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| Police probe sniper link in fatal Virginia shooting |
| 2002-10-10 |
| A man was gunned down moments after filling his tank at a Virginia gas station, the latest deadly turn in the investigation of a sniper who is stalking the Washington area. Police said they didn't know if the Virginia slaying was linked to the other attacks, but the shooting only heightened fear that the sniper had struck again. The man was shot Wednesday night in Prince William County, near Manassas, approximately 30 miles west of the nation's capital. Virginia State Police said two men were seen driving away in a white minivan after the shooting. The victim, who was traveling alone and not from the area, had just finished paying for gas when he was shot, Prince William County police chief Charlie Deane said early Thursday. This was an early report, from this morning. Now they're saying it's "consistent" with The Mad Banger... A seventh fatal shooting in the Washington area is "consistent" with six others and may be the work of the same sniper, authorities said Thursday. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #5 I once read that serial killers who target at random, are trying to break all personal connections with the world. That would make the killer a sociopath, who will probably kill until he or she is killed. I hope that I am wrong, and that there is a shred of conscience left in this person. |
| Posted by: Allah the Dog Faced God 2002-10-10 20:10:45 |
| #4 I thought the oldest was a 72 yr old in DC? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2002-10-10 18:33:59 |
| #3 Youngest is 13. I think this latest victim, at 55, might be the oldest, but I could be mistaken. Joe, I find myself eyeballing the woods out behind our office building in Seabrook, too. But this is a high population density area, so the actual odds of this fellow potting me, specifically, or you, specifically, are pretty long. I'll be a lot happier when he's been caught, of course; the odds have come out wrong for too many people who were peacefully going about their business. |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-10-10 17:02:16 |
| #2 I'm thinking. Fred-- How old are most of the victums? Mary Lu |
| Posted by: Mary Lu 2002-10-10 16:32:43 |
| #1 I don't mind telling you, Fred, that for the first time I'm really starting to feel a sense of trepidation about all this. The killing happened at the Battlefield Sunoco on Sudley Road, which is Manassas' main shopping drag on the west side of the city, between downtown and the National Battlefield Park. I've driven by that station any number of times, though I've never patronized it (I get my gas at Crown or Sheetz). I've feared all day that the latest shooting is part of this spree, because I could already recognize from what I've learned about it that the M.O. is consistent with almost all of the other incidents; busy commercial area, person alone, near major road, etc. For those who think there's a Michael's connection, there's a Michael's outlet in another shopping center several hundred yards south of the crime scene. If you stand on the side of the road by that shopping center, which is on a slight slope, you can in fact see all the way down the road to I-66. Actually, I think the shooter took his position from somewhat closer in, because there are a lot of commercial buildings in the area to give shelter, but it's something I thought of. In fact, there are so many businesses in the area that it would be very difficult for a white truck - if in fact the killer is still driving a white truck, he might just have been smart enough to switch vehicles - to be noticed in all the traffic, even though everyone is looking out for one. All I can say is, right now, I'm going to be looking around _very_ carefully next time I get gas, and I'm not going near any shopping center that has a Michael's in it. |
| Posted by: Joe 2002-10-10 16:24:45 |