Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Montgomery County, Maryland Executive Doug Duncan
Aired October 12, 2002 - 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to check in now on this sniper investigation in Montgomery County, Maryland. Our Daryn Kagan is there with more.
Daryn, do you have any idea when they're going to get the ballistics test back on yesterday's shooting?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I have a -- just the man here who might be able to answer that question for you, Carol. I'm joined right now by Doug Duncan; he is the executive for Montgomery County. Thank you for joining us on this morning -- know this is a very busy time for you.
First of all, so people understand who aren't from Montgomery County -- Executive -- you're like the Mayor.
DOUG DUNCAN, MONTGOMERY CO. EXECUTIVE: The mayor of the county, that's right. The elected mayor of the county.
KAGAN: And so you've been a very busy and frustrated man, I would imagine, for the last few days or so.
DUNCAN: Well, very busy, but not a lot of frustration. We've got a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of optimism. Every day the investigators come in to replace the ones who've worked over night, there's the thinking this is the day we're going to get him.
So, people excited, they're enthusiastic, there's a lot of energy and a tremendous amount of team work from all of the different local, state, and federal agencies involved in this.
So, it's a massive manhunt that's going on and we're doing everything we can to catch him.
KAGAN: Let's get right to the news of the day. I mean, we've got people who really wanted to know was yesterday's shooting directly linked to the previous sniper...
DUNCAN: Well, that is not been confirmed by the ATF to me yet. The ATF is going to come out today and let us know when they'll have that information, when they'll confirm that. There were enough similarities, though, with the shooting yesterday.
I mean, it's very similar to other things that we've seen; that I think the news would be that it was not linked. You know, it's sort of a terrible thing to day but it -- everybody's fear is that's what's going to happen and we'll get information later today about that.
KAGAN: Do you expect that confirmation to come at the 9:30 a.m. news conference?
DUNCAN: I have not had that information -- what they said yesterday is they would let people know this morning when we would have that confirmation.
KAGAN: Going on the premise that it was linked. As you said, there's enough similarities. Yesterday, it would seem like that would be the time that you could get the person who was doing this.
You had a state trooper right there as the shooting was taking place, and the dragnet that took place right afterwards was incredible. Washington basically came to a standstill along I-95. And yet the shooter got away again.
DUNCAN: We are working as hard as we can. We've got a lot of leads, the public is doing their part, they're participating in the investigation by calling us with leads. We're tracking down every one of the leads.
In addition to trying to protect the public as best we can and responding to the scene of any shootings. So, they're working very hard, we've got a lot of police on the street, all around this region, and we've got a lot of police out doing the investigation, talking to people, eliminating leads and then moving on to the next lead.
KAGAN: But it seems like the police and the officials are handling this differently as the shootings go on. Instead of trying to figure out if it is related, it's like they assume right off the top, they act as if it is, and they have a bigger search area and even more aggressive in the response.
DUNCAN: We're moving very quickly. They're adapting the techniques as they go through this, as they get more information, as they learn more things. And I think they are doing a remarkable job of coordination and adapting what they do to fit the particular scene.
KAGAN: Yesterday, about this time, we heard Chief Moose come out and say that there's going to be release of a graphic aid is what he called it.
One, we didn't see it yesterday and two, what is it?
DUNCAN: Well, the graphic aid wasn't released yesterday because it wasn't done. So, the FBI and special prosecutors are still working on that and that -- I expect that will be released today. And it's a graphic illustration, something we think will help the public give us some more leads, give us some more information on making an arrest here.
KAGAN: Can you tell us what the thing is? Is it a vehicle? It is a person?
DUNCAN: I haven't seen it so, I'm waiting till they put it out...
KAGAN: You haven't seen it? You don't know?
DUNCAN: I'm waiting till they put it out.
KAGAN: Don't you -- I think there'd be a frustration out there of the public. I mean, that's the kind of thing you want to get out there. What's the hold up, I guess.
DUNCAN: The hold up is we want to make sure it's done right. And the artwork wasn't done, wasn't finished. And, rather than put something out that's not complete, not finished, let's wait till we get it and give it out and then let the public do their part by helping us with the information.
KAGAN: Was it held up or altered by yesterday's events? Was there more information that came in or that changed?
DUNCAN: No, this is something that we were working on before yesterday's events and we just didn't finish it and it should be finished today.
