Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Police Investigate Ashland, VA Shooting
Aired October 20, 2002 - 10:02 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This hour we are waiting for a police briefing in Ashland, Va., on that shooting outside a Ponderosa restaurant last night, but first let's go to our Carol Costello in Montgomery County, Md., the command center for the sniper investigation.
And Carol, I understand any of the Montgomery County authorities have made their way to Hanover County just outside of Richmond to get a closer look at the scene there.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are absolutely right. They are already on the scene of the latest shooting in Ashland, Va., to try to figure out if this is, indeed, connected to the sniper.
In a teleconference this morning with the local authorities there -- and you've probably heard the story by now. A 37-year-old man was leaving a Ponderosa restaurant in Ashland, Va., which is about 80 miles south of the Washington, D.C. area.
He was leaving the restaurant with his wife to get into his car when a single shot ran out and hit him in stomach. He's now in the hospital struggling for his life.
I don't know if a police search of the area has begun. Let's go to Ashland, Va., now to find out.
Ed Lavandera is standing by there, live. Ed, has the search started yet?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen a little bit movement on that back line of the wooded area behind the restaurants here, where the authorities initially believe, where the shooting happened last night. That is beginning.
They're waiting for the clouds to break up a little bit. It had been drizzling quite a bit for the last hour or so, so that they're trying to let that break up a little bit to help the cadets and the investigators that are working that scene back there to work a little more smoothly, if you will.
What's happening behind me, directly behind the camera here, is the huge gathering of reporters that is preparing for a press briefing that's scheduled to begin at some point this hour. We're just told that the teleconference between all of the agencies working this sniper shooting is still going on and that the authorities here in Ashland are about a 10-minute drive away. So as soon as that wraps up, it will take about another 10 minutes for those authorities to get over here and participate in this press briefing.
So it seems like we're probably at least a quarter, maybe a half hour, away from this press briefing at that point. But, of course, it all depends on when they wrap up that phone call -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ed, tell us more about the geography of where you're standing. You're standing in front of the Ponderosa restaurant. The shooting itself took place behind the restaurant, and then how far is it behind that is this wooded area?
LAVANDERA: Well, if you take a look behind, we can just zoom in, that's the Ponderosa restaurant along the road here. And I would say it's probably about 50 yards between the back of that restaurant to the -- to where that wooded area is.
And directly behind the Ponderosa restaurant is where that 37- year-old man and his wife were walking out of the restaurant last night. And that area along the back, there's a Burger King and a Wendy's along each side of this restaurant.
And directly behind these three buildings here is where investigators have been focusing most of their attention this morning. They'll continue to do so as they search through that wooded area and also the parking lot area where, if you've noticed, if you were paying attention to how police have handled each of these crime scenes, they rope off a huge area, because since they believe that this sniper's working from such large distances away from their -- from his victims, that evidence or clues could be anywhere at this point.
So basically, what they've done is roped off about a 300-, maybe 400-yard area along this road here on both sides of the road. They've roped that off as crime scene area, and they're keeping everybody out of it. Again, the precaution that they've learned from all the other agencies that have been working this story and these cases, to say, "Hey, evidence could be anywhere. You've got to be careful what you rope off, make sure nothing gets contaminated" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, we understand that. And there are many escape routes, too. It's near I-95, Route 1 and also Route 54.
LAVANDERA: Yes, there is escape routes. And you know, that's exactly the kind of information and scenarios that authorities are pointing out as they continue to look at how this person might have been able to escape. They set up those road blocks along the interstate and the other roads around the area, as well. Still, there was no capture of anyone who they believe might have been responsible for this shooting.
COSTELLO: All right. Ed Lavandera, thanks for the update from Ashland, Va.
Want to head to Richmond, Va., now to the hospital where this 37- year-old man is struggling to survive. Such a sad story. Leaving the restaurant with his wife, his wife actually heard the gun shot; she thought it was a car backfiring. And her husband turned to her, said he'd been shot and dropped to his knees. He is struggling to survive. Patty Davis is at the hospital right now, and I understand he underwent three hours of surgery last night and he's expected to be back in surgery sometime today.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It looks like this victim will undergo more surgery today, lots of internal bleeding, we're told. Here's what a hospital spokesman had to say just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM LEPLEY, HOSPITAL SPOKESWOMAN: His condition right now remains critical. He is in a life-threatening state, but it has not worsened over the night, which is good. There is likelihood of additional surgery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: More surgery gives doctors another opportunity to try to retrieve that bullet. They did not do that in the first surgery last night.
