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Live From...
Serial Sniper Continues to Terrorize Washington Area
Aired October 10, 2002 - 14:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, within the last half hour we have learned some new things about the shooting in Manassas, Virginia. The local police chief has told reporters that the case is being treated as another in a string of sniper attacks. He says the circumstances are consistent, even if the evidence is not yet conclusive.
Police Chief Charlie Dean made his comments in the wake of the autopsy on the latest victim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE DEAN, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA CHIEF OF POLICE: The autopsy results did reveal some evidence. That evidence has been turned over to the ATF, the laboratory, who are conducting analysis at this time.
The overall circumstances in this case still appears to be consistent with the other shootings. That is, the overall circumstances are consistent with the other shootings in the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The chief also says that police have found evidence at the scene of the killing which occurred last night at a gas station. He also says there were valuable witnesses to that crime. The victim was Dean Harold Myers of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and in the shooting -- if the shooting, rather, is linked to the sniper, he would be the ninth victim, and the seventh to die in just a little more than a week.
Now, the search for the sniper is being run from Montgomery County, Maryland. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is there following the case.
Jeanne, what's the latest?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I wanted to talk a bit about those consistencies that you heard the Prince William Chief refer to. First of all, there's the matter of geography.
Prince William is a new jurisdiction in the sniper case, if it becomes part of the sniper case, but it's still is part of the greater Washington area.
Two sniper victims, already established victims, shot at gas stations. Third, you had a white van, seen in Manassas. There was some sort of white vehicle also seen in some of the other sniper-shooting events.
Also, in the Manassas case, a single wound to upper body. That matches the description...
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, I'm sorry, I've got to ask you to hold on just for a second.
We're going to take you live to Children's Hospital in D.C, where the 13-year-old boy who was shot remains in serious condition. We're expecting his uncle Jerome Brown to take the mike.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... make a brief statement on behalf of the family. I wanted to first let you know that the patient remains intubated and medically sedated and remains in critical, but stable, condition. We are hopeful for a full recovery. If there is a change in the patient's condition, we'll make a member of our medical team available to update you and respond to any inquiries.
Children's National Medical Centers's first priority is to support our patients and their families. Mr. Curtis will not be fielding any questions after his remarks, and we kindly request that you respect the family's wishes.
The family has been made aware of the numerous media requests, and while this will be the only statement of record for the foreseeable future, they kindly ask that you continue to contact our media relations department with any inquiries and/or requests -- Mr. Curtis.
WAYNE (ph) CURTIS (ph), SNIPER VICTIM'S COUSIN: First, I want to thank everyone for their support and continued prayers for my cousin. I am particularly grateful for the outstanding support we're receiving from the Children's National Medical Center staff, the administration and the continued efforts of all the law enforcement agencies.
Second, he continues to remain in critical, but stable, condition. He's a fighter, and we remain optimistic. As our doctors have told us, this is a marathon, not a sprint. But we are confident that we will make it to the finish line.
Finally, we ask that the community, our friends, family and neighbors respect my family's wishes for privacy at this most painful time. Our priority is to put all our energies towards his recovery. We are very concerned and troubled by the numerous public reports, at times erroneous, about his condition, requests by our family and other details.
We fear this places him at risk and may compromise the law enforcement efforts to apprehend the responsible party or parties. We hope to be more forthcoming when his recovery is further along. However, please keep in mind that we will not do anything to -- that may serve to hinder the ongoing investigation, including interviews with the press. Again, we ask that the media, our friends, family, and neighbors continue to respect our wishes for privacy and confidentiality at this time.
Thank you all and continue to pray for us. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you all. Bye-bye.
PHILLIPS: Live from Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., you just heard from Wayne Curtis, the cousin of the 13-year-old boy who was shot at Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, Maryland.
He remains in critical, but stable, condition. The cousin making a plea that the media respect the family's privacy and confidentiality. They don't want to hinder the investigation at this time. Strong words from the cousin, saying the 13-year-old boy, he's a fighter, and they remain optimistic about his condition.
Now, we continue to talk about the search for the sniper that has been on the run, from Montgomery County, Maryland.
