Sources: Suspects' gun linked to sniper attacks
Sniper suspects arrested in highway raid
Thursday, October 24, 2002 Posted: 7:07 PM EDT (2307 GMT)
BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) --
Ballistic tests on the gun found in
the car of the men authorities
believe are involved in the
Washington-area sniper attacks
have matched that weapon to the
bullets used to kill 10 people, senior
administration officials said
Thursday evening.
The suspects were identified as John
Allen Muhammad, 41, a Gulf War Army
veteran recognized as an expert
marksman, and 17-year-old John Lee
Malvo, a Jamaican citizen.
Malvo appeared in a closed hearing in
U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland,
before Judge James Bredar. The warrant
against Malvo named him as a material
witness in the sniper case.
Muhammad also appeared in court. The
arrest warrant for him accused
Muhammad of a firearm violation.
The two men were taken into custody
overnight while they slept when members
of the sniper task force, in Kevlar combat
gear and supported by helicopter cover,
swarmed a Maryland highway rest stop in
the pre-dawn darkness. (Gallery)
A Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle, a scope,
a tripod and a "sniper platform" were
recovered from the suspects' 1990
Chevrolet Caprice, sources said
Thursday.
All the sniper victims -- 10 dead, three
wounded since October 2 -- were hit by a
single .223-caliber bullet.
Sources also said that inside the
Caprice, the back seat folds down to
allow access to the trunk. In the trunk,
authorities found the sniper platform,
meaning that someone could fold the
seat down, open the trunk slightly, shoot
from the vehicle, close the trunk and drive
away.
Law enforcement sources said the
arrests were made without incident under
federal warrants. Muhammad's warrant
was issued on a firearms violation
involving a Bushmaster .223 rifle -- that
he displayed at the home of a friend in
Tacoma, Washington, where he once
lived.
The complaint also alleged Muhammad
had possession of an AR-15 assault rifle,
a gun scope and a book on making
sound suppressors. He was quoted by
the friend as saying, "Can you imagine
the damage you could do if you could
shoot with a silencer?"
Authorities said he was under a
restraining order in a domestic abuse
case at the time which would bar him
from owning any gun.
The Bushmaster is the civilian version of
the Colt-manufactured M-16 used by the
U.S. military. They have the same
capability, rounds and functions.
Muhammad earned an expert
marksmanship badge with the M-16
during his service in the Army, the highest
level of expertise given by the military,
defense officials at the Pentagon said.
That means he had to hit 36 out of 40
targets at a range of about 50 to 300
meters.
Military officials also said Muhammad
was not trained as a sniper and was not
in Special Forces, but served in combat
support missions as a mechanic or water truck driver.
Sniper investigators were looking into a possible connection to a fatal shooting at a
liquor store in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery Police Chief John Wilson said
Thursday that there were "some very good similarities" between Malvo and a
composite sketch of the attacker in the September 21 shooting.
Authorities said Thursday they had made a match between a fingerprint lifted from
the scene and Malvo. But Wilson said the weapon used in the Montgomery shooting
is not the same as has been used in the shootings in Maryland, Virginia, and the
District of Columbia. (Full story)
The Baltimore Sun reported that authorities were tipped to the Alabama connection
by a recent phone call believed to be from the sniper, who said that investigators
should "take him seriously" and "check with the people in Montgomery," or words to
that effect.
Muhammad and Malvo were interrogated at a jail in Montgomery County, Maryland,
where the string of deadly shootings began three weeks ago, and where the most
recent victim linked to the sniper was killed Tuesday. (Trail of the sniper)
Truck driver Ron Lantz first spotted the suspects' Chevrolet Caprice before dawn at a
rest stop. After calling 911, he blocked the exit with his truck.
The rest area is along a seven-mile stretch of Interstate 70 near Myersville, Maryland,
that had been shut down in a dragnet launched just a few hours earlier by
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, the head of the sniper task force.
"We didn't actually see any police officers for a while, until they actually stormed the
parking lot where the vehicle was," said rest stop attendant Larry Blank. "There were
helicopters, police cars everywhere."
Lantz says he's no hero and will share any reward money he receives with victims of
the sniper attacks.
"This is such a shock," Sheila Tezando, Muhammad's sister-in-law, told CNN. She
said there was nothing in their demeanor that would lead her to believe that they
were capable of any violent act. (Muhammad profile)(Malvo profile)
Other developments
•Malvo was in INS custody in Bellingham, Washington, on December 19, 2001, after
his mother was involved in some sort of incident. He was later released and was
scheduled for a hearing on November 20.
•A State Department official said Thursday the department has no record of having
issued an immigrant or a non-immigrant U.S. visa to a John Malvo from Jamaica.
•President Bush was told Thursday
morning that law enforcement officials
are confident the arrests of Muhammad
and Malvo represent a significant
breakthrough, a senior administration
official said. "It is an ongoing situation,
but he was told they are optimistic they
have cracked this," the official said.
•A source said the U.S. Marshals Service
was able to connect Muhammad with the
car and license plate through information
filed by officers from an October 8 traffic
stop in Baltimore, Maryland. Muhammad
was sleeping in his car at the time. The officers were concerned that his driver's
license was from Washington state and the vehicle tag was from New Jersey.
•The letter believed to have been left by the sniper near the scene of a shooting
Saturday night at a Ponderosa restaurant in Ashland, Virginia, appeared to include
Jamaican colloquialisms, sources said. Drawn on the page of the letter were five
stars, and some investigators thought that was a reference to a Jamaican band. The
letter contained the phrase "word is bond," which appears in the lyrics of one of the
band's songs. Moose echoed those words during a news conference.
•In Camden, New Jersey, Police Capt. Joe Richardson said Thursday that police, FBI
agents and other law enforcement agencies searched the apartment to which the
suspects' car was registered.
•Authorities searched a duplex in Tacoma, Washington on Wednesday and left with a
tree trunk apparently used for target practice. Sources said Muhammad once served
at Fort Lewis, not far from the duplex. (Full story)
•North of Tacoma near the Canadian border, the mayor of Bellingham, Washington
said the FBI and local police had searched Bellingham High School, where Malvo
reportedly attended school last year.
•The FBI is denying earlier reports that it conducted searches related to the sniper
investigation in Marion, Alabama. Local police had said the search centered on a site
called "Ground Zero USA" which specializes in special weapons and tactical training.
"We have not searched Ground Zero," said Tim Munson, the special agent in charge
of the FBI field office in Mobile, Alabama. "We have no interest."
•At a midnight news conference Wednesday, Moose delivered another message to
the sniper, urging him to contact police. "You have indicated that you want us to do
and say certain things. You asked us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in
a noose.' We understand that hearing us say this is important to you," Moose said.
(Full message)
•After the October 3 shooting of Pascal Charlot, 72, in Washington, D.C., law
enforcement officials searched for a burgundy Chevrolet Caprice. One such car was
later found burned out in the D.C. area, but it was never determined whether it had
anything to do with the fatal shooting.
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