Rifle found in suspect car (Bushmaster AR-15 .223)

This does not bode well for the sunsetting of the "assault weapon" ban on the import of "Sport Utility Rifles."

Bang

Some Belafonte for our sniper friend...

DAY-O! DA-A-AY-O...
Daylight come me wan' go home...

DAY! IS-A-DA-IS-A-DA-IS-A-DA-A-AY-O...
Daylight come and me wan' go home!

Snipe all night, but I don't drink rum!
Daylight come and me wan' go home!

Park in rest stop 'til the po-leece come!
Daylight come and me wan' go home!

"She said Muhammad converted to Islam after divorcing her 17 years ago, about the time he joined the Army."

Everything I've read up to now said he converted LAST year.....hhmmmmmmmm

Just says a Bushmaster rifle that shows .223s. Is their AR-15 model the only one that does that?

They'll try to blame this on the President, no doubt.

I can hear Harry Bellafonte saying, "We all know that Bushmaster is what Colin Powell calls the President".

Some Belafonte for our sniper friend...
DAY-O! DA-A-AY-O...
Daylight come me wan' go home...

Irony of the DAY:

Origin of the Sniping singer's name

Belafonte = Fountain of War (n'est pas)

CNN) -- Sources told CNN Thursday that a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle was recovered from the vehicle impounded during an overnight raid that resulted in the arrests of two suspects in the Washington-area sniper case.

Washington radio station WTOP reported that a rifle, a scope and a tripod had been recovered from the vehicle.

Members of the sniper task force converged on a freeway rest stop before dawn and arrested John Allen Muhammad, 42, also known as John Allen Williams, a Gulf War veteran, and his 17-year-old stepson John Lee Malvo, a Jamaican citizen. (Muhammad profile)

The arrests were made under federal warrants -- for Muhammad on a firearms charge from western Washington state, and for Malvo on a material witness warrant out of Greenbelt, Maryland, stemming from the sniper case.

Sniper investigators were looking into a possible connection to a fatal shooting at a liquor store in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery Police Chief John Wilson said Thursday that there were "some very good similarities" between Malvo and a composite sketch of the attacker in the September 21 shooting.

Authorities said Thursday they had made a match between a fingerprint lifted from the scene and Malvo. But Wilson said the weapon used in the Montgomery shooting is not the same as has been used in the shootings in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. (Full story)

The Baltimore Sun reported that authorities were tipped to the Alabama connection by a recent phone call believed to be from the sniper, who said that investigators should "take him seriously" and "check with the people in Montgomery," or words to that effect.

Muhammad and Malvo are being questioned in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the string of deadly shootings began three weeks ago, and where the most recent victim linked to the sniper was killed Tuesday. (Trail of the sniper)

Muhammad and Malvo were sleeping in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, which a motorist and attendant recognized as matching the description of a vehicle authorities were looking for -- a blue or burgundy 1990 Chevrolet Caprice with New Jersey license plate NDA 21Z. (More on arrests)

"We didn't actually see any police officers for a while, until they actually stormed the parking lot where the vehicle was," said rest stop attendant Larry Blank. "There were helicopters, police cars everywhere."

The rest area is along a seven-mile stretch of Interstate 70 near Myersville, Maryland, that had been shut down in a dragnet launched just a few hours earlier by Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, the head of the sniper task force.

"This is such a shock," Sheila Tezando, Muhammad's sister-in-law, told CNN. She said there was nothing in their demeanor that would lead her to believe that they were capable of any violent act.

Other developments
•President Bush was told Thursday morning that law enforcement officials are confident the arrests of Muhammad and Malvo represent a significant breakthrough, a senior administration official said. "It is an ongoing situation, but he was told they are optimistic they have cracked this," the official said.

•A source said the U.S. Marshals Service was able to connect Muhammad with the car and license plate through information filed by officers from an October 8 traffic stop in Baltimore, Maryland. Muhammad was sleeping in his car at the time. The officers were concerned that his driver's license was from Washington state and the vehicle tag was from New Jersey.

Malvo, left, with Muhammad in an undated photo.

•A State Department official said Thursday the department has no record of having issued an immigrant or a non-immigrant U.S. visa to a John Malvo from Jamaica.

•Authorities searched a duplex in Tacoma, Washington on Wednesday and left with a tree trunk apparently used for target practice. Sources said Muhammad once served at Fort Lewis, not far from the duplex. (Full story)

•Military officials told CNN Muhammad was not trained as a sniper and was not in the Special Forces, but had expertise in combat support missions.

•North of Tacoma near the Canadian border, the mayor of Bellingham, Washington said the FBI and local police had searched Bellingham High School, where Malvo reportedly attended school last year.

•The FBI is denying earlier reports that it conducted searches related to the sniper investigation in Marion, Alabama. Local police had said the search centered on a site called "Ground Zero USA" which specializes in special weapons and tactical training. "We have not searched Ground Zero," said Tim Munson, the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Mobile, Alabama. "We have no interest."

•At a midnight news conference Wednesday, Moose delivered another message to the sniper, urging him to contact police. "You have indicated that you want us to do and say certain things. You asked us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose.' We understand that hearing us say this is important to you," Moose said. (Full message)

•After the October 3 shooting of Pascal Charlot, 72, in Washington, D.C., law enforcement officials searched for a burgundy Chevrolet Caprice. One such car was later found burned out in the D.C. area, but it was never determined whether it had anything to do with the fatal shooting.

CNN Correspondents Jeanne Meserve, Kelli Arena, Gary Tuchman and Barbara Starr, and Producer Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.

He changed his name to John Mohammad last year.

He changed his name last year. Before that he was content to be a Muslim named Williams.

Let's see, thinkthinkthink, what event in 2001 could have prompted a sudden urge to take the name of a false prophet?

Remember, this murder weapon is less powerful, less lethal, less accurate, and has a lesser range than the rifle Sarah Brady bought for her son.

Yeah, and Bel-Affront-Dey(o) charges his hooker visits to his Massa-Card.....

But it killed more people than Teddy's car.....

"We all know that Bushmaster is what Colin Powell calls the President".

I believe 'Bushmaster' is what Janet Reno calls Hellery...

I believe if I was the manufacturer's of the AR-15 rifles I would be cranking up production into high gear -- 24 hour a day operation, so when the government bans the production of them there will be enough to supply the country for the next decade sitting in warehouses. Thats what they did when the government banned the high capacity magazines. I can still find high capacity magazines all over the place, just bought a 75rd for my AK-47 the other day.

But at least he "bought American".....