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CNN Live At Daybreak
Law Enforcement Task Force Trying to Find Out if Saturday Night Shooting Work of Sniper
Aired October 21, 2002 - 05:01 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And now to the story that's causing so much concern around the nation's capital, the sniper on the loose. A law enforcement task force trying to find out if the Saturday night shooting at a restaurant in Ashland, Virginia is the work of the elusive sniper. The victim is a 37-year-old man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM LEPLEY, HOSPITAL SPOKESWOMAN: The patient is out of surgery. Surgery took about three hours. He is in critical condition. He's in about the same condition as he was before he went into surgery, which is actually good. I mean it's very, very serious but his condition has not worsened. The doctors were able to recover the bullet, which is now in the hands of law enforcement officials.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: If authorities confirm the connection, this would be the 12th sniper shooting since October 2. So far, nine people have been killed and two have been wounded and in the most recent incident the shooter apparently left a message for police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: To the person who left us a message at the Ponderosa last night, you gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk to you. Call us at the number you provided. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Mike Brooks is a law enforcement analyst for us here at CNN and he looked at what the chief said in that sound bite from an impromptu news conference last night. Here's Mike's take on the chief's comment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: In the last part of that message, we do want to talk to you, call us at the number you provided. So what does that mean? There's been some, there's, again, it's all speculation. But we do know, in fact, CNN has confirmed that it was aimed at the shooter.
Now, is it the shooter? It's definitely the shooter in Ashland? Now is it also the same shooter in Montgomery County, Virginia, D.C.? Is that, is it all linked together? We've already, some folks have already made that quantum leap that all of this is connected. We don't know that yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: That was CNN's Mike Brooks.
Now, CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman has been on the scene in Ashland, Virginia and Gary has provided a view of the crime scene from where the victim was and where the shooter may have been.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now for the first time we're getting a look at the back of the Ponderosa restaurant where the shooting happened. This is the parking lot where the 37-year-old man and his wife walked out of the restaurant. That's the restaurant right there, the green and white building. And this is the back parking lot. They walked out here and that's when he was shot, shortly before eight o'clock Eastern time last night.
This part of the parking lot is relatively dark. There are a few lights up here. But it is kind of dark. What is believed to have happened is that the shooter was in the woods next to the restaurant. We've been showing you the woods for the last 17 or 18 hours. We are now going to give you a look at where it's believed the shooter fired the one shot that hit the man in his stomach.
You can see it's a heavily wooded area. It's about one or two acres. But there is a path that you can take and as you walk along the path, you can see from here there is a clear look at the parking lot that we just came out of.
But as you walk down, you see a lot of garbage. And that made it hard for the people -- and there were scores of people here searching from eight o'clock last night until noon today. You can still see the yellow police tape that's up right here. But there were dogs back here during the nighttime hours and the early morning hours that came with searchlights and they meticulously combed these woods to look for evidence.
And we have been told affirmatively they did find forensic evidence in the woods here, but we haven't been told yet what the evidence is. It's at the lab.
About 500 feet behind me is a road that is under construction right now. But it's a dirt road. We walked over to that dirt road before. We saw some tire tracks. We also saw some paw prints from the dogs who were being part of the search.
So at this point we do not know affirmatively if this is the man who committed the other shootings in the Washington, D.C. area. Police here say they are operating under the assumption that, indeed, it was the sniper, but at this point they're not positively sure. But what makes this worse, if it is not the Washington sniper, then you have another sniper here. And it's not clear what would be worse, if it's a copycat or if it's the man who's carried out these shootings since October 2 for the last 18 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: That's Gary Tuchman.
Well, President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, commented on the sniper case while appearing on CNN's "Late Edition" and she was asked if there is a terrorist connection.
