THE US: The FBI is investigating the possibility that the gunman terrorising the Washington area could be an army-trained sniper, and has asked the Pentagon to check its records for possible suspects, it was reported yesterday.
After 10 confirmed shootings, eight of them lethal, in 11 days, the only significant lead to have emerged from a huge manhunt is a description of a medium-sized white lorry with fading paint, a damaged rear bumper and unspecified black lettering on the side. A vehicle meeting that description was seen by witnesses at the scene of more than one of the attacks.
A computer-generated image of what the lorry might look like was released over the weekend and produced a fresh wave of tips to a police hotline. But there were no reports of a breakthrough in the investigation last night.
The police officer leading the inquiry, Chief Charles Moose, urged the public not to focus exclusively on the lorry and to stay alert for anyone acting suspiciously. He said the police were also looking into reports that a white Chevrolet van was seen driving away from the latest shooting at a Virginia petrol station on Friday.
Meanwhile, Time magazine has reported that the Pentagon is combing through records of ex-soldiers who have been through sniper school. The report pointed out that these specialised schools teach would-be snipers to work in pairs, one spotter and one gunman. Some of the witnesses who saw a white truck drive away from the shootings said they saw two people in the passenger cabin. Investigators have also said that the .223 calibre bullets used were from a high-velocity rifle, which could be a military-style semi-automatic weapon.
A homicide on Saturday night in Oxon Hill, Maryland, that prompted a massive response by police - believing at first the sniper had struck again - was unrelated to the series of murders that began over a week ago, police said. The sniper claimed his 10th victim and eighth fatality on Friday. Kenneth Bridges (53), a businessman and father of six, was killed while filling his car with gasoline at an Exxon station on the road from Philadelphia.
Physical evidence has been scant, with one taunting clue apparently left by the shooter near where a 13-year-old victim was shot: a tarot "death" card with the words, "Dear Mr Policeman, I am God", scrawled on the back.
Friday morning's killing was especially brazen. The Exxon station where Mr Bridges was killed is off the busy I-95 highway in Spotsylvania County, south of Washington, and a Virginia state trooper was dealing with a traffic accident across the street. The trooper rushed to help the victim, who was later confirmed dead.
Police funnelled traffic on the highway into a single lane while officers in flak jackets cradling automatic weapons peered into each vehicle.
The killings have sent shock waves throughout the region and re-energized the debate, in the media if not among politicians, over gun control in the US. - (Guardian Service, Reuters)