Police launched a manhunt today after another fatal shooting in a petrol station nearWashington, heightening public fears after seven killings by a sniper.
A man was shot and killed at a station in Massaponax, Virginia, 80 kilometers south of Washington, at around 9.40 a.m. (2.40 p.m. Irish time), police said.
Police did not immediately link the killing to the previous sniper deaths, but they launched a major security operation in Virginia.
Huge traffic jams built up on Interstate 95, the main highway along the US East Coast, as police checked scores of vehicles. All exits in Northern Virginia were closed, media reports said, as police searched for a white Chevrolet Astro-type van seen in the area.
Mr Howard Smith, a Spotsylvania County sheriff's department spokesman, said police and federal investigators were looking at the evidence linking the killing and the sniper attacks.
He said a Virginia state police trooper was "directly across the street" working at a traffic accident when he heard one shot and went to the stricken man.
The security operation was launched after witnesses reported seeing a white van near the petrol station and police said they were searching roads throughout the region.
Three of the sniper's other victims have been killed at petrol stations. Two people have also been wounded since the attacks started on October 2nd.
Police in Maryland, meanwhile, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was to release a "graphic aid" on the sniper case later in the day, without giving further details.
Schools near the shooting sites have stopped children from going outside and have canceled sports activities, while some shops have reported slower business since the attacks started.
All of the victims were carrying out day-to-day activities in the Washington area, such as going to the supermarket or filling up their cars, at the time they were shot.
Five people were killed within a 16-hour period from late October 2nd to October 3rd in Montgomery County, which borders Washington. A sixth person was shot in the chest and killed late on October 3rd while standing on a Washington street corner close to the Maryland border.
On October 4th, a woman was shot in the back in the car park of a shopping mall in Fredericksburg, but survived.
A 13-year-old boy was shot in Bowie, Maryland, after being dropped off at school on Monday and remains hospitalised, while a 53-year-old man was shot and killed late on Wednesday while getting petrol in Manassas, Virginia.
The reward for information leading to the killer's capture and conviction has risen to more than $350,000.
AFP