Now, lots of times in these kind of gunshot wounds, the doctors are not focusing on retrieving the bullet. They're focusing on saving the person's life. You'll recall that in Bowie, Md., almost two weeks ago that a 13-year-old was shot, same type of thing, shot in the abdomen. It hit a lot of his internal organs, but doctors did make an extra special effort to try to retrieve that bullet.
Certainly, investigators want that bullet. They want to know, in this case, is it connected to the sniper? Is this man the sniper's latest victim? So hopefully, we may get some more from doctors today. They've been able to locate a bullet, but we just don't know at this point if they're going to be able to get a fragment or get near where those bullets are located, where one bullet is located, or fragments, in this man's body, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. We'll continue to follow this situation. And we'll check back to you when need be. Patty Davis, thank you very much.
Fredricka, as you heard, the teleconference is still ongoing. It should end in about 10 minutes, and hopefully that news conference out of Ashland, Va., will take place around 11 o'clock Eastern time.
WHITFIELD: And Carol, when that takes place, do you have any kind of idea what kind of role Montgomery County authorities might be playing in that press conference, since they have been in the forefront in this multi-task force, multi-jurisdictional task force from the very beginning?
COSTELLO: Yes, they have. And as I said, they are down there. But we do expect to hear from local authorities, and we expect them to be leading this news conference. Of course, things could change. We'll just have to see.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Carol Costello from Montgomery County. Of course, we'll be seeing you again shortly.
For an in-depth look at the hunt for the D.C.-area sniper, turn to CNN.com. In addition to continuing coverage on the main page of the site, CNN.com now has a special report titled "Sniper Attacks: A Trail of Terror." Included in the special are interactive maps, time lines and profiles of the victims, plus tips for dealing with anxiety, fact sheets, and much more on that. The link is CNN.com.
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 20, 2002 - 10:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This hour we are waiting for a police briefing in Ashland, Va., on that shooting outside a Ponderosa restaurant last night, but first let's go to our Carol Costello in Montgomery County, Md., the command center for the sniper investigation.
And Carol, I understand any of the Montgomery County authorities have made their way to Hanover County just outside of Richmond to get a closer look at the scene there.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are absolutely right. They are already on the scene of the latest shooting in Ashland, Va., to try to figure out if this is, indeed, connected to the sniper.
In a teleconference this morning with the local authorities there -- and you've probably heard the story by now. A 37-year-old man was leaving a Ponderosa restaurant in Ashland, Va., which is about 80 miles south of the Washington, D.C. area.
He was leaving the restaurant with his wife to get into his car when a single shot ran out and hit him in stomach. He's now in the hospital struggling for his life.
I don't know if a police search of the area has begun. Let's go to Ashland, Va., now to find out.
Ed Lavandera is standing by there, live. Ed, has the search started yet?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen a little bit movement on that back line of the wooded area behind the restaurants here, where the authorities initially believe, where the shooting happened last night. That is beginning.
They're waiting for the clouds to break up a little bit. It had been drizzling quite a bit for the last hour or so, so that they're trying to let that break up a little bit to help the cadets and the investigators that are working that scene back there to work a little more smoothly, if you will.
What's happening behind me, directly behind the camera here, is the huge gathering of reporters that is preparing for a press briefing that's scheduled to begin at some point this hour. We're just told that the teleconference between all of the agencies working this sniper shooting is still going on and that the authorities here in Ashland are about a 10-minute drive away. So as soon as that wraps up, it will take about another 10 minutes for those authorities to get over here and participate in this press briefing.
So it seems like we're probably at least a quarter, maybe a half hour, away from this press briefing at that point. But, of course, it all depends on when they wrap up that phone call -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ed, tell us more about the geography of where you're standing. You're standing in front of the Ponderosa restaurant. The shooting itself took place behind the restaurant, and then how far is it behind that is this wooded area?