We go back to our Jeanne Meserve, who's following the investigation from there.
Jeanne, I'm sorry we had to cut away there for a moment.
MESERVE: Perfectly understandable, Kyra.
I was listing to some of the consistencies between the shootings in Manassas and the sniper shootings. As yet, not determined whether or not there is a -- indeed, a connection. That's going to rely largely on forensic and ballistic evidence. That is still being collected and analyzed.
That's complicated by today's weather. It's quite rainy here. We're told it can wash away some evidence like DNA and blood. It can make fingerprints more difficult to lift. And if you're looking for something like an indentation in the grass, it can make that difficult, if not impossible, to find.
The press conference we just heard was about that boy -- that 13- year-old boy gunned down outside the Benjamin Tasker Middle School. Want to talk about a piece of evidence that we know was found there -- it was a Tarot card. We knew it had been inscribed with the words, "Dear Policeman, I am God."
Now highly placed sources close to this investigation say more was written on that card. That in fact, it told police to keep the existence of the card and what was written on it secret. Police felt this was an attempt by the shooter, perhaps, to establish a line of communication with the police department. That is why Chief Charlie Moose was so tremendously upset yesterday when news of this evidence was leaked to the media.
That is why he said it compromised and set back this investigation. They are still very much pleading for public help with this investigation. There has been some criticism of the tip line system because there were simply too many lines in operation. All of that has been consolidated now.
There is one tip line. Calls are being answered by the D.C. field office of the FBI. As someone said here today, you couldn't ask for a better answering service than the FBI.
We have an example of the paperwork they're doing. When a tip comes in, it gives a place of the narrative, of exactly what the information given is. And then there is a place where they can mark the priority of this information, so they can decide if this is something that they should be chasing down immediately or something that can wait just a little bit.
Of course, thousands of leads coming in here. They're filtering them as best they can and tracking them down as best they can in their pursuit of this killer.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Jeanne, listening to the -- one of the live news conferences this morning with the police chief -- and I think it was you that addressed this question about this relationship between the police and media, the chief being very frustrated about certain leaks and different bits of information getting out.
Have all of you established some type of communication of how you will present certain facts with regard to the investigation and certain facts that will not be talked about on the air?
MESERVE: I don't think they'll ever be a perfect accord between the police and the media. I think our jobs are simply sometimes at odds with one another. What the police chief said this morning was that although there would be an ebb and flow, he hoped that often we would be able to strike a balance and that we would be able to move forward.
He said he had been hearing from the citizens of the county and their advice had been for everybody to move past this. They felt that the more time fighting over issues like this detracted from the investigation and the effort to find this sniper -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Jeanne Meserve.
Thanks, Jeanne.
The randomness of the shootings is what terrifies some people the most. In fact, some residents in the D.C. metro area are staying as close to home as possible.
Lou Davis of CNN affiliate WMAR looks at the toll that it's taking on local businesses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scared, and angry. Not so much for myself and my husband, but for my family and my grandchildren.
LOU DAVIS, WMAR REPORTER: It was one week ago last Wednesday, at about this time that the killing spree began. A window shot out at Michael's craft store in Aspen Hill, the sniper apparently aiming at a cashier and missing.
Now, a week later, the parking lot is only half full. Customers say they come here now only when necessary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm scared to eat at my dining room table. I'm scared to go out on my balcony. I'm his grandmother and he's asking me all sorts of questions. He's asking me why I argue with him. He'll say, Grandma, I'm holding your hand. I said, But you got to hold closer, you can't let go. Why? Because people are shooting out there. And he said, Are they going to hurt me? And it's just sad -- it's just --
DAVIS: All the businesses in the plaza say they're suffering. Since the killing spree began, people just don't come out here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're just a little scared to come in. I mean, there's been a lot of cancellations. And, little by little, they're coming in, but it's not like business used to be.
DAVIS: It is a frightening time for these people. Parents, grandparents, say they keep their children a little closer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even Kmart's half empty, up the street there. Now, that's a great big store. It's always full. And it's half empty.
