Archive through October 23, 2002
TV ClubHouse: Archive: Beltway Sniper (formerly 5 Shootings...):
Archive through October 23, 2002
Yankee_In_Ca | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:19 pm     For those with slow connections and not able to view the video, WashPost.com has just posted the transcript. Here 'tis: Text of Chief Moose's Statement http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1726-2002Oct22.html Tuesday, October 22, 2002; 7:29 PM Here is the text of Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose's statement to the sniper this evening: "In the past several days you have attempted to communicate with us. We have researched the option you stated and found that it is not possible electronically to comply in the manner you requested. However, we remain open and ready to talk to you about the options you have mentioned. It is important that we do this without anyone else getting hurt. Call us at the same number you used before to obtain the 800 number you have requested. If you would feel more comfortable, a private P.O. box number or another secure method can be provided. You indicated that this is about more than violence. We are waiting to hear from you." |
Awareinva | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:21 pm     As of right now, Richmond and surrounding county schools plan to open tomorrow, but I bet they are pretty much empty. I don't much blame the parents. It is really scary to think about. We live 90 miles from Washington DC, 30 miles from Richmond, 40 miles from Fredricksburg, and about 20 miles from Ashland and all our county outdoor school activities are cancelled. Kids aren't going out to play for pe or recess, no soccer, football practice in the evening, no field trips, no dances, etc. Schools are in but they are loading the buses at the school door to avoid them walking across the parking lot. I told both of mine to walk very fast into the school buildings- just in case. I live in a very rural area so my kids can go out to play in our yard (people who have directions can't even find my house, I doubt a sniper would!), but I found myself not letting my son walk our dog at the school track yesterday just because of nerves. I really don't think this guy would come out into the rural areas, but it just makes you stop and say "why take even the slightest chance?" We have been buying gas at 5-7 cents more a gallon at the small mom and pop stations which are off the beaten track, just in case. It's very hard to explain to a 9 and 11 year old what is going on. They have seen the news and know the basics, but its hard for them to understand. It's a fine line to not scare them, but to make them understand the importance. Heck it's hard for me to understand, what chance do they have??? Sorry for the venting, but it is very frustrating and scary and I am not even in the thick of things. Can't imagine what those parents in northern Virginia and Maryland must be feeling. Let's all pray the get the SOB soon!! |
Car54 | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:22 pm     Yankee, thank you so much for posting. My dial up can't do the video stuff. I missed the news story and was wondering what he said. It is so important to keep the facts in mind right now. It is such a scary time it is easy to let our imaginations run rampant. Thanks again. |
Car54 | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:24 pm     Aware, I am so glad you checked in. I have been wondering how you were doing. We are thinking about you. Please take care of yourself and your family! |
Moondance | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:24 pm     (((Aware))) |
Yankee_In_Ca | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:25 pm     Moondance and Car54 -- You're welcome. Though I live in Canada, my entire family lives in the Wash DC area (where I grew up), so I'm obviously very interested in what's going on there. |
Moondance | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:27 pm     Good thoughts and prayers for you & your family too, Yankee! |
Mack | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:27 pm     Well I can't say we're hiding and we live in the immediate DC...in fact, went out to dinner tonight. Having said that, we move quickly and are very happy that we have remotes for our cars...we don't waste a lot of time standing around outside or near windows. This really sucks the big one! Finally feel safer working in the Pentagon than elsewhere....a novel feeling after 9/11. |
Goddessatlaw | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:31 pm     I'm trying to figure out what our news affiliate read to us that they thought was a quote from Moose, because it did not in the slightest resemble his quotes as given above. |
Awareinva | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:51 pm     Thanks for the thoughts, all, just being on the outskirts of this is enough. It's those in the more urban areas and along the I-95 coridor who are at most risk. Mack, congratulations on not letting this b*stard control your life!! Just be careful! ((((Mack and everyone in the DC/Maryland area)))) |
Sia | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 07:14 pm     Aware, it must be hard to cope with all the changes this ongoing incident has wrought, and it will likely be a long time before a lot of people in your area can feel secure again even after the sniper is caught. You and your family are in my prayers. |
Moondance | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 09:01 pm     ROCKVILLE, Md. (Oct. 22) - A bus driver was shot to death Tuesday as he was about to set out on his morning route in what authorities fear was the 13th attack by the Washington-area sniper. Police also revealed a chilling warning found at a weekend shooting scene: ''Your children are not safe anywhere at any time.'' Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose issued a new plea, urging the gunman to continue a dialogue with investigators. ''It is important that we do this without anyone else getting hurt,'' he said. In an extraordinary statement that appeared to confirm authorities are in a desperate parley to stop the killing, the police chief said the sniper had tried to communicate with police over the past several days - and he suggested the gunman had made demands. ''We have researched the options you stated and found that it is not possible electronically to comply in the manner that you requested,'' Moose said in a cryptic message directed at the sniper, and the most extensive so far. ''However, we remain open and ready to talk to you about the options you have mentioned.'' He said the sniper was seeking an 800 telephone number to talk with authorities, and he offered to set up a private post office box ''or another secure method.'' ''You indicated that this is about more than violence,'' said Moose, who had asked the sniper to contact authorities for two days before Tuesday's slaying. ''We are waiting to hear from you.'' He refused to take questions from reporters. Earlier, Moose suggested police had received a new message from the killer. According to a source familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that message was received after Tuesday's shooting. The sniper has killed nine people and critically wounded three others in Maryland, Virginia and Washington since Oct. 2. Authorities were awaiting ballistics tests to confirm that bus