LAVANDERA: Well, if you take a look behind, we can just zoom in, that's the Ponderosa restaurant along the road here. And I would say it's probably about 50 yards between the back of that restaurant to the -- to where that wooded area is.
And directly behind the Ponderosa restaurant is where that 37- year-old man and his wife were walking out of the restaurant last night. And that area along the back, there's a Burger King and a Wendy's along each side of this restaurant.
And directly behind these three buildings here is where investigators have been focusing most of their attention this morning. They'll continue to do so as they search through that wooded area and also the parking lot area where, if you've noticed, if you were paying attention to how police have handled each of these crime scenes, they rope off a huge area, because since they believe that this sniper's working from such large distances away from their -- from his victims, that evidence or clues could be anywhere at this point.
So basically, what they've done is roped off about a 300-, maybe 400-yard area along this road here on both sides of the road. They've roped that off as crime scene area, and they're keeping everybody out of it. Again, the precaution that they've learned from all the other agencies that have been working this story and these cases, to say, "Hey, evidence could be anywhere. You've got to be careful what you rope off, make sure nothing gets contaminated" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, we understand that. And there are many escape routes, too. It's near I-95, Route 1 and also Route 54.
LAVANDERA: Yes, there is escape routes. And you know, that's exactly the kind of information and scenarios that authorities are pointing out as they continue to look at how this person might have been able to escape. They set up those road blocks along the interstate and the other roads around the area, as well. Still, there was no capture of anyone who they believe might have been responsible for this shooting.
COSTELLO: All right. Ed Lavandera, thanks for the update from Ashland, Va.
Want to head to Richmond, Va., now to the hospital where this 37- year-old man is struggling to survive. Such a sad story. Leaving the restaurant with his wife, his wife actually heard the gun shot; she thought it was a car backfiring. And her husband turned to her, said he'd been shot and dropped to his knees. He is struggling to survive. Patty Davis is at the hospital right now, and I understand he underwent three hours of surgery last night and he's expected to be back in surgery sometime today.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It looks like this victim will undergo more surgery today, lots of internal bleeding, we're told. Here's what a hospital spokesman had to say just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM LEPLEY, HOSPITAL SPOKESWOMAN: His condition right now remains critical. He is in a life-threatening state, but it has not worsened over the night, which is good. There is likelihood of additional surgery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: More surgery gives doctors another opportunity to try to retrieve that bullet. They did not do that in the first surgery last night.
Now, lots of times in these kind of gunshot wounds, the doctors are not focusing on retrieving the bullet. They're focusing on saving the person's life. You'll recall that in Bowie, Md., almost two weeks ago that a 13-year-old was shot, same type of thing, shot in the abdomen. It hit a lot of his internal organs, but doctors did make an extra special effort to try to retrieve that bullet.
Certainly, investigators want that bullet. They want to know, in this case, is it connected to the sniper? Is this man the sniper's latest victim? So hopefully, we may get some more from doctors today. They've been able to locate a bullet, but we just don't know at this point if they're going to be able to get a fragment or get near where those bullets are located, where one bullet is located, or fragments, in this man's body, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. We'll continue to follow this situation. And we'll check back to you when need be. Patty Davis, thank you very much.
Fredricka, as you heard, the teleconference is still ongoing. It should end in about 10 minutes, and hopefully that news conference out of Ashland, Va., will take place around 11 o'clock Eastern time.
WHITFIELD: And Carol, when that takes place, do you have any kind of idea what kind of role Montgomery County authorities might be playing in that press conference, since they have been in the forefront in this multi-task force, multi-jurisdictional task force from the very beginning?
COSTELLO: Yes, they have. And as I said, they are down there. But we do expect to hear from local authorities, and we expect them to be leading this news conference. Of course, things could change. We'll just have to see.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Carol Costello from Montgomery County. Of course, we'll be seeing you again shortly.
For an in-depth look at the hunt for the D.C.-area sniper, turn to CNN.com. In addition to continuing coverage on the main page of the site, CNN.com now has a special report titled "Sniper Attacks: A Trail of Terror." Included in the special are interactive maps, time lines and profiles of the victims, plus tips for dealing with anxiety, fact sheets, and much more on that. The link is CNN.com.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
