NinjaPoodle: I found this article on Yahoo. Hope it helps!
Sniper Sought in Md. Shootings
Fri Oct 4, 1:07 PM ET
By STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Scores of law enforcement officers searched suburban Maryland on Friday for a sniper they believe randomly targeted five people, killing each with a single shot. Investigators were also trying to determine if another fatal shooting, in nearby Washington, was related.
Tests on the bullets and wounds indicated all five Maryland victims were hit from a distance, likely with .223-caliber bullets from an assault or hunting rifle, Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said.
The Washington victim, a 72-year-old pedestrian, was shot once in the chest Thursday night as he stood at a street corner. It wasn't immediately clear if the deaths were related.
Washington police spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile said "there is nothing at this point to indicate a connection. However, obviously we will take a close, hard look as to whether they are related."
The FBI ( news - web sites), meanwhile, was expected to provide investigators with a profile of the shooter, or shooters, by the end of the day, Moose said.
Schools opened Friday with extra patrols and calls poured into 911 dispatchers about loud noises.
"People are on edge," Moose said. "We're all human. We're all afraid."
There were no known witnesses to the shootings even though they happened in daylight in public places. All the Montgomery County victims died within five miles of one another during a 16-hour span Wednesday night and Thursday.
At a gas station, a taxi driver slumped, bleeding, onto a minivan. A landscaper mowing the lawn at a car dealership stumbled and fell. A woman at a post office collapsed on a bench. Another victim was vacuuming out her vehicle, and the fifth was in a parking lot.
Moose said the slayings had not definitely been linked but it was a strong possibility. None of the victims appeared to have been robbed, and police said race did not appear to be a motive. The victims were Hispanic and white; one was a native of India.
"There's still no information to lead us to think our victims are associated," Moose said. "They don't appear to be anyone's enemies, just random targets."
Friday morning, police searched for white trucks and vans in the area after reports that a white box truck was seen speeding away from one of the scenes. It was unclear whether the shots were fired from a vehicle or at what range. No stolen vehicles were reported, police said.
"We do have someone that so far has been very accurate in what they are attempting to do, and so we probably have a skilled shooter," Moose said.
Gov. Parris Glendening committed 140 state troopers, a helicopter and whatever additional aid is needed, a spokesman said. The FBI, Secret Service, and ATF also were involved.
Officers were following more than 150 leads, Moose said, and they collected security camera videos from businesses near the shooting scenes, including two grocery stores. He said authorities were reviewing a surveillance tape from one of the scenes, declining to release details except to say "it has been helpful."
Authorities also set up a tip hot line and offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect or suspects.
The killings began Wednesday evening. Around 6 p.m., James D. Martin, 55, of Silver Spring, a program analyst for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was shot in the parking lot of a Wheaton grocery store.
Around 7:45 a.m. Thursday, James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, of Arlington, Va., was killed while cutting grass at a car dealership in the White Flint area. He stumbled toward the building before collapsing as dozens of employees ran toward him.
"I just put my hand on his shoulder and said, 'Help is on the way,'" service director Al Briggs told The Washington Post. "But he was already gone."
Prenkumar Walekar, 54, of Olney was shot about 8:15 a.m., while pumping gas into his cab at a station in the Aspen Hill area.
About a half-hour later, Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring died at a post office next to a retirement community in Silver Spring.
Dolores Wallgren said she saw Ramos slumped over on a bench, bleeding from the head, when she arrived to go to a beauty shop nearby.
"She was sitting on the bench, just sitting there," Wallgren said.
In the fifth shooting, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring was killed about 10 a.m. at a gas station in Kensington. Mechanics said they heard the shot but didn't see who shot Lewis-Rivera, who was vacuuming her van.
The man killed in northwest Washington was identified as Pascal Charlot, 72.
Schools were open Friday, but Carin Saez, 27, retrieved her 12-year-old niece, Kiarra Middleton, less than an hour into the school day after deciding it was too dangerous for her to be there. She didn't plan to let her own children return until the killer was caught.
"I was petrified to even go to the store last night," Saez said. "My kids were scared. They didn't even want to go outside. They're more scared now than on September 11."
The five killings brought the number of homicides in Montgomery County to 25 this year, the most since 1997.
soulfulremix
We just have to be more aware of these things and take precautions, but not to the extent that they are here with the lock down. I have to do a practicum in a school that is down the street from Benjamin Tasker (not to mention Bowie State is down the street) and they couldn't go outside, they even kept our kindergarten classes in the classroom for lunch. I had to ring the bell to get in. But I think that especially since the latest victim is a kid, they're even more worried, even though the sniper can still get to them when they're on the way home if he wanted to, so changing our lives isn't the best solution, it just gives the sniper power. But I think we are still in shock that things like this can happen in this country, we're not as invincible as we'd like to believe. This world is full of evil people, so we just have to keep the faith and pray for safety, understanding, and forgiveness for such violence.
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