Here is her response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We don't have any evidence that this is the result of terrorism. Of course, no one can rule out that possibility. But right now Bob Mueller and the FBI are working very closely with local law enforcement officials. They're doing everything that they can. I think local law enforcement officials have been very aggressive and we have to hope that this can all be resolved very, very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Our Bob Franken took the relatively short trip from Washington to Ashland, which is about 80 miles, and he reports on the effects in Ashland as the cloud of fear spreads.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may not be altogether a surprise, since this is the next major interstate exit south of the last shooting in Virginia. But in Ashland, just down the road from the highway, a town the residents themselves call Mayberry, the shooting was still a shock, a loss of innocence.
BRENDA HERRING, ASHLAND, VIRGINIA: I feel like, you know, we had the rug pulled out from underneath us and, you know, Mayberry has turned into any other city that's full of crime.
FRANKEN: Ashland Mayor Angela Lacombe presides over one of those rural communities that has considered itself a cocoon, a shelter from the violent problems that seemed so far away. MAYOR ANGELA LACOMBE, ASHLAND, VIRGINIA: My concern is making sure the residents feel safe again and that they feel secure and that we don't live in a cloud of fear until this guy is caught.
FRANKEN: The cloud of fear hovers over gathering places like The Whistle Stop Ice Cream Store by the railroad tracks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess we knew the possibility of it coming to the town of Ashland, but I don't think that it seemed like a likelihood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is such a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's kind of, kind of unnerving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like everybody knows everybody else, you know? It's a very quaint little town, a population of about 6,000, just like the old cliche, it's not supposed to happen here.
FRANKEN (on camera): A sad irony. Some Washington area schools had moved their football games to fields and stadiums down here. Now, local officials are wondering where and whether they'll hold football games.
Bob Franken, CNN, Ashland, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And some of the areas' residents turned out for a vigil. It was held last night at Ashland's town hall. And as you just heard, Ashland is a small, close knit town in what would be a quiet area were it not for Interstate 95. Area schools have canceled classes today.
CNN's Web page now has a special report, Sniper Attacks: A Trail of Terror. Included in the special, interactive maps, time lines, profiles of the victims, tips for dealing with anxiety and we have some fact sheets there and much more. Just go to cnn.com/sniper.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Night Shooting Work of Sniper>
Aired October 21, 2002 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And now to the story that's causing so much concern around the nation's capital, the sniper on the loose. A law enforcement task force trying to find out if the Saturday night shooting at a restaurant in Ashland, Virginia is the work of the elusive sniper. The victim is a 37-year-old man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM LEPLEY, HOSPITAL SPOKESWOMAN: The patient is out of surgery. Surgery took about three hours. He is in critical condition. He's in about the same condition as he was before he went into surgery, which is actually good. I mean it's very, very serious but his condition has not worsened. The doctors were able to recover the bullet, which is now in the hands of law enforcement officials.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: If authorities confirm the connection, this would be the 12th sniper shooting since October 2. So far, nine people have been killed and two have been wounded and in the most recent incident the shooter apparently left a message for police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: To the person who left us a message at the Ponderosa last night, you gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk to you. Call us at the number you provided. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Mike Brooks is a law enforcement analyst for us here at CNN and he looked at what the chief said in that sound bite from an impromptu news conference last night. Here's Mike's take on the chief's comment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: In the last part of that message, we do want to talk to you, call us at the number you provided. So what does that mean? There's been some, there's, again, it's all speculation. But we do know, in fact, CNN has confirmed that it was aimed at the shooter.
Now, is it the shooter? It's definitely the shooter in Ashland? Now is it also the same shooter in Montgomery County, Virginia, D.C.? Is that, is it all linked together? We've already, some folks have already made that quantum leap that all of this is connected. We don't know that yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: That was CNN's Mike Brooks.
Now, CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman has been on the scene in Ashland, Virginia and Gary has provided a view of the crime scene from where the victim was and where the shooter may have been.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now for the first time we're getting a look at the back of the Ponderosa restaurant where the shooting happened. This is the parking lot where the 37-year-old man and his wife walked out of the restaurant. That's the restaurant right there, the green and white building. And this is the back parking lot. They walked out here and that's when he was shot, shortly before eight o'clock Eastern time last night.
