|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
|
|
GO SIMON
Posted on 10/09/2002 7:26:51 AM PDT by dead
ROCKVILLE, Md. (Reuters) - Police angrily refused to discuss on Wednesday a chilling message reportedly left by a sniper who has killed six people at random and wounded two others in the Washington area in the last week.
Quoting law enforcement sources, WUSA television reported that detectives who recovered a shell casing in woods near Monday's shooting, when a 13-year old boy was badly wounded, found a Tarot card known as the "Death Card" with a message scrawled on the back that read: "Dear Policeman, I am God."
At the first of several news briefings scheduled for Wednesday, Police Chief Charles Moose of Montgomery County, Maryland, declined to discuss the card.
"It is inappropriate to comment about this card. There has not been anything authorized for release by me," Moose said.
Contacted about the card, a police spokesman told Reuters that she could not confirm it.
A frustrated Moose reacted angrily when asked about the reported message.
"Someone in the team, someone on the law enforcement community has done something I find very inappropriate. It indicates that I don't have control of the team," he said.
Since Oct. 2, the sniper has killed five people and wounded one in Maryland suburbs of the U.S. capital, killed one person in Washington and wounded another in Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 80 miles south of the other shooting sites.
Authorities had also been examining evidence from a Sept. 14 shooting in Montgomery County to determine whether it was related to the other shootings. "The forensic work on the Sept. 14 shooting is inconclusive," Moose said, adding that further tests were not expected.
Each victim was hit with a single shot fired from a high-powered rifle. There is no sign that the victims, aged 13 to 72, knew each other, but ballistics evidence has connected the crimes.
Authorities are offering a $237,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the sniper.
The shootings have rattled residents in and around the U.S. capital, where many people are still unnerved by last year's Sept. 11 strike on the Pentagon (news - web sites) and letters sent later containing anthrax spores.
No one has reported seeing the shooter in any of the eight incidents. Police said the weapon was probably an assault rifle or hunting rifle accurate up to 730 yards.
The Secret Service (news - web sites), the FBI (news - web sites), U.S. Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have joined state and local police in the investigation.
Montgomery County officials also have requested assistance from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites), seeking additional help under a federal law pertaining to serial killings.
|
|
|
|
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
|
|
Expecting that it might be covered by the media, I watched.
Nope. Instead, in some news affiliates, the arrangement was transformed to that of a .... cross.
Moose is an emotional idiot.
I’ll say! How about his comment that killing people was bad, but shooting a teenager finally crossed the line? He’s America’s first black, male, law enforcement soccer mom.
GO figure. :-(
|
|
|
|
I will match those donations up to a total of $500 Please let me know the amount you donate, thanks.
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
|
|
Could have been a PG Co. cop. I read someplace that Mike Buchanan (the Channel 9 reporter) has good sources on that force.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
