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CNN Saturday Morning News
Washington Area Residents Cope With Fear of Sniper Attack
Aired October 12, 2002 - 08:36 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: Well, we are waiting for official word on whether yesterday's gas station shooting is linked to the serial sniper who is terrorizing the Washington area.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now once more from Montgomery County, Maryland, CNN's Daryn Kagan -- Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, once again, Thomas and Carol.
It's possible, just possible, we might get that word within the hour when we expect the first national briefing to begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Doug Duncan, the executive of Montgomery County, kind of like the mayor around here, told me that ATF is still looking at those ballistics tests. We do see some media organizations already going with that. The "Washington Post" reporting that, indeed, the bullet used yesterday in the Spotsylvania County shooting is a match to the other sniper shootings. But once again, we will wait to hear for sure, and that news conference getting under way in about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, this is anything but a normal weekend here in the Washington, D.C. area. A number of activities have been canceled, including just about any outdoor school activity has been canceled. There's supposed to be a big Rockville 10K, 5K tomorrow. That has been canceled. And also four sites that were planning on giving the SAT test to high school students have called off those tests for today.
The cancellations, the increased shootings, this has all led to an increased anxiety level here in the Washington area.
And our Elizabeth Cohen has more on that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hand, please. Hand, please.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Do you walk your child to school? Do you return library books? Do you pump gas? Such every day things, yet the Davis family, Christine and Matthew, parents of Nathan and Luke, now ask themselves these questions all the time.
CHRISTINE DAVIS, WASHINGTON RESIDENT: You can't presume that you're safe outside of your house, you know?
MATTHEW DAVIS, WASHINGTON RESIDENT: Again you do that calculation, OK, this doesn't seem like a busy street here. Surely he wouldn't be up in here. But, ah, there's a park and there are some trees. But, you know, then you're, then you tell yourself I'll stop thinking about that. You're walking your kid to school.
COHEN: The he that Matthew is talking about is the sniper who authorities say is responsible for seven deaths in the past eight days. At first, the Davises tried not to worry, even though one of the attacks was just two miles from their home in northwest Washington, D.C.
MATTHEW DAVIS: Then a child is shot and so you then think well, would he shoot -- I have young children, that are four and six. Would they, would he go that low? You know, so, and that is the sort of absurdity. The mere fact that you're going to that level of calculation to go about your daily business is a fairly strange way to live one's life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, how are you kids?
COHEN: Strange, too, that at Nathan's school kids aren't allowed to go outside for any reason -- no recess, no outdoor sports.
MATTHEW DAVIS: The question is, is this going to go on for another week? Is this going to go on for another month? Is this the routine we follow for another year?
COHEN: Nothing's normal anymore. Soccer practices aren't held on soccer fields, they're held in people's backyards. Christine let her gas tank run down to empty because she was afraid to get gas.
CHRISTINE DAVIS: Somewhat of the feeling that I had last year when the anthrax attacks were occurring or after the terrorism attacks.
So I sometimes just feel like I'm living with a big bull's eye over my head.
COHEN: Matthew constantly keeps up with the story on the Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a 53-year-old man from Gaithersburg, Maryland.
COHEN: He knows that no matter how well informed he is, it doesn't really matter. He can only do what the experts tell him to do -- shield his children from the news and talk about his worries with his wife. The attacks are so random that for now it's anxiety without end.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And so we talked about a number of events and activities that have been canceled this weekend. But there are some significant activities, Thomas and Carol, that are still a go, including the national book festival. That's being held on the West Lawn of the Capitol. And, in fact, as I was driving out here to this live location this morning, I heard First Lady Laura Bush on the radio encouraging people to come out to that book festival. Of course, reading is a big passion of hers. But saying it will be safe to be out on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
Also tomorrow big, big game, Redskins and Saints, 80,000 people expected at FedEx Field. That's just about 10 miles from Bowie, Maryland, where that young boy was shot earlier this week. That's still a go -- back to you.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Daryn.
We'll be looking for the live coverage of that first news conference at 9:30 Eastern, coming up in about 50 minutes.
ROBERTS: Yes, and as Daryn points out there, you know, no one knowing what to do in terms of, you know, attend these games or go to these things that are going on and take part in your every day life as you normally would.
LIN: Right.
ROBERTS: And try and move about your day, taking care of, you know, running errands. It's the weekend time. You want to get things done, possibly go fill up for gas. And to have that feeling of vulnerability, the looking over your shoulder all the time, just, you know, has to be unbearable.
LIN: Very unnerving. And what do you tell your kids, you know? You don't want to scare them too much.
ROBERTS: Yes, as we heard from Elizabeth Cohen there, you know, saying that experts are saying, you know, don't talk too much to your kids about this, you know, try and talk with your spouse or, you know, family members about it to vent your frustration. But, you know, shield the kids from it at this stage.
