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CNN Live Event/Special
Maryland Authorities Address Search for Killer
Aired October 04, 2002 - 12:07 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to go now to just outside Washington, D.C. There is news conference. Doug Duncan, the county executive, Montgomery County, on the spree of shootings that's unfolded over the past day or so.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
DOUG DUNCAN, COUNTY EXECUTIVE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND: The mood of the county in general, people are very nervous, very anxious. We're getting clearly an awful lot of calls from people, but people are going to work, they are sending their children to school. We've got great attendance from teachers, from the students in the county, from the county workers, the libraries, all of that. So we're very encouraged, as people are very unsettled by this, very fearful about what's happened, they're still going about their normal routines as best they can. And that's very encouraging for all of us.
I also want that to thank the public again for their calls. We've got about 200 leads now from the public to help with this case. And we're calling on people once again to just let us know, call 240- 477-2600 if they have information that will help solve the case. We got a great response from the people of the Montgomery County and from the Washington region and I think working together, we're going to do some great things and we're doing to crack this as soon as we can. Let me introduce our chief of police, Charles Moose.
Charles?
CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, POLICE CHIEF: Thank you, sir.
I want to talk about the ongoing and evolving issue of profiling. I want to remind us that that is a tool -- I understand it is a tool. We have been methodically working through that, because we are very leery of parading some type of tunnel vision and then missing the suspect as we go down this path with some type of tunnel visioning. But certainly, as that question continues to come forward, please rest assured we have been in contact, working closely with the FBI. We anticipate by the end of business today actually having a profile from them. But again, we want to stress that when we release that information, that we not release it in a way that somehow now eliminates people and causes us to get too focused on a path and potentially miss the suspect. But we will have that by the end of business today.
We will share that, but again, as you work through the educational process, we don't want to infer that that is the be all and end all, that that is some kind of absolute answer. It is a another tool -- it is another piece of strategy that we're going to be utilizing and we'll have that by the end of business today.
Secondly, have been in close contact with Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. Talked to Chief Ramsey for quite a few minutes. Obviously we have the shooting from last night that is being worked at this point by his agency. We're very involved in that, very much interested in it. But at this point, we're waiting on some medical work, then we have to do so comparison stuff. But I want everyone to rest assured that we're watching that very closely. Are very much informed, up to speed. And as soon as we have anything that is definitive as in related, not related, we'll be very clear and very specific.
But yes, there is a lot of speculation, a lot of rumor out there, so just please understand that we're waiting on the signs, we're in contact, we're working together, as soon as we have a definitive answer we'll share that, because there is a lot of anxiety about that situation.
Third, like to focus on the fact that for people that live in the county, when you see all of the resources and hear about the things that we're doing, please rest assured that we're still answering all routine calls for service. Staffing in all parts of the county is at above normal levels. There's no part of the county that has been ignored while we conduct this investigation.
And again, we want to stress that we're able to do this because of the other agencies, the Maryland State Police, the Montgomery County Park Police, FBI, ATF, Gaithersburg City, Rockville City, all of those agencies are carrying more than their fair load to help us. But I want to stress to people in all parts of the county, that we're doing all routine patrol, continuing with the business of providing public safety to our community members.
County executive reiterated the tip line, we still need information. People are calling. It is all very helpful. Investigators are continuing to sort through it. We have had another glitch with the phone line, so I know that there are some people that have called, they've been rolled over, put on a busy line, and we didn't get to them. So, if that happened to you, I beg of you, please call back. It's 2002, we'd like to think we have all of the technology things squared away. But we don't. We had that glitch, so if it happened to you, please call back. It doesn't mean your information is not important, it just means that we had a technology problem. It's much better than when we stood it up last night but at the same hand, we're still having some glitches, so if you got a nonanswer, please call back. We do want to talk to you. And then certainly, we don't want to --
BLITZER: Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose updating reporters on the situation, a very ominous situation, unfolding right outside Washington, D.C. in the huge Montgomery County, five shootings within the span of only a few hours.
Now there is word of a sixth shooting in the District of Columbia but not far from Montgomery County. The police chief in Montgomery County, Chief Moose, saying he's been in touch with the District of Columbia Police Chief Charles Ramsey. They're investigating to see if this sixth shooting, just outside of Montgomery County in Washington, D.C. may indeed have been related to these other five shootings. No definitive word on that yet.