driver Conrad Johnson is the killer's latest victim. Johnson, 35, was gunned down in Aspen Hill, the same community in suburban Washington where the attacks began. He was shot once in the abdomen just before 6 a.m. as he stood on the top step of his bus, setting off a police dragnet and snarling traffic in the suburbs north of the nation's capital. Johnson, a married father of two children, died later at a hospital. The warning about children's safety was discovered by police outside a steakhouse near Richmond, Va., where the sniper critically wounded a man Saturday night. Moose said the warning came in the form of a ''postscript,'' but refused to describe the rest of the note. However, a senior law enforcement official speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the note demanded $10 million. It was unclear whether the demand was linked to the options outlined by Moose. Kathy Franco, who was shopping Tuesday at a Silver Spring mall with her nearly 2-year-old son, Liam, and 6-week-old daughter, Katherine, was angered by the warning about children. ''As a parent, it just completely brings out every animal instinct,'' she said. ''These two are the most important things in the world for me.'' Schools in the Richmond area remained closed for a second day Tuesday, idling more than 140,000 students. School officials had cited information from police in shutting down, prompting questions for Moose, whose office is leading the sprawling investigation. Moose said investigators recognized ''the concerns of the community'' and decided to provide the ''exact language that pertains to the threat.'' The Virginia schools will reopen Wednesday under heightened security. As of Monday evening, no Maryland schools had decided to close. Immediately after Tuesday's shooting, police put a widespread dragnet into place, clogging traffic on Connecticut Avenue, one of the main arteries into Washington, just as the morning commute began. But police came up empty, and Moose said there was no suspect or vehicle description to report. ''We have not been able to assure that anyone, any age, any gender, any race - we've not been able to assure anyone their safety,'' Moose said. The shooting happened near a wooded area along Connecticut Avenue. The bus was parked at a staging area where drivers get ready for their morning runs, state police spokesman Cpl. Rob Moroney said. Police refused to say whether anyone else was on the bus. All the confirmed sniper victims were felled by a single shot. Several residents of a neighboring apartment complex reported hearing one loud bang Tuesday morning. ''It wasn't a pop like a handgun. If it was a gun, it was a high-powered weapon,'' said Tim Roberts, a carpenter who lives nearby. He said he knew about the sound of weapons from his military service. Johnson, a 10-year county employee, was pronounced dead at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. In his Oxon Hill neighborhood of townhouses and tree-lined streets, residents expressed sorrow. ''This is hitting hard. This not only strikes us as a community, but as a people, as a nation,'' said Harold McClam, who frequently saw Johnson leaving for work in the mornings. ''When they catch this guy they need to punish him to the full extent of the law.'' Fellow bus driver Wade Vassell said a friend had called him with the bad news. ''I know my boy eight years. He was my friend,'' Vassell said. ''I'm nervous, real nervous.'' AP-NY-10-22-02 2155EDT Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. |
Jo_5329 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 09:20 am     Fox News just broke on their website that they, the police, have linked Tuesday's shooting to the Beltway Shooter {I refuse to call him a sniper} Jo --- |
Fluff | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 06:35 pm     Now, they are investigating a house in Washington State. I am praying that this is a big lead for the police. |
Car54 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 07:15 pm     NBC just broke in. Source at ATF confirms that they are looking for 2 men. An older military vet and a younger man. The tree trunk may have been used for evidence and might have matching bullet holes. |
Car54 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 07:17 pm     CNN says Chief Moose will come out in 30 minutes to do a press conference. They are hoping he will give names of the 2 he is looking for. |
Hermione69 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 07:18 pm     There are very interesting developments being reported on CNN.com. Like Fluff said, they are investigating a residence in Washington State. Officials actually sawed down a tree at the residence because they think the tree was used for target practice. I guess they want to compare ballistics. They said they missed him by 10 minutes at the gas station in Richmond where they got the two wrong men. CNN also says they are going to announce two people wanted for questioning in connection with this. I pray this ends soon. |
Car54 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 07:20 pm     CNN said the shooter is upset that he feels his call was mis-handled. That he said 5 more people would die because of it. The sniper knew the names of the people answering the tip line. |
Car54 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 07:22 pm     Police searching for Blue and burgundy 1990 Chevy Caprice with New Jersey plates. |
Kaili | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 08:56 pm     Showing the guys picture- he looks mean! John Mohamaed aka John Allen Williams- 42 yrs old. |
Kaili | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 08:57 pm     Now wait- I'm confused...who is this guy!? They say don't suspect he is the guy, he may be travelling with a kid...what is thew connection? I haven't seen the full news report. |
Max | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 09:10 pm     They say don't assume he's the sniper because they want to try and diffuse any JOhn Q. Vigilante action that might happen if someone sees him. They might SUSPECT he's the sniper but not know for sure. The last thing they need is some irate citizen taking out a guy who later turns out to be innocent. It's truly a tightrope they are walking here. |
Draheid | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 09:14 pm     A felony warrant for Firearms Charge has been issued for John Allen Williams aka Mohammed Allen Williams - Blk/Male 6'1" 180Lbs 40 years old. May be in the company of John Lee Malvo, his step-son, 17 years old, citizen of Jamaica. Suspected to be driving a 1990 Blue/Burgundy Chevrolet Caprice with New Jersey Plates N D A - 2 1 Z These two should be considered Also wanted for questioning in the Beltway Sniper shootings, however, ARE NOT CONSIDERED SUSPECTS in the shootings. CNN Complete Coverage Here |
Willsfan | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 09:19 pm     They also may be only a part of a larger group. This is only a theory that is being discussed on the cable news. |
Gadzooks | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 10:47 pm     Why did he change his name to Mohammad? Oh my, I don't like the sound of this. Is he another John Walker, trained by Al-Queada? Could this be linked to Osama in some way? Let's pray this sniper gets caught before Halloween....or else it really could get scary. |
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