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American Morning
Police in West Virginia Have Released Sketch
Aired August 22, 2003 - 07:30 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Another top story this morning, police in West Virginia have released a sketch of a man they want to question in connection with the Charleston area shootings. Authorities believe he's the driver of a pickup truck that was seen at at least two of the shootings. Meanwhile, the three fatal shootings have been linked conclusively through ballistic tests.
Here's CNN's investigative correspondent Art Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A young mother at a gas station, a father buying milk, a mechanic using this pay phone, all murder victims, now bound together by one final ballistics report.
CHIEF JERRY PAULEY, CHARLESTON POLICE: It does positively link the three bullets together, they all three came from the same weapon.
HARRIS: Three shots out of the dark, fired from a rifle.
PAULEY: They were all .22 caliber, some type of rifle. That's all we know at this time.
HARRIS: The last test tied in the first murder. That of 44- year-old Gary Carrier, shot down 12 nights ago while talking on a gas station phone. Any evidence of drug connections?
PAULEY: No.
HARRIS: A one word answer, undercutting previous hints that this sniper mystery in Charleston, West Virginia may somehow be drug related. Police are still looking for a large, dark pickup truck. This animation recreates such a truck stopped at another shooting scene. But there is no link between a truck and the Gary Carrier murder.
PAULEY: No, we didn't have any indication of a vehicle at all at our Go Mart in the city.
HARRIS: No known motive. No evidence the three victims knew each other. No road map to a killer. Are people here nervous after this latest ballistics report?
PAULEY: Well, they are, but just the same as they have been. Until right now, they didn't know all three of them are linked, just like we didn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Investigators inside the task force tell me they feel this case is "solvable," especially if they can find the driver shown in that sketch made public overnight -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Art, then are authorities saying definitively that they believe this man here in this drawing, that he is a suspect in the case?
HARRIS: They won't go that far, but they say that witnesses have placed the dark pickup at the scene of the last three murders. He was seen driving that dark pickup or a man like this. And they want to question him if they can. They feel he's the best chance at cracking the case -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Now that the sketch has been released, are authorities telling you that actually the number of phone calls and leads that they're getting have increased?
HARRIS: They just released it here last night. They haven't had time to count. They hope this will prod the public's interest and their memory -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Art Harris, all right, thanks for that update.
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 August 22, 2003 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Another top story this morning, police in West Virginia have released a sketch of a man they want to question in connection with the Charleston area shootings. Authorities believe he's the driver of a pickup truck that was seen at at least two of the shootings. Meanwhile, the three fatal shootings have been linked conclusively through ballistic tests.
Here's CNN's investigative correspondent Art Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A young mother at a gas station, a father buying milk, a mechanic using this pay phone, all murder victims, now bound together by one final ballistics report.
CHIEF JERRY PAULEY, CHARLESTON POLICE: It does positively link the three bullets together, they all three came from the same weapon.
HARRIS: Three shots out of the dark, fired from a rifle.
PAULEY: They were all .22 caliber, some type of rifle. That's all we know at this time.
HARRIS: The last test tied in the first murder. That of 44- year-old Gary Carrier, shot down 12 nights ago while talking on a gas station phone. Any evidence of drug connections?
PAULEY: No.
HARRIS: A one word answer, undercutting previous hints that this sniper mystery in Charleston, West Virginia may somehow be drug related. Police are still looking for a large, dark pickup truck. This animation recreates such a truck stopped at another shooting scene. But there is no link between a truck and the Gary Carrier murder.
PAULEY: No, we didn't have any indication of a vehicle at all at our Go Mart in the city.
HARRIS: No known motive. No evidence the three victims knew each other. No road map to a killer. Are people here nervous after this latest ballistics report?
PAULEY: Well, they are, but just the same as they have been. Until right now, they didn't know all three of them are linked, just like we didn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Investigators inside the task force tell me they feel this case is "solvable," especially if they can find the driver shown in that sketch made public overnight -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Art, then are authorities saying definitively that they believe this man here in this drawing, that he is a suspect in the case?
HARRIS: They won't go that far, but they say that witnesses have placed the dark pickup at the scene of the last three murders. He was seen driving that dark pickup or a man like this. And they want to question him if they can. They feel he's the best chance at cracking the case -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Now that the sketch has been released, are authorities telling you that actually the number of phone calls and leads that they're getting have increased?
HARRIS: They just released it here last night. They haven't had time to count. They hope this will prod the public's interest and their memory -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Art Harris, all right, thanks for that update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
