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No
longer safe
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ROCKVILLE,
Maryland, October 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Washington
sniper who has killed at least nine people has threatened to target
children, police said Tuesday, October 22.
Hours
after a bus driver was gunned down sniper-style, Montgomery County
police chief Charles Moose read a message from the killer found near the
scene of a sniper shooting in Ashland, southern Virginia Saturday night.
“Your
children are not safe anywhere at any time,” it said.
At
a news conference later Tuesday night, Moose addressed himself directly
to the sniper via the media, saying: “We have researched the options
you stated and we have determined it is not possible electronically to
comply in the manner that you requested.
“However,
we will remain open and ready to talk to you about the options you have
mentioned.
“It
is important to do this without anyone else getting hurt,” Moose
added.
“You
have indicated that this is about more than violence,” he said.
“We
are waiting to hear from you.”
Authorities
in the Virginia state capital of Richmond, about 160 kilometers (100
miles) south of Washington, told news media they closed schools based on
a threat against children contained in a letter found Saturday after an
earlier attack.
The
letter also contained a request for 10 million dollars, CNN television
reported, citing informed sources.
One
of the surviving victims of the sniper was a 13-year-old boy shot on his
way to school in a Washington suburb shortly after authorities had said
it was safe for children to attend school.
The
sniper left a tarot card at the scene of the October 7 shooting taunting
investigators with the message: “Dear Policeman, I am God.”
Police
launched another apparently fruitless hunt after bus driver Conrad
Johnson was shot early Tuesday and soon died of his wounds.
Police
said they were treating the killing as though it were by the serial
killer but did not give an immediate confirmation.
Before
Tuesday’s pre-dawn killing, nine people have been shot dead in
single-bullet attacks and three others wounded since October 2.
Moose
also sent a new message, through the news media, apparently directed at
the killer or someone close to him.
“We
have received a communication and we will be responding soon,” he
said. Moose, who is coordinating the hunt for the sniper, has tried
since Saturday’s attack to use the media to reach the shooter.
He
also repeated for the third time a previous warning that no-one was safe
from the serial killer.
“They
have shown an ability and willingness to shoot people of different
races, different genders at different times of day, on different
days.”
He
urged the population to be on a “heightened alert.”
“We
remain concerned about the safety of all the people in our region.”
However,
public school authorities in Richmond and the Washington area announced
they would open normally Wednesday.
Moose
said Tuesday's shooting victim, a 35-year-old father of two, was killed
while standing on the steps of his bus and that the killer had left no
trace.
“At
this point we have no vehicle lookout to share. We have no person
lookout to share,” Moose told a somber press conference.
Johnson
was felled with a single shot fired from a protected position as were
the confirmed sniper victims.
The
previous shootings were linked by 5.56-millimeter (.223-caliber) bullets
used by the shooter.
Helicopters
buzzed overhead as police cast a new dragnet around the scene of the
killing in the Aspen Hill district of Montgomery County.
Commuters
were caught in traffic jams up to 16 kilometers (10 miles) long. It took
two to three hours to get into Washington as police carried out
car-by-car checks on major roads.
The
sniper’s spree opened with five murders over 16 hours in Montgomery
county, where the killing occurred Tuesday.
All
the victims were hit as they went about daily activities. One man was
riding a lawn mower, four were killed in gas stations and others in
shopping mall car parks.
The
last confirmed victim was a 37-year-old man shot Saturday outside a
restaurant in Ashland, Virginia - some 145 kilometers (90 miles) south
of Washington. He is in critical condition in hospital.
At
the scene of that investigation, police found a letter that included a
telephone number and apparently sought to communicate with police.
The
letter was hostile, threatened further violence and demanded money,
according to The Baltimore Sun newspaper, citing police sources.