It's just sad, it's scary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That report from Lou Davis with CNN affiliate WMAR.
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 10, 2002 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, within the last half hour we have learned some new things about the shooting in Manassas, Virginia. The local police chief has told reporters that the case is being treated as another in a string of sniper attacks. He says the circumstances are consistent, even if the evidence is not yet conclusive.
Police Chief Charlie Dean made his comments in the wake of the autopsy on the latest victim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE DEAN, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA CHIEF OF POLICE: The autopsy results did reveal some evidence. That evidence has been turned over to the ATF, the laboratory, who are conducting analysis at this time.
The overall circumstances in this case still appears to be consistent with the other shootings. That is, the overall circumstances are consistent with the other shootings in the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The chief also says that police have found evidence at the scene of the killing which occurred last night at a gas station. He also says there were valuable witnesses to that crime. The victim was Dean Harold Myers of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and in the shooting -- if the shooting, rather, is linked to the sniper, he would be the ninth victim, and the seventh to die in just a little more than a week.
Now, the search for the sniper is being run from Montgomery County, Maryland. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is there following the case.
Jeanne, what's the latest?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I wanted to talk a bit about those consistencies that you heard the Prince William Chief refer to. First of all, there's the matter of geography.
Prince William is a new jurisdiction in the sniper case, if it becomes part of the sniper case, but it's still is part of the greater Washington area.
Two sniper victims, already established victims, shot at gas stations. Third, you had a white van, seen in Manassas. There was some sort of white vehicle also seen in some of the other sniper-shooting events.
Also, in the Manassas case, a single wound to upper body. That matches the description...
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, I'm sorry, I've got to ask you to hold on just for a second.
We're going to take you live to Children's Hospital in D.C, where the 13-year-old boy who was shot remains in serious condition. We're expecting his uncle Jerome Brown to take the mike.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... make a brief statement on behalf of the family. I wanted to first let you know that the patient remains intubated and medically sedated and remains in critical, but stable, condition. We are hopeful for a full recovery. If there is a change in the patient's condition, we'll make a member of our medical team available to update you and respond to any inquiries.
Children's National Medical Centers's first priority is to support our patients and their families. Mr. Curtis will not be fielding any questions after his remarks, and we kindly request that you respect the family's wishes.
The family has been made aware of the numerous media requests, and while this will be the only statement of record for the foreseeable future, they kindly ask that you continue to contact our media relations department with any inquiries and/or requests -- Mr. Curtis.
WAYNE (ph) CURTIS (ph), SNIPER VICTIM'S COUSIN: First, I want to thank everyone for their support and continued prayers for my cousin. I am particularly grateful for the outstanding support we're receiving from the Children's National Medical Center staff, the administration and the continued efforts of all the law enforcement agencies.
Second, he continues to remain in critical, but stable, condition. He's a fighter, and we remain optimistic. As our doctors have told us, this is a marathon, not a sprint. But we are confident that we will make it to the finish line.
Finally, we ask that the community, our friends, family and neighbors respect my family's wishes for privacy at this most painful time. Our priority is to put all our energies towards his recovery. We are very concerned and troubled by the numerous public reports, at times erroneous, about his condition, requests by our family and other details.
We fear this places him at risk and may compromise the law enforcement efforts to apprehend the responsible party or parties. We hope to be more forthcoming when his recovery is further along. However, please keep in mind that we will not do anything to -- that may serve to hinder the ongoing investigation, including interviews with the press. Again, we ask that the media, our friends, family, and neighbors continue to respect our wishes for privacy and confidentiality at this time.
Thank you all and continue to pray for us. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you all. Bye-bye.
PHILLIPS: Live from Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., you just heard from Wayne Curtis, the cousin of the 13-year-old boy who was shot at Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, Maryland.
He remains in critical, but stable, condition. The cousin making a plea that the media respect the family's privacy and confidentiality. They don't want to hinder the investigation at this time. Strong words from the cousin, saying the 13-year-old boy, he's a fighter, and they remain optimistic about his condition.
Now, we continue to talk about the search for the sniper that has been on the run, from Montgomery County, Maryland.
