Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Police Scour Grounds in Falls Church

Aired October 18, 2002 - 11:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we're just about an hour away from the daily news briefing set to take place once again, here at the police headquarters for Montgomery County. It was here yesterday that we learned that what looked like was going to be the lead witness, or one of the most promising witnesses from Monday night's shooting at the Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia, has been deemed not credible, and police taking back a lot of the evidence and tips that that man had given them.
Our Bob Franken is standing by in Falls Church, Virginia. He has had a chance to watch the investigation unfold over the weekend to see how police go about collecting their evidence -- Bob, good morning to you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, and of course, they rely on eyewitnesses. They rely on tips, and they relied on a witness who they have subsequently found was providing bogus information. That was a witness who placed the shooting in that garage. He placed the vehicle, or something very similar to the one we just saw passing our camera right there and, of course, he gave a physical description of the person who he said was the sniper, and that has turned out to be incorrect, and as far as the police are also saying that the description of the vehicle has been incorrect.

I was talking just a moment ago to somebody who lives a few blocks over that way who says that he, in fact, called the police on Sunday night. The night before the shooting, to report that a white box truck, similar to those that had been described earlier, was parking on his street, one that never did.

He called the police, an officer came out, but never really followed up, according to this person. And, of course, it was Monday night that the shooting occurred. So the police are getting hundreds, thousands of tips. There are various reasons that they discount the tips, but after deciding that the information they had gotten from this most important witness was wrong, they really expanded their search.

And, of course, we were all treated to the scene of the investigation going on across the street, an investigation that included police cadets scouring -- scouring the grounds, sometimes on their hands and knees, looking for anything they could find from what clearly could have been the vantage point, a vantage point maybe 150 yards away, well within the area that would be successful for a sharpshooter.

So, the simple fact of the matter is the police don't know where the person shot, who the person was, of course, what he looked like, or what kind of vehicle that he was driving, but they continue to go on, and at the very least, the fact that they got information and acted on information that turned out not to be reliable, at least delayed their investigation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Certainly did not help. Couple questions for you, Bob. First of all, what is that across the street? Is that a school?

FRANKEN: It is a school. And as you can see, there's a parking lot there, which is what is of greater interest. And it is a school. It is an area that faces onto Route 50. It has become one of the most famous highways in the United States right now, an old way of moving back and forth.

It is near the Washington Beltway and whether he was across the street or whether he was where I am, easy access to a really vast, very complicated web of roads. He would be able to disappear into the night well before anybody would be able to react.

KAGAN: Bob Franken in Falls Church, Virginia. Bob, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 18, 2002 - 11:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we're just about an hour away from the daily news briefing set to take place once again, here at the police headquarters for Montgomery County. It was here yesterday that we learned that what looked like was going to be the lead witness, or one of the most promising witnesses from Monday night's shooting at the Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia, has been deemed not credible, and police taking back a lot of the evidence and tips that that man had given them.
Our Bob Franken is standing by in Falls Church, Virginia. He has had a chance to watch the investigation unfold over the weekend to see how police go about collecting their evidence -- Bob, good morning to you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, and of course, they rely on eyewitnesses. They rely on tips, and they relied on a witness who they have subsequently found was providing bogus information. That was a witness who placed the shooting in that garage. He placed the vehicle, or something very similar to the one we just saw passing our camera right there and, of course, he gave a physical description of the person who he said was the sniper, and that has turned out to be incorrect, and as far as the police are also saying that the description of the vehicle has been incorrect.

I was talking just a moment ago to somebody who lives a few blocks over that way who says that he, in fact, called the police on Sunday night. The night before the shooting, to report that a white box truck, similar to those that had been described earlier, was parking on his street, one that never did.

He called the police, an officer came out, but never really followed up, according to this person. And, of course, it was Monday night that the shooting occurred. So the police are getting hundreds, thousands of tips. There are various reasons that they discount the tips, but after deciding that the information they had gotten from this most important witness was wrong, they really expanded their search.

And, of course, we were all treated to the scene of the investigation going on across the street, an investigation that included police cadets scouring -- scouring the grounds, sometimes on their hands and knees, looking for anything they could find from what clearly could have been the vantage point, a vantage point maybe 150 yards away, well within the area that would be successful for a sharpshooter.

So, the simple fact of the matter is the police don't know where the person shot, who the person was, of course, what he looked like, or what kind of vehicle that he was driving, but they continue to go on, and at the very least, the fact that they got information and acted on information that turned out not to be reliable, at least delayed their investigation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Certainly did not help. Couple questions for you, Bob. First of all, what is that across the street? Is that a school?

FRANKEN: It is a school. And as you can see, there's a parking lot there, which is what is of greater interest. And it is a school. It is an area that faces onto Route 50. It has become one of the most famous highways in the United States right now, an old way of moving back and forth.

It is near the Washington Beltway and whether he was across the street or whether he was where I am, easy access to a really vast, very complicated web of roads. He would be able to disappear into the night well before anybody would be able to react.

KAGAN: Bob Franken in Falls Church, Virginia. Bob, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com