Some pieces of the puzzle in the Washington sniper case were still missing, the head of the police investigation said yesterday.
At a news conference where he and his colleagues received the unusual accolade of applause from the media, Chief Charles Moose of Montgomery County Police appealed for further co-operation from the public.
"We still need you to jog your memory, we still need you to talk to us, help us continue to finalise this puzzle. We think we have put some giant pieces of the puzzle together but there is more, we need more co-operation."
Asked if there was any possibility that an associate or associates of the suspects might still be active, he said: "We feel very positive about being here. We have the weapon; it is off the streets."
Speaking in emotional tones, Chief Moose said: "My heart goes out to the victims and the families of these shootings. If I could speak for all of law enforcement, our thoughts and prayers are with these people."
He and some colleagues had visited the families earlier. "We will never forget. We will never know their pain. We only wish we could have stopped this, to reduce the number of victims." Meanwhile, the suspects, Mr John Allen Muhammad (41) and his young associate, Mr John Lee Malvo (17), were being held while prosecutors in different jurisdictions competed to be first to bring them to trial for murder.
Mr Muhammad has already appeared in court on an alleged federal gun law violation, unrelated to the other matters.
The charge - possession of a firearm in violation of a restraining order - was seen as a way to keep him in jail while more evidence was sought for the sniper case. He is being held in a maximum-security prison in Baltimore. Mr Malvo made a separate court appearance in a hearing that was closed because he is under 18.
Forensic tests have reportedly confirmed that the Bushmaster XM-15 .223 calibre rifle found in their blue Chevrolet car was the sniper weapon. Ten people were killed and three seriously wounded in the attacks. All the killings took place in and around Washington, but authorities in Alabama said the two would be charged murder and face the death penalty for an earlier killing there. Confusingly, this alleged murder and six of the more recent sniper killings occurred in two places with the same name. The first was carried out in Montgomery, Alabama, whereas the other killings took place in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Chief John Wilson, head of police in Montgomery, Alabama, told reporters there was enough evidence to seek murder warrants against the two for the killing of a woman at a liquor store in the southern town on September 21st.
But the pair could also be charged in connection with the sniper killings.
These charges could be brought in the states of Maryland or Virginia, both of which allow the death penalty, or in the District of Columbia, where Washington is situated.