KAGAN: "Washington Post" has a story today, a part of one of their articles -- they talked with a guy named Dewey Epps -- he's a guy from Georgia, who says he's been questioned, that he was told that he fits the profile, they asked him to turn and see his profile, and then he said he was shown a picture, or that officials have a picture of somebody who was at one of the shooting scenes and this man, this 36-year-old man from Georgia was told that he looks like this picture.
Is, indeed, there a picture out there that officials are showing?
DUNCAN: No, I mean, what we have is a series of things. We have people calling us in; we've got over 2,000 leads from the public for this case and what they're -- they're calling and saying hey, I saw this, I head this, I was around the scenes of the shooting.
And they're also calling to say, here's a person that you should look at. That you should talk to because they either have the weapons or they haven't been round at the time of the shootings or there's a history of some anger towards certain groups or whatever...
KAGAN: And these are the kinds of things you want people to be aware of and start thinking of.
DUNCAN: Yes, people are calling us up saying that. I mean -- and -- we're tracking down those leads. So we're talking to a lot of people, and we're talking to a lot of people and eliminating leads and we've talked to someone and we say OK, you're no longer of interest to us, thank you very much and we move on to the next one. So, that's what we're doing, they're doing an awful lot of that and they're going to keep doing it until we find who's doing these shootings.
KAGAN: You mention the public calling in. There is a tip line that -- these tip lines have been consolidated, I think it was about three days ago -- that you put the tip lines together. How is that working, is there still a backlog, are there enough people manning that?
DUNCAN: Well, the FBI agents are handling the calls as they come in. We had an overwhelming response; I think they said initially there were 1,000 calls an hour. So they have added lines, and they are working very hard to eliminate the busy signals that people have gotten. If you call and you get a busy signal, call back. Just keep calling till you talk to somebody and give us the information that you have.
KAGAN: Lot of people across the country who are watching this story are curious about life in Montgomery County and the general D.C. area. A lot of events, especially involving kids, have been canceled for the weekend.
DUNCAN: Yes, all the school activities have been canceled; any outdoor activities with kids have been canceled for the weekend. A lot of community groups are canceling things as well, I mean, we're seeing a shift from last weekend to this weekend in terms of a lot more cancellations of public activities.
And, I was in Rockville last night at a couple of restaurants just walking around, not a lot of people out. So, people are going to work, they're sending their kids to school, but they're being very cautious about shopping -- you know -- going shopping, going to the grocery store, getting gas, those kinds of things. As they should be. People need to be very cautious and very careful.
KAGAN: What about the cost in this investigation, this has got to be mounting on the county, on the state...
DUNCAN: We have one mission, to catch whoever is doing this as quickly as we can. And any resource we need, whether its county, state or local or federal we are doing. So, we're not worried about the cost, our job is to catch whoever's doing it and we told the -- all the law enforcement agencies that -- don't worry about where the cost is. If you need something, tell us, you'll get it. And you'll get it right away. Because we've got to catch him.
KAGAN: No. 1 priority, everything else pushed to the side...
DUNCAN: That's right; we're not worried about whatever cost is. We'll deal with that later, it's to bring our community back to safety, catch whoever's doing this, and -- and -- let's bring him to justice.
KAGAN: And including on a personal note, you're up for reelection. Normally you would be out campaigning right now.
DUNCAN: I have canceled an awful lot of campaign things. I mean, this -- this is so important. Not just for my county but it's so important for Washingtonians.
And I think for the nation, to think that someone is out there doing this, and not sure where the next attack might occur.
So, I'm here supporting our chief, I'm here supporting the FBI, the ATF, working with them, making sure they have the resources they need for the investigators to do their job. And it's a great -- great job by the law enforcement people. Unprecedented cooperation we're seeing in this case.
KAGAN: We wish you well with that. Looking forward to that 9:30 a.m. briefing. You'll be there?
DUNCAN: Oh, absolutely.
KAGAN: Absolutely. OK, 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Doug Duncan, Executive of Montgomery County.
We'll of course, Carol, be bringing that live to our viewers from right here in Montgomery County.
Also, in about -- let me see -- about 20 minutes from now, I'll be coming back live here and we'll be bringing Charles Molineaux in. He's with Spotsylvania County, that is the site of yesterday's shooting, and there's a briefing there at 10 a.m. Eastern.
You'll see that live right here on CNN as well.
LIN: That's right, a lot of nervous people there as we're waiting to get this ballistics report to confirm whether that shooting right there yesterday is connected to the rest of the shootings -- the sniper shootings.
KAGAN: Right, of course, still waiting for that official -- official word -- but as we just heard Doug Duncan say, put it together, enough similarities to, as you said, make people plenty nervous around this area today.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Daryn. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Duncan>
Aired October 12, 2002 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to check in now on this sniper investigation in Montgomery County, Maryland. Our Daryn Kagan is there with more.