This part of the parking lot is relatively dark. There are a few lights up here. But it is kind of dark. What is believed to have happened is that the shooter was in the woods next to the restaurant. We've been showing you the woods for the last 17 or 18 hours. We are now going to give you a look at where it's believed the shooter fired the one shot that hit the man in his stomach.
You can see it's a heavily wooded area. It's about one or two acres. But there is a path that you can take and as you walk along the path, you can see from here there is a clear look at the parking lot that we just came out of.
But as you walk down, you see a lot of garbage. And that made it hard for the people -- and there were scores of people here searching from eight o'clock last night until noon today. You can still see the yellow police tape that's up right here. But there were dogs back here during the nighttime hours and the early morning hours that came with searchlights and they meticulously combed these woods to look for evidence.
And we have been told affirmatively they did find forensic evidence in the woods here, but we haven't been told yet what the evidence is. It's at the lab.
About 500 feet behind me is a road that is under construction right now. But it's a dirt road. We walked over to that dirt road before. We saw some tire tracks. We also saw some paw prints from the dogs who were being part of the search.
So at this point we do not know affirmatively if this is the man who committed the other shootings in the Washington, D.C. area. Police here say they are operating under the assumption that, indeed, it was the sniper, but at this point they're not positively sure. But what makes this worse, if it is not the Washington sniper, then you have another sniper here. And it's not clear what would be worse, if it's a copycat or if it's the man who's carried out these shootings since October 2 for the last 18 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: That's Gary Tuchman.
Well, President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, commented on the sniper case while appearing on CNN's "Late Edition" and she was asked if there is a terrorist connection.
Here is her response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We don't have any evidence that this is the result of terrorism. Of course, no one can rule out that possibility. But right now Bob Mueller and the FBI are working very closely with local law enforcement officials. They're doing everything that they can. I think local law enforcement officials have been very aggressive and we have to hope that this can all be resolved very, very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Our Bob Franken took the relatively short trip from Washington to Ashland, which is about 80 miles, and he reports on the effects in Ashland as the cloud of fear spreads.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may not be altogether a surprise, since this is the next major interstate exit south of the last shooting in Virginia. But in Ashland, just down the road from the highway, a town the residents themselves call Mayberry, the shooting was still a shock, a loss of innocence.
BRENDA HERRING, ASHLAND, VIRGINIA: I feel like, you know, we had the rug pulled out from underneath us and, you know, Mayberry has turned into any other city that's full of crime.
FRANKEN: Ashland Mayor Angela Lacombe presides over one of those rural communities that has considered itself a cocoon, a shelter from the violent problems that seemed so far away. MAYOR ANGELA LACOMBE, ASHLAND, VIRGINIA: My concern is making sure the residents feel safe again and that they feel secure and that we don't live in a cloud of fear until this guy is caught.
FRANKEN: The cloud of fear hovers over gathering places like The Whistle Stop Ice Cream Store by the railroad tracks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess we knew the possibility of it coming to the town of Ashland, but I don't think that it seemed like a likelihood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is such a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's kind of, kind of unnerving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like everybody knows everybody else, you know? It's a very quaint little town, a population of about 6,000, just like the old cliche, it's not supposed to happen here.
FRANKEN (on camera): A sad irony. Some Washington area schools had moved their football games to fields and stadiums down here. Now, local officials are wondering where and whether they'll hold football games.
Bob Franken, CNN, Ashland, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And some of the areas' residents turned out for a vigil. It was held last night at Ashland's town hall. And as you just heard, Ashland is a small, close knit town in what would be a quiet area were it not for Interstate 95. Area schools have canceled classes today.
CNN's Web page now has a special report, Sniper Attacks: A Trail of Terror. Included in the special, interactive maps, time lines, profiles of the victims, tips for dealing with anxiety and we have some fact sheets there and much more. Just go to cnn.com/sniper.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Night Shooting Work of Sniper>
