Another shooting alarms Virginia - Man wounded, listed as critical after 3 hours in surgery

ASHLAND, Va. - A man was shot and wounded in a steakhouse parking lot Saturday night while walking to his car with his wife. Authorities were investigating whether the Washington-area sniper who has killed nine people had struck again, for the first time on a weekend.

The couple was leaving a Ponderosa restaurant around 8 p.m. when the 37-year-old man was shot once in the abdomen, authorities said. He was conscious and able to talk to doctors when he arrived at MCV Hospital in Richmond.

The man came out of surgery shortly after midnight after about three hours and was in critical condition, said hospital spokeswoman Pam Lepley. She said his injuries were still life threatening and wouldn't speculate on whether he would recover. Ashland Police Chief Frederic Pleasants said doctors have not removed a bullet from the victim's body.

Some witnesses said they heard the shot coming from a wooded area at the edge of the parking lot, said Pleasants. He said no witnesses reported seeing the shooter.

The shooting was similar to many of the other attacks in that it occurred outside, near a major road or highway, and the victim was hit once, this time in the abdomen. The shooting was, however, more distant from Washington than any of the others. And it would be the sniper's first weekend attack.

Still, the circumstances were similar enough that a task force of federal authorities and police from the counties where the sniper has struck traveled to Ashland.

Col. Stuart Cook of the Hanover County Sheriff's Department said police cannot confirm the sniper was responsible but were proceeding as if that were the case.

"The shot came out of the darkness," Col. Cook said. "We cannot afford to take a chance."

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said that police set up roadblocks, closing portions of Interstate 95 and a parallel highway and backing up traffic for miles. All roads were opened after about 3 ½ hours.

Maryland State Police Sgt. William Vogt said troopers were on the lookout for a white van with a ladder rack. Similar alerts were issued after several of the sniper shootings.

Col. Cook said that no witness could describe a suspect or a vehicle at the scene, although Ashland police had said earlier that a white van had been seen in the area.

Victor Johnson, a night clerk at the Hampton Inn motel across the street from the restaurant, said witnesses heard only one gunshot - the hallmark of the sniper.

"They kept saying it's only one shot," Mr. Johnson said. "There was no altercation or anything. They said it just came out of nowhere."

If the shooting were related, the man would be the sniper's 12th victim; nine have died and two have been wounded since the shootings began Oct. 2.

In addition to being the first weekend attack, the shooting Saturday would follow the longest lull between attacks. The sniper last struck Monday in Fairfax County, Va.

Authorities released little information about the victim. Sheriff's officials said that he was a traveler who stopped in Ashland to get gas and eat dinner, but they did not say where he is from.

Ashland, with about 6,000 residents, is a favorite stop for travelers along Interstate 95. It is just off the highway and offers a variety of restaurants and gas stations. It is just north of Interstate 295, a bypass of Richmond and Petersburg.

Raymond Loving, who owns a Texaco station about 50 yards from the steakhouse, told CNN a woman came into his station and said someone had been shot in the parking lot.

The shooting occurred as police suffered another setback in the investigation: law enforcement sources said that a shell casing found in a white box truck seized by investigators is of a larger caliber than the ammunition used in the sniper attacks and thus could not fit in the sniper's weapon.

The casing, found by a truck rental company Friday, was for a 7.62mm bullet, which is the equivalent of about .30 caliber, the sources said. Authorities have said that the sniper is using .223-caliber bullets, which are significantly smaller than .30 caliber.

Each bullet size is used in a range of firearms. But .30- and .223-caliber bullets require different sized chambers and barrels and cannot be fired from the same weapon..

A cleaning crew working for a truck rental agency near Dulles International Airport found the shell casing inside a white box truck after it was returned. The company notified police Friday afternoon, and authorities confiscated the casing and the truck. The casing was tested at a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms laboratory in Rockville, Md.

Police have been searching for a white box truck since witnesses reported seeing one near some of the shooting scenes Oct. 3 in Montgomery County.

Asked specifically Saturday night about the 7.62mm casing, Montgomery County police spokesman Derek Baliles would not confirm what size shell had been found in the truck.

The information police are seeking from tipsters relates to vehicles described by witnesses: a white box truck with black lettering and damage to its rear that was reportedly seen in Montgomery and a Chevrolet Astro van or Ford Econoline van with a ladder rack, which was reportedly seen near an Oct. 9 shooting.

"Until we can finish this work on this truck, yes, we are still interested in white box trucks and two composite [images of] vans that were issued from the Spotsylvania sheriff's office from the shooting there," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said Saturday.

Even before the shooting Saturday night in Ashland, Washington-area residents continued to alter their lives in hopes of avoiding the sniper.

Across the region, high school football games were canceled or moved to locations that were not disclosed publicly, and businesses suffered as shoppers stayed away.

Fort Belvoir, an Army post in Virginia south of Washington, offered the security of a military base for a football marathon for youth players from northern Virginia - 111 games Saturday and Sunday, moved from other locations for safety.

"It is a huge undertaking," said Chris Condetti, Fort Belvoir's sports director.

The games for 7- to 16-year-old players were held at least one mile from the post perimeter and were watched over by "a very large MP presence," Mr. Condetti said.

The Associated Press, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.

I am a Virginian and I can tell you, white vans are everywhere. There is always going to be a white van somewhere in the area. They are so ubiquitous. The guy apparently shot from the woods, so there is no reason to suspect any particular vehicle, unless the shooter was seen getting into it or shooting from it. Police should start major patroling around interstate exit areas. I would start pulling over rental vehicles of all sorts in the region and check motels, hotels etc, until a better lead comes along. In Virginia, the license plates denote rentals, at least they did the last time I've seen one. He may be doing it around exits on 95 as mis-direction and using back roads entirely. Why would he want to sit for hours on 95? He probably is in some vehicle that doesn't normally draw attention....my 2 cents.

There is NO white van...!!!

All this white box truck and white van came from some bogus witnesses in the first few shootings...

Who knows what these 2 perps are driving, probably a non-descript Saturn or something like that...

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