LIN: Right. Because they pick up the fears from you.
ROBERTS: Yes.
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 12, 2002 - 08:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we are waiting for official word on whether yesterday's gas station shooting is linked to the serial sniper who is terrorizing the Washington area.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now once more from Montgomery County, Maryland, CNN's Daryn Kagan -- Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, once again, Thomas and Carol.
It's possible, just possible, we might get that word within the hour when we expect the first national briefing to begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Doug Duncan, the executive of Montgomery County, kind of like the mayor around here, told me that ATF is still looking at those ballistics tests. We do see some media organizations already going with that. The "Washington Post" reporting that, indeed, the bullet used yesterday in the Spotsylvania County shooting is a match to the other sniper shootings. But once again, we will wait to hear for sure, and that news conference getting under way in about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, this is anything but a normal weekend here in the Washington, D.C. area. A number of activities have been canceled, including just about any outdoor school activity has been canceled. There's supposed to be a big Rockville 10K, 5K tomorrow. That has been canceled. And also four sites that were planning on giving the SAT test to high school students have called off those tests for today.
The cancellations, the increased shootings, this has all led to an increased anxiety level here in the Washington area.
And our Elizabeth Cohen has more on that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hand, please. Hand, please.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Do you walk your child to school? Do you return library books? Do you pump gas? Such every day things, yet the Davis family, Christine and Matthew, parents of Nathan and Luke, now ask themselves these questions all the time.
CHRISTINE DAVIS, WASHINGTON RESIDENT: You can't presume that you're safe outside of your house, you know?
MATTHEW DAVIS, WASHINGTON RESIDENT: Again you do that calculation, OK, this doesn't seem like a busy street here. Surely he wouldn't be up in here. But, ah, there's a park and there are some trees. But, you know, then you're, then you tell yourself I'll stop thinking about that. You're walking your kid to school.
COHEN: The he that Matthew is talking about is the sniper who authorities say is responsible for seven deaths in the past eight days. At first, the Davises tried not to worry, even though one of the attacks was just two miles from their home in northwest Washington, D.C.
MATTHEW DAVIS: Then a child is shot and so you then think well, would he shoot -- I have young children, that are four and six. Would they, would he go that low? You know, so, and that is the sort of absurdity. The mere fact that you're going to that level of calculation to go about your daily business is a fairly strange way to live one's life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, how are you kids?
COHEN: Strange, too, that at Nathan's school kids aren't allowed to go outside for any reason -- no recess, no outdoor sports.
MATTHEW DAVIS: The question is, is this going to go on for another week? Is this going to go on for another month? Is this the routine we follow for another year?
COHEN: Nothing's normal anymore. Soccer practices aren't held on soccer fields, they're held in people's backyards. Christine let her gas tank run down to empty because she was afraid to get gas.
CHRISTINE DAVIS: Somewhat of the feeling that I had last year when the anthrax attacks were occurring or after the terrorism attacks.
So I sometimes just feel like I'm living with a big bull's eye over my head.
COHEN: Matthew constantly keeps up with the story on the Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a 53-year-old man from Gaithersburg, Maryland.
COHEN: He knows that no matter how well informed he is, it doesn't really matter. He can only do what the experts tell him to do -- shield his children from the news and talk about his worries with his wife. The attacks are so random that for now it's anxiety without end.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And so we talked about a number of events and activities that have been canceled this weekend. But there are some significant activities, Thomas and Carol, that are still a go, including the national book festival. That's being held on the West Lawn of the Capitol. And, in fact, as I was driving out here to this live location this morning, I heard First Lady Laura Bush on the radio encouraging people to come out to that book festival. Of course, reading is a big passion of hers. But saying it will be safe to be out on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
Also tomorrow big, big game, Redskins and Saints, 80,000 people expected at FedEx Field. That's just about 10 miles from Bowie, Maryland, where that young boy was shot earlier this week. That's still a go -- back to you.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Daryn.
We'll be looking for the live coverage of that first news conference at 9:30 Eastern, coming up in about 50 minutes.
ROBERTS: Yes, and as Daryn points out there, you know, no one knowing what to do in terms of, you know, attend these games or go to these things that are going on and take part in your every day life as you normally would.
LIN: Right.
ROBERTS: And try and move about your day, taking care of, you know, running errands. It's the weekend time. You want to get things done, possibly go fill up for gas. And to have that feeling of vulnerability, the looking over your shoulder all the time, just, you know, has to be unbearable.
LIN: Very unnerving. And what do you tell your kids, you know? You don't want to scare them too much.
ROBERTS: Yes, as we heard from Elizabeth Cohen there, you know, saying that experts are saying, you know, don't talk too much to your kids about this, you know, try and talk with your spouse or, you know, family members about it to vent your frustration. But, you know, shield the kids from it at this stage.
LIN: Right. Because they pick up the fears from you.
ROBERTS: Yes.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