Daryn, do you have any idea when they're going to get the ballistics test back on yesterday's shooting?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I have a -- just the man here who might be able to answer that question for you, Carol. I'm joined right now by Doug Duncan; he is the executive for Montgomery County. Thank you for joining us on this morning -- know this is a very busy time for you.
First of all, so people understand who aren't from Montgomery County -- Executive -- you're like the Mayor.
DOUG DUNCAN, MONTGOMERY CO. EXECUTIVE: The mayor of the county, that's right. The elected mayor of the county.
KAGAN: And so you've been a very busy and frustrated man, I would imagine, for the last few days or so.
DUNCAN: Well, very busy, but not a lot of frustration. We've got a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of optimism. Every day the investigators come in to replace the ones who've worked over night, there's the thinking this is the day we're going to get him.
So, people excited, they're enthusiastic, there's a lot of energy and a tremendous amount of team work from all of the different local, state, and federal agencies involved in this.
So, it's a massive manhunt that's going on and we're doing everything we can to catch him.
KAGAN: Let's get right to the news of the day. I mean, we've got people who really wanted to know was yesterday's shooting directly linked to the previous sniper...
DUNCAN: Well, that is not been confirmed by the ATF to me yet. The ATF is going to come out today and let us know when they'll have that information, when they'll confirm that. There were enough similarities, though, with the shooting yesterday.
I mean, it's very similar to other things that we've seen; that I think the news would be that it was not linked. You know, it's sort of a terrible thing to day but it -- everybody's fear is that's what's going to happen and we'll get information later today about that.
KAGAN: Do you expect that confirmation to come at the 9:30 a.m. news conference?
DUNCAN: I have not had that information -- what they said yesterday is they would let people know this morning when we would have that confirmation.
KAGAN: Going on the premise that it was linked. As you said, there's enough similarities. Yesterday, it would seem like that would be the time that you could get the person who was doing this.
You had a state trooper right there as the shooting was taking place, and the dragnet that took place right afterwards was incredible. Washington basically came to a standstill along I-95. And yet the shooter got away again.
DUNCAN: We are working as hard as we can. We've got a lot of leads, the public is doing their part, they're participating in the investigation by calling us with leads. We're tracking down every one of the leads.
In addition to trying to protect the public as best we can and responding to the scene of any shootings. So, they're working very hard, we've got a lot of police on the street, all around this region, and we've got a lot of police out doing the investigation, talking to people, eliminating leads and then moving on to the next lead.
KAGAN: But it seems like the police and the officials are handling this differently as the shootings go on. Instead of trying to figure out if it is related, it's like they assume right off the top, they act as if it is, and they have a bigger search area and even more aggressive in the response.
DUNCAN: We're moving very quickly. They're adapting the techniques as they go through this, as they get more information, as they learn more things. And I think they are doing a remarkable job of coordination and adapting what they do to fit the particular scene.
KAGAN: Yesterday, about this time, we heard Chief Moose come out and say that there's going to be release of a graphic aid is what he called it.
One, we didn't see it yesterday and two, what is it?
DUNCAN: Well, the graphic aid wasn't released yesterday because it wasn't done. So, the FBI and special prosecutors are still working on that and that -- I expect that will be released today. And it's a graphic illustration, something we think will help the public give us some more leads, give us some more information on making an arrest here.
KAGAN: Can you tell us what the thing is? Is it a vehicle? It is a person?
DUNCAN: I haven't seen it so, I'm waiting till they put it out...
KAGAN: You haven't seen it? You don't know?
DUNCAN: I'm waiting till they put it out.
KAGAN: Don't you -- I think there'd be a frustration out there of the public. I mean, that's the kind of thing you want to get out there. What's the hold up, I guess.
DUNCAN: The hold up is we want to make sure it's done right. And the artwork wasn't done, wasn't finished. And, rather than put something out that's not complete, not finished, let's wait till we get it and give it out and then let the public do their part by helping us with the information.
KAGAN: Was it held up or altered by yesterday's events? Was there more information that came in or that changed?
DUNCAN: No, this is something that we were working on before yesterday's events and we just didn't finish it and it should be finished today.
KAGAN: "Washington Post" has a story today, a part of one of their articles -- they talked with a guy named Dewey Epps -- he's a guy from Georgia, who says he's been questioned, that he was told that he fits the profile, they asked him to turn and see his profile, and then he said he was shown a picture, or that officials have a picture of somebody who was at one of the shooting scenes and this man, this 36-year-old man from Georgia was told that he looks like this picture.
