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CNN Live At Daybreak

Police Working On Assumption D.C. Bus Driver Another Victim of Sniper

Aired October 23, 2002 - 05:02   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: It has been almost 24 hours since a D.C. area bus driver was killed. Police are working on the assumption that the man is another victim of the sniper. Meanwhile, we're getting some details about a letter left for police at an earlier shooting.
Gary Tuchman is in Montgomery County, Maryland with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sniper spree began exactly three weeks ago. It's disrupted life and scared millions of people in this region. At this point, there doesn't appear to be an end to it. Ten people have been killed, three wounded, apparently by the same sniper or snipers. The latest victim, a 35-year-old man yesterday morning, a bus driver who worked for Montgomery County for the last 10 years. His name was Conrad Johnson, 35 years old, shot as he was walking on his before he started working yesterday morning. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

The sniper or snipers left a three page note in the woods after the last shooting before this Saturday night. We don't know specifically word by word what the note says, except the last sentence, because police decided it was prudent to read to us the last sentence of that note, which said: "Your children are not safe anywhere at any time." A very chilling message, indeed, considering the fact this man has already shot a 13-year-old boy who still remains in the hospital, one of the three wounded.

We also have learned, CNN sources have told us that this man is asking for $10 million. So a murderer and, it appears, an extorter. For the fifth time in three days, authorities today read a statement to the killer on television.

CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: In the past several days, you have attempted to communicate with us. We have researched the option you stated and found that it is not possible electronically to comply in the manner that you requested. However, we remain open and ready to talk to you about the options you have mentioned. It is important that we do this without anyone else getting hurt.

TUCHMAN: Now, what does electronically comply with you mean? Well, it could be referring to money or something else. We don't know. Authorities do not want to discuss it. Now, last night an interfaith service was held here in Rockville, Maryland at a Methodist church. People from all faiths gathered to pray for an end to all this. The Catholic archbishop from the Washington diocese, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, said Catholics believe prayer can work miracles and he's not going to stop believing that now.

But police are not talking about miracles, they're not talking publicly about much at all. As a matter of fact, Chief Charles Moose yesterday was not reassuring at all.

MOOSE: We have not been able to assure that anyone, any age, any gender, any race, we've not been able to assure anyone their safety with regards to this situation.

TUCHMAN: It was not a good day yesterday in the Washington, D.C. area. We're hoping today is better.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Montgomery County, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And long time New York journalist Jimmy Breslin isn't mincing words about the sniper case. Breslin, you may remember, carried on a public

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BRESLIN, COLUMNIST, AUTHOR: I don't understand this being nice to the police. They're dismal failures. They haven't, they don't have anything. They haven't gotten anywhere. And they say they're going to do what the police chief wants. That's nuts. The guy wrote a letter, didn't he, whoever he is out there? The police chief got the letter. In other words, the guy knows he wrote the letter, the chief knows he wrote the letter. What are you keeping it a secret for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: And now "Newsnight With Aaron Brown" airs every weekday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, 7:00 Pacific.

The chilling message from the sniper, your children are not safe anywhere any time is causing parents in the D.C. area to take some added steps to protect their children.

And our Art Harris tells us about the fears of the parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hours after the bus driver was gunned down, parents learned what they already feared, their children could be next.

CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: Your children are not safe anywhere at any time. DR. GIORA PRAFF, PARENT: I heard that he said the kids are not safe. That's really a devastating statement and it's a shocker because I was thinking whoever shoots children, you can't get any lower than that.

HARRIS: A doctor from the suburbs trained to save lives is uncertain as a father how to save his own children.

PRAFF: And I want to protect them as much as I can. I just don't know what exactly to do, you know what I'm saying? You know, you cannot lock them at home all day long and you can tell them to be careful here and there, but, you know, a bullet that comes out of nowhere and just hits a child, I mean there -- what can you do?

HARRIS: Another father says he understands.

(on camera): When you heard this, how did it make you feel?

JIM MCINTIRE, PARENT: Very concerned. The bottom line, very concerned because I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to my daughters.

DEBBIE SCHLEICHER, PARENT: My son's having bad dreams about bad people taking him.

HARRIS (voice-over): A 5-year-old boy is struggling with the nature of good and evil.

SCHLEICHER: He asked me today a question I couldn't answer. He asked me how do, where do bad people come from and do they, are they born bad? And I really struggled. I didn't know how to answer that.

HARRIS: One of the many questions parents can't answer for their children or themselves. So they offer up concrete advice like what to do between the carpool and the classroom.

CASSIE MOSLEY, PARENT: Move fast, move quickly outside. Just, you know, little precautionary measures.

HARRIS (on camera): A little boy running from a monster?

MOSLEY: Yes. I mean that's basically what it is today. We're all running from this monster, or however many monsters there are.

