[ragt20]

Surprised I haven't seen this posted here...or is it somewhere else on AF....



Police in the United States say a man shot dead at a petrol station in Virginia was the latest victim of a serial sniper.

Local and federal agencies are involved in the hunt

Prince William county police department said ballistic evidence "conclusively linked" the shooting in Manassas on Wednesday night to a spate of gun attacks in and around Washington DC.

The mystery gunman has killed seven people and wounded two others since 2 October, sparking mass fear in the area.

Investigators are trying to track down a white van reportedly seen leaving the scene of the latest fatal shooting and have been combing the area for any evidence.


Suspicions

Despite the high-profile search for the sniper, police have so far failed, at least publicly, to provide any strong indication of who he or she might be.

Shootings
2-3 Oct - Five people killed in Montgomery County, Maryland
3 Oct - Man killed in Washington DC
4 Oct - Woman injured in Fredericksburg, Virginia
7 Oct - Boy injured in Prince George's County, Maryland
9 Oct - Man killed in Manassas, Virginia

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


With so little to go on, the authorities are continuing to appeal for people to come forward with any suspicions they might have.


Wednesday's victim has been named as 53-year-old Dean Harold Meyers of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Police said he was shot once in the head. All the other victims were brought down with a single bullet.

Witnesses have given investigators a description of a vehicle seen in the area but it is not yet clear if it is connected to the crime.

"It was a white minivan, described as a panel vehicle, with only front passenger windows and no windows in the back," said local police spokeswoman Sergeant Kim Chinn.

The authorities have, however, backed away from earlier reports that two men were seen in a white van near the scene.

Last week, when the sniper first struck, a witness reported seeing a white van leaving the scene.

So far, the victims appear to have little in common - men and women aged from 13 to 72, of white, black, Hispanic and Indian origin.



Though they're strangers, they're part of the community

Israel, USA
Click here to send your comments

Five of those killed were shot within eight kilometres (five miles) of each other in Montgomery County, and the sixth died on a Washington DC street.

Another victim was shot and injured in the neighbouring state of Virginia, and a schoolboy shot outside his school in Prince George's County on Monday remains in a critical condition.

Many locals are now terrified of leaving their homes, for fear they could be the sniper's next victim.

"I'm scared to go to my mailbox. I'm scared to go to my car. I have two young kids. I'm a single mom. So I'm scared, really scared," one woman told the BBC.

Anger at media

The discovery of a tarot card carrying the message, "Dear policeman, I am God" was reported on Wednesday and sparked speculation about a possible new lead.


Moose: Angered by media speculation on tarot card

But the head of the investigation, Police Chief Charles Moose, condemned the publication of the find by the media, saying it could harm his inquiries.

"My concern about the card is its ability or inability to mess up the investigation. My investigators made clear and compelling arguments to me that that information was not to be released," he said.

The card was allegedly discovered outside the school in Prince George's County, where the 13-year-old boy was shot.

Nearly 200 investigators have been working through 1,400 leads, sifted from 7,500 tip-offs in an attempt to track down the killer.

The reward money for information currently stands at to $237,000.

Police are using geographical as well as psychological profiling in their search, examining the crime scenes in a bid to detect a pattern.

Federal agents have been assisting in the case since Thursday 3 October, the day after the shootings began.

Parents, police officers and emergency workers have been accompanying children to school and police protection is in force at all schools.