Is, indeed, there a picture out there that officials are showing?
DUNCAN: No, I mean, what we have is a series of things. We have people calling us in; we've got over 2,000 leads from the public for this case and what they're -- they're calling and saying hey, I saw this, I head this, I was around the scenes of the shooting.
And they're also calling to say, here's a person that you should look at. That you should talk to because they either have the weapons or they haven't been round at the time of the shootings or there's a history of some anger towards certain groups or whatever...
KAGAN: And these are the kinds of things you want people to be aware of and start thinking of.
DUNCAN: Yes, people are calling us up saying that. I mean -- and -- we're tracking down those leads. So we're talking to a lot of people, and we're talking to a lot of people and eliminating leads and we've talked to someone and we say OK, you're no longer of interest to us, thank you very much and we move on to the next one. So, that's what we're doing, they're doing an awful lot of that and they're going to keep doing it until we find who's doing these shootings.
KAGAN: You mention the public calling in. There is a tip line that -- these tip lines have been consolidated, I think it was about three days ago -- that you put the tip lines together. How is that working, is there still a backlog, are there enough people manning that?
DUNCAN: Well, the FBI agents are handling the calls as they come in. We had an overwhelming response; I think they said initially there were 1,000 calls an hour. So they have added lines, and they are working very hard to eliminate the busy signals that people have gotten. If you call and you get a busy signal, call back. Just keep calling till you talk to somebody and give us the information that you have.
KAGAN: Lot of people across the country who are watching this story are curious about life in Montgomery County and the general D.C. area. A lot of events, especially involving kids, have been canceled for the weekend.
DUNCAN: Yes, all the school activities have been canceled; any outdoor activities with kids have been canceled for the weekend. A lot of community groups are canceling things as well, I mean, we're seeing a shift from last weekend to this weekend in terms of a lot more cancellations of public activities.
And, I was in Rockville last night at a couple of restaurants just walking around, not a lot of people out. So, people are going to work, they're sending their kids to school, but they're being very cautious about shopping -- you know -- going shopping, going to the grocery store, getting gas, those kinds of things. As they should be. People need to be very cautious and very careful.
KAGAN: What about the cost in this investigation, this has got to be mounting on the county, on the state...
DUNCAN: We have one mission, to catch whoever is doing this as quickly as we can. And any resource we need, whether its county, state or local or federal we are doing. So, we're not worried about the cost, our job is to catch whoever's doing it and we told the -- all the law enforcement agencies that -- don't worry about where the cost is. If you need something, tell us, you'll get it. And you'll get it right away. Because we've got to catch him.
KAGAN: No. 1 priority, everything else pushed to the side...
DUNCAN: That's right; we're not worried about whatever cost is. We'll deal with that later, it's to bring our community back to safety, catch whoever's doing this, and -- and -- let's bring him to justice.
KAGAN: And including on a personal note, you're up for reelection. Normally you would be out campaigning right now.
DUNCAN: I have canceled an awful lot of campaign things. I mean, this -- this is so important. Not just for my county but it's so important for Washingtonians.
And I think for the nation, to think that someone is out there doing this, and not sure where the next attack might occur.
So, I'm here supporting our chief, I'm here supporting the FBI, the ATF, working with them, making sure they have the resources they need for the investigators to do their job. And it's a great -- great job by the law enforcement people. Unprecedented cooperation we're seeing in this case.
KAGAN: We wish you well with that. Looking forward to that 9:30 a.m. briefing. You'll be there?
DUNCAN: Oh, absolutely.
KAGAN: Absolutely. OK, 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Doug Duncan, Executive of Montgomery County.
We'll of course, Carol, be bringing that live to our viewers from right here in Montgomery County.
Also, in about -- let me see -- about 20 minutes from now, I'll be coming back live here and we'll be bringing Charles Molineaux in. He's with Spotsylvania County, that is the site of yesterday's shooting, and there's a briefing there at 10 a.m. Eastern.
You'll see that live right here on CNN as well.
LIN: That's right, a lot of nervous people there as we're waiting to get this ballistics report to confirm whether that shooting right there yesterday is connected to the rest of the shootings -- the sniper shootings.
KAGAN: Right, of course, still waiting for that official -- official word -- but as we just heard Doug Duncan say, put it together, enough similarities to, as you said, make people plenty nervous around this area today.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Daryn. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Duncan>