We go back to our Jeanne Meserve, who's following the investigation from there.
Jeanne, I'm sorry we had to cut away there for a moment.
MESERVE: Perfectly understandable, Kyra.
I was listing to some of the consistencies between the shootings in Manassas and the sniper shootings. As yet, not determined whether or not there is a -- indeed, a connection. That's going to rely largely on forensic and ballistic evidence. That is still being collected and analyzed.
That's complicated by today's weather. It's quite rainy here. We're told it can wash away some evidence like DNA and blood. It can make fingerprints more difficult to lift. And if you're looking for something like an indentation in the grass, it can make that difficult, if not impossible, to find.
The press conference we just heard was about that boy -- that 13- year-old boy gunned down outside the Benjamin Tasker Middle School. Want to talk about a piece of evidence that we know was found there -- it was a Tarot card. We knew it had been inscribed with the words, "Dear Policeman, I am God."
Now highly placed sources close to this investigation say more was written on that card. That in fact, it told police to keep the existence of the card and what was written on it secret. Police felt this was an attempt by the shooter, perhaps, to establish a line of communication with the police department. That is why Chief Charlie Moose was so tremendously upset yesterday when news of this evidence was leaked to the media.
That is why he said it compromised and set back this investigation. They are still very much pleading for public help with this investigation. There has been some criticism of the tip line system because there were simply too many lines in operation. All of that has been consolidated now.
There is one tip line. Calls are being answered by the D.C. field office of the FBI. As someone said here today, you couldn't ask for a better answering service than the FBI.
We have an example of the paperwork they're doing. When a tip comes in, it gives a place of the narrative, of exactly what the information given is. And then there is a place where they can mark the priority of this information, so they can decide if this is something that they should be chasing down immediately or something that can wait just a little bit.
Of course, thousands of leads coming in here. They're filtering them as best they can and tracking them down as best they can in their pursuit of this killer.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Jeanne, listening to the -- one of the live news conferences this morning with the police chief -- and I think it was you that addressed this question about this relationship between the police and media, the chief being very frustrated about certain leaks and different bits of information getting out.
Have all of you established some type of communication of how you will present certain facts with regard to the investigation and certain facts that will not be talked about on the air?
MESERVE: I don't think they'll ever be a perfect accord between the police and the media. I think our jobs are simply sometimes at odds with one another. What the police chief said this morning was that although there would be an ebb and flow, he hoped that often we would be able to strike a balance and that we would be able to move forward.
He said he had been hearing from the citizens of the county and their advice had been for everybody to move past this. They felt that the more time fighting over issues like this detracted from the investigation and the effort to find this sniper -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Jeanne Meserve.
Thanks, Jeanne.
The randomness of the shootings is what terrifies some people the most. In fact, some residents in the D.C. metro area are staying as close to home as possible.
Lou Davis of CNN affiliate WMAR looks at the toll that it's taking on local businesses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scared, and angry. Not so much for myself and my husband, but for my family and my grandchildren.
LOU DAVIS, WMAR REPORTER: It was one week ago last Wednesday, at about this time that the killing spree began. A window shot out at Michael's craft store in Aspen Hill, the sniper apparently aiming at a cashier and missing.
Now, a week later, the parking lot is only half full. Customers say they come here now only when necessary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm scared to eat at my dining room table. I'm scared to go out on my balcony. I'm his grandmother and he's asking me all sorts of questions. He's asking me why I argue with him. He'll say, Grandma, I'm holding your hand. I said, But you got to hold closer, you can't let go. Why? Because people are shooting out there. And he said, Are they going to hurt me? And it's just sad -- it's just --
DAVIS: All the businesses in the plaza say they're suffering. Since the killing spree began, people just don't come out here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're just a little scared to come in. I mean, there's been a lot of cancellations. And, little by little, they're coming in, but it's not like business used to be.
DAVIS: It is a frightening time for these people. Parents, grandparents, say they keep their children a little closer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even Kmart's half empty, up the street there. Now, that's a great big store. It's always full. And it's half empty.
It's just sad, it's scary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That report from Lou Davis with CNN affiliate WMAR.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
