11) (9th to die) |
Female | Caucasian | Unknown Unknown |
Dead | Shot while loading goods purchased from Home Depot into car. Her husband may have been with her. A 1970's Cream Chevy Astro Van was seen in the area. It has a right tail light out Also another Michaels Craft Store is in the strip mall. Seven Corners stands for 7 highways connecting at this location. |
Aerial Maps will open in a new window and they are interactive, you can zoom in or out on them.
Actual addresses were looked up using Yahoo's Yellow Pages and checking the maps
Point to point mileage was taken from Mapquest by entering in each address from the previous shooting address
The rest of the information was taken from several media sources like FOX, CNN, etc...
Rev1 on 10/12/02 - Fixed hours that had passed between the first killing and the second
Rev2 on 10/13/02
Added Days of the Week to Table (suggested by "Timpad")
Added on Kenneth Bridges "while pumping gas into his rental car."
Added Tarot Card/Bullet Shell Info.
Corrected Fitzgerald Auto Mall Address (address is wrong in published media reports, address is now corrected on this table)
Put in exact address for Mobil Gas Station in Aspen Hill
Put in exact address for Shell Gas Station at Connecticut & Knowles
Added point to point mileage
Rev3 on 10/13/02
Removed PM time for 10/11/02 Shooting and added correct time
Rev4 on 10/14/02
Added aerial picture links - Corrected a couple of actual shooting addresses
Rev5 on 10/14/02
Fixed mileage and address for shooting #5 & #6 (Media is giving Leisure Worlds Address... I located the actual PO Address and but in the correct address.
Rev6 on 10/14/02
Added lastest shooting victim information
uh ... you don't notice some little problem with logical consistency in these words?
i have often felt that many who purport to be, e.g., against the death penalty ... well ... under the right circumstances ... .
in other words, they're not really against the death penalty at all.
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