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CNN Live Saturday

Investigators Link Sniper Killings in D.C. Area

Aired October 05, 2002 - 18:01   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators have linked some of the sniper killings in the Washington area. They say at least four of the victims were shot with the same weapon. Forensic tests on slugs taken from two other victims are not finished. Investigators are also trying to determine if there is a link to a Virginia woman who was shot but survived.
The FBI is working on a profile of the culprit behind the sniper killings. Police believe the shooter may still be in the area. CNN's Kathleen Koch says that is leaving many residents feeling pretty uneasy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): FBI investigators Saturday looked for any evidence they might have missed at the site of Friday's sniper shooting in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Shoppers at the Michaels Craft store, where the 43-year-old woman was gunned down, were shocked and frightened by the random violence.

FRED KRIESEL, SHOPPER: That's the scary part. I mean, that there's no pattern. So, I mean, everybody -- as I'm sure they're walking around like, am I next? That's in everybody's mind. It has to be.

KELLY SMITH, SHOPPER: I'm scared about bringing up a child in a world where you're not even safe going to a craft store.

KOCH: Police took the van driven by the woman, still hospitalized, to Maryland to be examined for bullet fragments that might connect it to the Montgomery County murders. While police have determined the same gun was used in three of the Maryland shootings, and the murder in Washington, D.C. Forensics experts may never be able to prove a concrete linkage in the other two Maryland cases, because the bullets are badly damaged.

POLICE CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY: They're in real poor shape. They may not be able to connect them. And at this point they're going to focus on the car.

KOCH: Police say they've gotten 600 credible leads from their tip line. Saturday evening they announced Virginia authorities had taken into custody a Montgomery County man missing since Monday night who owns a high-powered rifle that can fire the type of bullets used in the shootings. Police say the man is not a suspect. MOOSE: He is in custody on an outstanding auto theft warrant from the state of Florida. There was no weapon of any type in his possession.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Authorities say that by tonight they hope to have forensics results back on the Virginia van as well as on the shell casing found at that scene. They are also waiting on an FBI profile that would help give them some insight into what type of person or persons would commit these random, sniper-style shootings -- Carol.

LIN: Kathleen, can you tell us a little bit more about this man who was reported missing along with his rifle last Monday, that investigators are so interested in?

KOCH: This is a man who lived in the neighborhood, in the area of Montgomery County were these shootings occurred. And apparently, he went missing Monday night, as well as this high-powered rifle that he owned, that is capable of firing this type of ammunition.

But police have said all along they do not believe he is a suspect. They simply wanted to talk to him and talk to him about his well being, make sure he was all right. But obviously, he is now in custody. So, they will have that opportunity to ask him a few questions about where he has been and what he has been doing.

LIN: Why, Kathleen, is he not suspect?

KOCH: Well, at this point, all they're saying is that there are just simply come coincidences. That he has been missing, that he owns one of these rifles. They say that -- again, they have gotten so many tips, 600 good credible leads. And they say they have over a dozen people who -- some resident who called in and said, I know a person who owns one of these guns. He or she has acted strangely. They wear combat fatigues. They have anger management problems. You need to talk to them. So, they're saying, you know, they have nothing to connect him to the murders in any way.

LIN: All right. Well, that break is likely to come from the public. So, let's hope those calls keep coming in. Thank you very much. Kathleen Koch, reporting live.

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 5, 2002 - 18:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators have linked some of the sniper killings in the Washington area. They say at least four of the victims were shot with the same weapon. Forensic tests on slugs taken from two other victims are not finished. Investigators are also trying to determine if there is a link to a Virginia woman who was shot but survived.
The FBI is working on a profile of the culprit behind the sniper killings. Police believe the shooter may still be in the area. CNN's Kathleen Koch says that is leaving many residents feeling pretty uneasy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): FBI investigators Saturday looked for any evidence they might have missed at the site of Friday's sniper shooting in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Shoppers at the Michaels Craft store, where the 43-year-old woman was gunned down, were shocked and frightened by the random violence.

FRED KRIESEL, SHOPPER: That's the scary part. I mean, that there's no pattern. So, I mean, everybody -- as I'm sure they're walking around like, am I next? That's in everybody's mind. It has to be.

KELLY SMITH, SHOPPER: I'm scared about bringing up a child in a world where you're not even safe going to a craft store.

KOCH: Police took the van driven by the woman, still hospitalized, to Maryland to be examined for bullet fragments that might connect it to the Montgomery County murders. While police have determined the same gun was used in three of the Maryland shootings, and the murder in Washington, D.C. Forensics experts may never be able to prove a concrete linkage in the other two Maryland cases, because the bullets are badly damaged.

POLICE CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY: They're in real poor shape. They may not be able to connect them. And at this point they're going to focus on the car.

KOCH: Police say they've gotten 600 credible leads from their tip line. Saturday evening they announced Virginia authorities had taken into custody a Montgomery County man missing since Monday night who owns a high-powered rifle that can fire the type of bullets used in the shootings. Police say the man is not a suspect. MOOSE: He is in custody on an outstanding auto theft warrant from the state of Florida. There was no weapon of any type in his possession.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Authorities say that by tonight they hope to have forensics results back on the Virginia van as well as on the shell casing found at that scene. They are also waiting on an FBI profile that would help give them some insight into what type of person or persons would commit these random, sniper-style shootings -- Carol.

LIN: Kathleen, can you tell us a little bit more about this man who was reported missing along with his rifle last Monday, that investigators are so interested in?

KOCH: This is a man who lived in the neighborhood, in the area of Montgomery County were these shootings occurred. And apparently, he went missing Monday night, as well as this high-powered rifle that he owned, that is capable of firing this type of ammunition.

But police have said all along they do not believe he is a suspect. They simply wanted to talk to him and talk to him about his well being, make sure he was all right. But obviously, he is now in custody. So, they will have that opportunity to ask him a few questions about where he has been and what he has been doing.

LIN: Why, Kathleen, is he not suspect?

KOCH: Well, at this point, all they're saying is that there are just simply come coincidences. That he has been missing, that he owns one of these rifles. They say that -- again, they have gotten so many tips, 600 good credible leads. And they say they have over a dozen people who -- some resident who called in and said, I know a person who owns one of these guns. He or she has acted strangely. They wear combat fatigues. They have anger management problems. You need to talk to them. So, they're saying, you know, they have nothing to connect him to the murders in any way.

LIN: All right. Well, that break is likely to come from the public. So, let's hope those calls keep coming in. Thank you very much. Kathleen Koch, reporting live.

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