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CNN Live At Daybreak
Around Nation's Capital, a Big Sigh of Relief
Aired October 25, 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the D.C. area sniper case. A Gulf War veteran and his teenaged friend are in custody. And around the nation's capital, a big sigh of relief.
Our Gary Tuchman tells us about the arrests of John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been an incredibly disturbing and uneasy three weeks here in the Washington, D.C. area. But today, there's a lot of relief. Two men are under arrest, charged in connection with the sniper shootings that terrorized a community for 22 days. The two men, 41-year-old John Allen Muhammad, 17-year- old John Lee Malvo, arrested early Thursday morning after their car was found in a rest stop off a Maryland highway. They were sleeping inside the car when police nabbed them.
We originally were told they were stepfather and stepson. Now we're being told the older man either dated or dates the younger man's mother. Both men appeared in court. The older man was charged with weapons violations. The younger man, Malvo, is a material witness. But the charges are expected to be upgraded as early as Friday afternoon to 10 counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
Ten people killed, three people wounded in this sniping spree.
Inside their car a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle was found. Ballistics tests were done. The ammunition in the gun matched up with the ammunition used in 11 of the shootings.
The authorities are elated and relieved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: This investigation is not done and the work will continue until we can assure that it is complete. But most of all, I'd like to join agent Ball, agent Bouchard in thanking all of the members of the public that have called, that have paid attention, who have remained vigilant, observant, aware and most importantly have remained resilient. We have not given in to the terror. Yes, we've all experienced anxiety. But in the end, resiliency has won out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: There's a lot of work and a lot of investigating still to be done in this case. But this newspaper, the "Washington Times," this extra addition tells the whole story. People here are very relieved.
This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Montgomery County, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That they are, Gary.
Law enforcement sources tell us a big break in the investigation came when the alleged sniper called the task force hotline last week. A boastful comment the caller made led them to allegedly link Malvo to a crime scene in Montgomery, Alabama, not Montgomery County, Maryland, where several sniper killings occurred. The Montgomery, Alabama police chief talked about this alleged connection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN WILSON, MONTGOMERY ALABAMA POLICE: We were elated. I mean we've been very, just thrilled about our involvement and our ability to help the people in Virginia and Washington. We want to play as big a role as we can in helping those families and citizens there. And not to mention, this is a very high profile case for our area. This is not something that happens here every day. And it was a top priority case for us and we were struggling with this case. We had not a lot to work with. And the breakthrough came for us with that phone call on Sunday. So we've got something we can offer Washington and they've got something they can offer us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Authorities in Montgomery, Alabama are holding a news conference this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, and you can count on us to bring that to you live. Police Chief John Wilson says significant new developments will be revealed and you can hear from Chief Wilson prior to that news conference. He will be a guest on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING during the 8:00 a.m. Eastern hour.
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 25, 2002 - 05:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the D.C. area sniper case. A Gulf War veteran and his teenaged friend are in custody. And around the nation's capital, a big sigh of relief.
Our Gary Tuchman tells us about the arrests of John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been an incredibly disturbing and uneasy three weeks here in the Washington, D.C. area. But today, there's a lot of relief. Two men are under arrest, charged in connection with the sniper shootings that terrorized a community for 22 days. The two men, 41-year-old John Allen Muhammad, 17-year- old John Lee Malvo, arrested early Thursday morning after their car was found in a rest stop off a Maryland highway. They were sleeping inside the car when police nabbed them.
We originally were told they were stepfather and stepson. Now we're being told the older man either dated or dates the younger man's mother. Both men appeared in court. The older man was charged with weapons violations. The younger man, Malvo, is a material witness. But the charges are expected to be upgraded as early as Friday afternoon to 10 counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
Ten people killed, three people wounded in this sniping spree.
Inside their car a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle was found. Ballistics tests were done. The ammunition in the gun matched up with the ammunition used in 11 of the shootings.
The authorities are elated and relieved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: This investigation is not done and the work will continue until we can assure that it is complete. But most of all, I'd like to join agent Ball, agent Bouchard in thanking all of the members of the public that have called, that have paid attention, who have remained vigilant, observant, aware and most importantly have remained resilient. We have not given in to the terror. Yes, we've all experienced anxiety. But in the end, resiliency has won out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: There's a lot of work and a lot of investigating still to be done in this case. But this newspaper, the "Washington Times," this extra addition tells the whole story. People here are very relieved.
This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Montgomery County, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That they are, Gary.
Law enforcement sources tell us a big break in the investigation came when the alleged sniper called the task force hotline last week. A boastful comment the caller made led them to allegedly link Malvo to a crime scene in Montgomery, Alabama, not Montgomery County, Maryland, where several sniper killings occurred. The Montgomery, Alabama police chief talked about this alleged connection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN WILSON, MONTGOMERY ALABAMA POLICE: We were elated. I mean we've been very, just thrilled about our involvement and our ability to help the people in Virginia and Washington. We want to play as big a role as we can in helping those families and citizens there. And not to mention, this is a very high profile case for our area. This is not something that happens here every day. And it was a top priority case for us and we were struggling with this case. We had not a lot to work with. And the breakthrough came for us with that phone call on Sunday. So we've got something we can offer Washington and they've got something they can offer us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Authorities in Montgomery, Alabama are holding a news conference this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, and you can count on us to bring that to you live. Police Chief John Wilson says significant new developments will be revealed and you can hear from Chief Wilson prior to that news conference. He will be a guest on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING during the 8:00 a.m. Eastern hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