HARRIS (voice-over): Art Harris, CNN, Montgomery County, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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




Victim of Sniper>


Aired October 23, 2002 - 05:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: It has been almost 24 hours since a D.C. area bus driver was killed. Police are working on the assumption that the man is another victim of the sniper. Meanwhile, we're getting some details about a letter left for police at an earlier shooting.
Gary Tuchman is in Montgomery County, Maryland with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sniper spree began exactly three weeks ago. It's disrupted life and scared millions of people in this region. At this point, there doesn't appear to be an end to it. Ten people have been killed, three wounded, apparently by the same sniper or snipers. The latest victim, a 35-year-old man yesterday morning, a bus driver who worked for Montgomery County for the last 10 years. His name was Conrad Johnson, 35 years old, shot as he was walking on his before he started working yesterday morning. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

The sniper or snipers left a three page note in the woods after the last shooting before this Saturday night. We don't know specifically word by word what the note says, except the last sentence, because police decided it was prudent to read to us the last sentence of that note, which said: "Your children are not safe anywhere at any time." A very chilling message, indeed, considering the fact this man has already shot a 13-year-old boy who still remains in the hospital, one of the three wounded.

We also have learned, CNN sources have told us that this man is asking for $10 million. So a murderer and, it appears, an extorter. For the fifth time in three days, authorities today read a statement to the killer on television.

CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: In the past several days, you have attempted to communicate with us. We have researched the option you stated and found that it is not possible electronically to comply in the manner that you requested. However, we remain open and ready to talk to you about the options you have mentioned. It is important that we do this without anyone else getting hurt.

TUCHMAN: Now, what does electronically comply with you mean? Well, it could be referring to money or something else. We don't know. Authorities do not want to discuss it. Now, last night an interfaith service was held here in Rockville, Maryland at a Methodist church. People from all faiths gathered to pray for an end to all this. The Catholic archbishop from the Washington diocese, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, said Catholics believe prayer can work miracles and he's not going to stop believing that now.

But police are not talking about miracles, they're not talking publicly about much at all. As a matter of fact, Chief Charles Moose yesterday was not reassuring at all.

MOOSE: We have not been able to assure that anyone, any age, any gender, any race, we've not been able to assure anyone their safety with regards to this situation.

TUCHMAN: It was not a good day yesterday in the Washington, D.C. area. We're hoping today is better.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Montgomery County, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And long time New York journalist Jimmy Breslin isn't mincing words about the sniper case. Breslin, you may remember, carried on a public

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BRESLIN, COLUMNIST, AUTHOR: I don't understand this being nice to the police. They're dismal failures. They haven't, they don't have anything. They haven't gotten anywhere. And they say they're going to do what the police chief wants. That's nuts. The guy wrote a letter, didn't he, whoever he is out there? The police chief got the letter. In other words, the guy knows he wrote the letter, the chief knows he wrote the letter. What are you keeping it a secret for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: And now "Newsnight With Aaron Brown" airs every weekday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, 7:00 Pacific.

The chilling message from the sniper, your children are not safe anywhere any time is causing parents in the D.C. area to take some added steps to protect their children.

And our Art Harris tells us about the fears of the parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hours after the bus driver was gunned down, parents learned what they already feared, their children could be next.

CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: Your children are not safe anywhere at any time. DR. GIORA PRAFF, PARENT: I heard that he said the kids are not safe. That's really a devastating statement and it's a shocker because I was thinking whoever shoots children, you can't get any lower than that.

HARRIS: A doctor from the suburbs trained to save lives is uncertain as a father how to save his own children.

PRAFF: And I want to protect them as much as I can. I just don't know what exactly to do, you know what I'm saying? You know, you cannot lock them at home all day long and you can tell them to be careful here and there, but, you know, a bullet that comes out of nowhere and just hits a child, I mean there -- what can you do?

HARRIS: Another father says he understands.

(on camera): When you heard this, how did it make you feel?

JIM MCINTIRE, PARENT: Very concerned. The bottom line, very concerned because I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to my daughters.

DEBBIE SCHLEICHER, PARENT: My son's having bad dreams about bad people taking him.

HARRIS (voice-over): A 5-year-old boy is struggling with the nature of good and evil.

SCHLEICHER: He asked me today a question I couldn't answer. He asked me how do, where do bad people come from and do they, are they born bad? And I really struggled. I didn't know how to answer that.

HARRIS: One of the many questions parents can't answer for their children or themselves. So they offer up concrete advice like what to do between the carpool and the classroom.

CASSIE MOSLEY, PARENT: Move fast, move quickly outside. Just, you know, little precautionary measures.

HARRIS (on camera): A little boy running from a monster?

MOSLEY: Yes. I mean that's basically what it is today. We're all running from this monster, or however many monsters there are.

HARRIS (voice-over): Art Harris, CNN, Montgomery County, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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




Victim of Sniper>