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Woman Fatally Shot in Head in Va.
Tue Oct 15, 2:07 AM ET

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - A woman was shot in the head and killed Monday night as she and her husband loaded packages into their car outside a Home Depot in suburban Washington. Police were investigating whether it was the latest shooting by a sniper already blamed for eight deaths in the past 12 days.

Police swiftly closed down highways in the area, about 10 miles west of the nation's capital, creating massive gridlock as they searched for a van from which the shooter might have fired.

Fairfax County Police Chief Tom Manger said authorities were on the lookout for a cream-colored Chevy Astro van that was missing a left rear tail light and had a silver roof ladder. Virginia State Police said the van was last seen traveling east on Route 50 from Falls Church. Interstates 66 and I-95 are nearby.

Witnesses at some of the earlier shootings also reported seeing a white or cream-colored van or truck.

The woman was felled by a single shot about 9:15 p.m., authorities said. All the other deaths in the sniper spree were also caused by one shot, and two people also were wounded by a single bullet.

The Maryland task force investigating the sniper attacks was conferring with Fairfax County authorities to see if Monday's victim was the sniper's ninth.

"It's too early to tell at this time (if the shooting is linked), however we are working it and investigating it with that potential in mind," Manger said.

The woman was shot in the head as she and her husband loaded packages into their car's trunk, said Ellen Qualls, a spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner. Someone fired the fatal shot from a van, she said.

"There's some pretty decent eyewitness information that maybe we haven't had in some of the previous shootings," Qualls said.

Immediately after the shooting, the victim's body lay under a sheet 30 yards in front of the store entrance.

Police were still scouring the parking lot for evidence and interviewing witnesses early Tuesday. There were a number of people in the parking lot when the shooting occurred, Manger said.

"More than anything else, I wished I was outside so I could identify this guy," one woman who had been stuck inside the Home Depot as authorities closed it told CNN. "I am used to seeing blood, but this amount of blood shocked me."

The Home Depot is located in the Seven Corners Shopping Center, a 450,000-square-foot strip shopping center with a parking garage.

Monday's killing occurred at one of northern Virginia's busiest intersections, where major arteries come together to form seven corners. Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI (news - web sites) profiler who lives in Fredericksburg, Va., said the location sets the slaying apart from the others.

"This is not bold, this is brazen," he said. "It's a much more highly congested area, even under the cover of darkness."

Kristin Reed, a supervisor at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in the sprawling strip mall, said six employees were locked inside the store for a time with an FBI agent.

"Cops and cops and more cops," Reed said of the scene outside. Shopper Raymond Massas said he "heard one shot. Not very loud, like a snap. After that I heard people start panicking."

Two police helicopters circled the scene as bystanders looked on.

"It hasn't been this frightening since 9/11," said Bob Bakley as he stared across Route 50.

Added Abdel Elkheshisn: "We thought, 'It's in Maryland. It's not here, it's far away."

The sniper had shot 10 people in all in the killing spree that began Oct. 2. On Friday morning, a 53-year-old Philadelphia man was gunned down in Spotsylvania County, Va., as he pumped gas. The killer had gone two straight weekends without an attack.

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 questioned Monday night by police and released with no charges filed.

"At this time, the task force believes this is not related to our sniper incidents," said Louise Marthens, a Montgomery County police spokeswoman.

Profilers said a long break could suggest the sniper was 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."

Many schools in the region remained under lockdown Monday, meaning outdoor recess and physical education classes were canceled, and students were kept indoors all day.

"I'm looking around for every white van I see," said Richard Spears, who was mowing grass at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, Va. "It makes you a little leery."

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."

Thank you for posting this; lots of info in here.

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 questioned Monday night by police and released with no charges filed.

Good Lord ... is all this not at least enough to detain this "gentleman"?

**Breaking** that the victim may have been a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force...uncomfirmed...

--KL