The Hindu : Sniper threat to target children

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 24, 2002

International

International

Sniper threat to target children

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON OCT. 23. The gunning down of a bus driver on Monday in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been formally linked to the `beltway sniper', making him the sniper's 13th victim. And the police have asked the immigrant communities to come forward with information and not be worried that the authorities will be more interested in their immigration status.

The Baltimore Sun said the sniper had left a second message to police, at the scene of killing at Aspen Hill, Montgomery County, on Tuesday. The first message was found in Ashland, Virginia, at the scene of the shooting near a restaurant. Investigators have apparently come to the conclusion that the author of both messages is the same. The contents are reportedly similar — lengthy and rambling. And there is a reference to a ransom of $ 10 million, asking it to be transmitted electronically.

The Montgomery County police chief, Charles Moose, in a message to the sniper through the media, said electronic transmission was not possible. Even more than the ransom demand, he said, was the chilling postscript of the sniper in the note: "Your children are not safe anywhere, at any time''.

In what could border on the bizarre, the sniper had apparently faulted the authorities on bungling the investigation and had taken offence to not being treated seriously when he called the tip line several times to send a message. Media reports said the authorities had the taped voice of a person — a male voice with an accent — believed to be that of the sniper's. But not all agree on the "accent'' part, some saying it could be "phoney" or "electronically altered".

One report, quoting "sources'', said the hand-written message found in Virginia and the tarot card left at the scene of shooting at a middle school in Bowie, Maryland, were identical in their details, including a statement: "I am God".

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