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Busted, fifteen years ago today:
D.C. sniper attacksThe D.C. sniper attacks (also the Beltway sniper attacks) were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002, in the states of Maryland and Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Ten people were killed and three others were critically injured, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia.
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Arrest
The incident came to a close at 3:15 a.m. on October 24, 2002, when Muhammad and Malvo were found sleeping in their car, a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice (which had been dismissed earlier in the investigation), at a rest stop off of Interstate 70 near Myersville, Maryland, and arrested on federal weapons charges. Police were tipped off by Whitney Donahue, who noticed the parked car. (Four hours earlier, Montgomery County police chief Charles Moose had relayed this cryptic message to the sniper: "You have indicated that you want us to do and say certain things. You have asked us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose.' We understand that hearing us say this is important to you". Moose asked the media "to carry the message accurately and often." This mysterious and arguable reference to a Cherokee fable has never been explained.)
Trooper First Class D. Wayne Smith of the Maryland State Police was the first to arrive at the scene and immediately used his light blue unmarked police vehicle to block off the exit by positioning the car sideways between two parked tractor-trailers. As more troopers arrived at the scene, the rest area was effectively sealed off at both the entrance and exit ramps without the suspects being aware of a rapidly growing police presence. Later, as truck driver Ron Lantz was attempting to exit the rest area, his tractor-trailer was commandeered by troopers who used the truck, in place of the police car, to complete the roadblock at the exit. With the suspects' escape route sealed off, the SWAT officers then moved in to arrest them. A stolen Bushmaster .223-caliber weapon and bipod were found in a bag in Muhammad's car. Ballistics tests later conclusively linked the seized rifle to 11 of the 14 shootings, including one in which no one was injured.
....
Arrest
The incident came to a close at 3:15 a.m. on October 24, 2002, when Muhammad and Malvo were found sleeping in their car, a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice (which had been dismissed earlier in the investigation), at a rest stop off of Interstate 70 near Myersville, Maryland, and arrested on federal weapons charges. Police were tipped off by Whitney Donahue, who noticed the parked car. (Four hours earlier, Montgomery County police chief Charles Moose had relayed this cryptic message to the sniper: "You have indicated that you want us to do and say certain things. You have asked us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose.' We understand that hearing us say this is important to you". Moose asked the media "to carry the message accurately and often." This mysterious and arguable reference to a Cherokee fable has never been explained.)
Trooper First Class D. Wayne Smith of the Maryland State Police was the first to arrive at the scene and immediately used his light blue unmarked police vehicle to block off the exit by positioning the car sideways between two parked tractor-trailers. As more troopers arrived at the scene, the rest area was effectively sealed off at both the entrance and exit ramps without the suspects being aware of a rapidly growing police presence. Later, as truck driver Ron Lantz was attempting to exit the rest area, his tractor-trailer was commandeered by troopers who used the truck, in place of the police car, to complete the roadblock at the exit. With the suspects' escape route sealed off, the SWAT officers then moved in to arrest them. A stolen Bushmaster .223-caliber weapon and bipod were found in a bag in Muhammad's car. Ballistics tests later conclusively linked the seized rifle to 11 of the 14 shootings, including one in which no one was injured.