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 4, 2002 - 12:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to go now to just outside Washington, D.C. There is news conference. Doug Duncan, the county executive, Montgomery County, on the spree of shootings that's unfolded over the past day or so.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
DOUG DUNCAN, COUNTY EXECUTIVE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND: The mood of the county in general, people are very nervous, very anxious. We're getting clearly an awful lot of calls from people, but people are going to work, they are sending their children to school. We've got great attendance from teachers, from the students in the county, from the county workers, the libraries, all of that. So we're very encouraged, as people are very unsettled by this, very fearful about what's happened, they're still going about their normal routines as best they can. And that's very encouraging for all of us.
I also want that to thank the public again for their calls. We've got about 200 leads now from the public to help with this case. And we're calling on people once again to just let us know, call 240- 477-2600 if they have information that will help solve the case. We got a great response from the people of the Montgomery County and from the Washington region and I think working together, we're going to do some great things and we're doing to crack this as soon as we can. Let me introduce our chief of police, Charles Moose.
Charles?
CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, POLICE CHIEF: Thank you, sir.
I want to talk about the ongoing and evolving issue of profiling. I want to remind us that that is a tool -- I understand it is a tool. We have been methodically working through that, because we are very leery of parading some type of tunnel vision and then missing the suspect as we go down this path with some type of tunnel visioning. But certainly, as that question continues to come forward, please rest assured we have been in contact, working closely with the FBI. We anticipate by the end of business today actually having a profile from them. But again, we want to stress that when we release that information, that we not release it in a way that somehow now eliminates people and causes us to get too focused on a path and potentially miss the suspect. But we will have that by the end of business today.
We will share that, but again, as you work through the educational process, we don't want to infer that that is the be all and end all, that that is some kind of absolute answer. It is a another tool -- it is another piece of strategy that we're going to be utilizing and we'll have that by the end of business today.
Secondly, have been in close contact with Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. Talked to Chief Ramsey for quite a few minutes. Obviously we have the shooting from last night that is being worked at this point by his agency. We're very involved in that, very much interested in it. But at this point, we're waiting on some medical work, then we have to do so comparison stuff. But I want everyone to rest assured that we're watching that very closely. Are very much informed, up to speed. And as soon as we have anything that is definitive as in related, not related, we'll be very clear and very specific.
But yes, there is a lot of speculation, a lot of rumor out there, so just please understand that we're waiting on the signs, we're in contact, we're working together, as soon as we have a definitive answer we'll share that, because there is a lot of anxiety about that situation.
Third, like to focus on the fact that for people that live in the county, when you see all of the resources and hear about the things that we're doing, please rest assured that we're still answering all routine calls for service. Staffing in all parts of the county is at above normal levels. There's no part of the county that has been ignored while we conduct this investigation.
And again, we want to stress that we're able to do this because of the other agencies, the Maryland State Police, the Montgomery County Park Police, FBI, ATF, Gaithersburg City, Rockville City, all of those agencies are carrying more than their fair load to help us. But I want to stress to people in all parts of the county, that we're doing all routine patrol, continuing with the business of providing public safety to our community members.
County executive reiterated the tip line, we still need information. People are calling. It is all very helpful. Investigators are continuing to sort through it. We have had another glitch with the phone line, so I know that there are some people that have called, they've been rolled over, put on a busy line, and we didn't get to them. So, if that happened to you, I beg of you, please call back. It's 2002, we'd like to think we have all of the technology things squared away. But we don't. We had that glitch, so if it happened to you, please call back. It doesn't mean your information is not important, it just means that we had a technology problem. It's much better than when we stood it up last night but at the same hand, we're still having some glitches, so if you got a nonanswer, please call back. We do want to talk to you. And then certainly, we don't want to --
BLITZER: Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose updating reporters on the situation, a very ominous situation, unfolding right outside Washington, D.C. in the huge Montgomery County, five shootings within the span of only a few hours.
Now there is word of a sixth shooting in the District of Columbia but not far from Montgomery County. The police chief in Montgomery County, Chief Moose, saying he's been in touch with the District of Columbia Police Chief Charles Ramsey. They're investigating to see if this sixth shooting, just outside of Montgomery County in Washington, D.C. may indeed have been related to these other five shootings. No definitive word on that yet.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
