[Peach]

A woman was killed with a single gunshot to the head at 9:15 last night at a Fairfax County, Virginia shopping mall and police are treating the crime as likely connected to the Beltway killer. There are differences in this crime because there was no immediate access to a highway. Early reports indicate it may have been in a parking garage. Police have issued a BOLO for a cream colored Astrovan with a missing tail light and a ladder on top.

[Peach]

Ping

[Textide]

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."

[sell_propaganda]

local news is citing CBS and AP saying a witness or witnesses saw the shooter exit vehicle and take the shot

[johnny7]

Until they get the bullet, we won't know if it's connected.

It might be un-related... just another homicide.

MSNBC reported that a van was seized with tarot cards and a sign on the dash that read... “Gihad in America”.

There was also .223 ammo in it. The owner was questioned and released.

How can anyone down there put a sign like that on their dashboard?!

[ET(end tyranny)]

There are differences in this crime because there was no immediate access to a highway.

huh? I thought the strip mall was surrounded by highways. 7 of them in fact.

[packrat01]

easier to find on the bang_list...

[sonrise57]

ping

[Nexus]

9th killing linked to sniper, per CNN

[hankbrown]

Here is a scenario: The shooters are several, part of a cell. There could be three, four, five or ten. Their plan is to work relatively independently, take shots whenever possible. They keep going until one of them is caught. The one caught will probably blow himself up or kill himself. The police will congratulate themselves that the shooter has been eliminated, people will start to go about their daily business without worry. Meanwhile, the rest of the group melts away, only to resurface a few weeks later in another city.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Virginia Police Link Sniper to Latest Killing

Tue Oct 15, 9:26 AM ET

FAIRFAX, Va. (Reuters) - Virginia police said on Tuesday the shooting death of a woman outside a suburban hardware store on Monday night was conclusively linked to eight others that have chilled the Washington area over the past two weeks.

 

Reuters Photo

"Ballistic evidence has conclusively linked this case to others in the area," Fairfax County, Virginia police chief Thomas Manger told a news briefing, adding that the victim's name was Linda Franklin, 47, from Arlington, Virginia.

The deadly sniper who has shot eight people in Washington, D.C., and suburbs in neighboring Maryland and Virginia has also wounded two others.

[glm]

I wonder if the police checked the used car dealerships. That would be a good place to hide until the roadblocks dismantled.

[Mixer]

I heard on am 770 this morning a very interesting theory. The scenerio involves three people. One driver one shooter and another person driving the white/cream van/boxtruck as a diversion. Think about it. If this second car does exist it would be perfect. No gun in that vam/truck at all meanwhile the car with the driver and shooter (let's say a blue van) pulls away and doesn't get checked at all.

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm

[1Old Pro]

Here's an idea:

Place 30-50 temorary high resolution video cameras along the main arteries of the interstates. This will allow the vehicle to be caught on tape and might give a hint as to :

1) Owner, from the license plate

2) Exact vehicle description so people can keep a look out for it.

3) Possible identification of this twisted killer.

[Centurion2000]

One question .... was she white ?

[Dane]

Rita Cosby on Fox repeorting that the latest victim worked for the FBI and that survellaince tapes at the Manassass site could show a rendevous with a white box truck and a white minivan.

Ms. Cosby also reporting that the shooter may have ran away after the shooting while the van he jumped out of sped away.

[exmarine]

What bothers me about this is that the authorities are looking at "ex military" Americans as the likely suspect, and while they are questioning the ex-marine in Maryland, the real sniper kills another person. Duh.... Will there ever come a day when our govt. doesn't target Americans instead of the real enemy - middle eastern TERRORISTS! Why do they ALWAYS assume an American is behind it - e.g. Richard Jewel, the antrhax attacks, now this ex-marine?

[Smogger]

On another note this guy Anderson, the FBI agent who is the former head of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who was on FOX News this morning did not impress me at all. The FOX News guy was asking him about the possibility of it being related to International Terrorism what with the calls for renewed violence against the US, the shootings in Kuwait, the bombings in Bali and the economic and pyschological damage that the sniper is inflicting.

Can any of you guess what the guy said?

"Oh no! There are no indications that it could be related to international terrorism" (What a suprise!)

So the FOX News guy asks why not, and the FBI guy says, "Well there have been no claims of responsiblity.." blah blah blah.

And I am thinking to myself what a moron. When was the last time Al Qaida took credit for an attack on the US? Doesn't this guy know it doesn't work like that anymore? Did they take credit for 9-11? The bombing of the Cole? This latest attack in Bali? These people (the Feds) are living in a timewarp. If your a terrorist and you want to get away with it all you have to do is think outside the box for about 10 minutes and you can stump the Feds. They seem incapable of seeing beyond their preconceived notions.

[madison10]

Here is a scenario from radio talk-show (Glenn Beck to be exact):

There are two sets of shooting teams in competition ie you take a shot, I have to take a shot of equal difficulty...they would go back and forth taking turns. As long as the media is broadcasting the details of what is occurring the two teams don't even have to contact each other. Like a video game. The boy was extra points? Thus the "I AM GOD" card? Maybe they met on the 'net. Maybe this is a stupid scenario.

Question on this: Were all the shots from the EXACT same gun, or were they from the same type of gun? I've read both.

Everyone is throwing out opinions, I might as well add another.

Terrorism certainly cannot be ruled out, IMO.

[Man of the Right]

Either this guy/team represent the return of the Invisible Man or people have their head up the wazoo in DC. One time in 11 one would expect 1 person out of 5 million to turn their head toward the report of a deer rifle and get at least a partial description. The Al-Qaeda or Angry White Man Scarlet Pimpernel is on the loose, and the police are baffled.

[dark_lord]

Where's Sherlock Holmes when we need him. Well, to add to the speculations....let's consider the following evidence:

(1) There really is a white Chevy Astrovan with ladder rack involved. What is the basis for this assumption? It has been reported by several witnesses at -- 3 -- separate shootings. Furthermore, at the most recent shooting, at least one witness reported seeing the shooter get into the van. If this is true - IF - it removes one possibility, which is the speculation that the shooter was simply waiting for a white van to drive by before taking the shot. This is important.
(2) The LEO's are looking for this van. They have been looking since the previous shooting. The call was in to 911 within 2 minutes of this most recent shooting. The cops are prestaged near highway entrances/exits, and the choppers are already in the air. Yet - this vehicle vanishes completely. Even though the word would not have been sent out that witnesses from this most recent shooting saw the white van, the cops would already be predisposed to pull over ANYwhite box truck OR white van. Yet it vanished completely.
(3) The traffic and roads near the most recent shooting would have slowed the getaway. So, by 5 minutes after the shooting they could not have been far away. But they would have heard on their scanners that the word was out on them.

Therefore, a logical conclusion is that they went to ground. Thus, they have a "bat cave" - or more than one - where they can park the vehicle within a few minutes of this shooting.