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Top Stories - USA TODAY
Police hunt for 2 men as sniper probe accelerates
Thu Oct 24, 7:16 AM ET
Jack Kelley, Kevin Johnson and Donna Leinwand USA TODAY
Authorities late Wednesday announced they were searching for two men, one with military training, in the sniper attacks that have terrorized the Washington, D.C., area since Oct. 2. One was identified by Montgomery County (Md.) Police Chief Charles Moose as John Allen Muhammad, 42, a Gulf War (news - web sites) veteran wanted for federal firearms violations. The other was not identified publicly, but law enforcement sources said he was Lee Malvo, 17, believed to be Muhammad's stepson.
They were described as ''individuals of high interest'' to the probe into the attacks that have left 10 people dead, wounded three others and changed daily life throughout the Washington area. Moose issued a lookout for a blue and burgundy 1990 Chevrolet Caprice with New Jersey tags NDA 21Z.
Just before 3 a.m. ET today, federal agents and police blocked Interstate 70 in Frederick County, Md., amid reports that the car might have been spotted.
U.S. law enforcement officials say Muhammad was known as John Allen Williams when he served in the U.S. Army's 84th Engineer Battalion at Fort Lewis in Washington state.
The search for Malvo and Muhammad was part of a dramatic series of coast-to-coast events late Wednesday that suddenly cast hope on what has been a frustrating search for the sniper.
Moose cautioned that people should not necessarily conclude that Muhammad is responsible for the shootings. U.S. law enforcement agencies differ on whether Muhammad might be a suspect, or simply might know the sniper.
But Moose said the 6-foot-1 Muhammad was armed and dangerous. Moose made another cryptic appeal to the sniper, indicating that police were having difficulty communicating with him. The chief uttered a phrase that he said was important for the sniper to hear stated publicly: ''We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose,'' the chief said. ''We understand that hearing us say this is important to you.''
Several hours before Moose's briefing, police and federal agents 2,800 miles away searched a duplex in Tacoma, Wash., where authorities believe Muhammad lived when he was assigned to nearby Fort Lewis, an Army base south of Tacoma. Muhammad lived in the area from 1994 to 2001 before moving to the Washington, D.C., area, authorities said.
A senior law enforcement official said agents searched the yard in Tacoma for bullets, shell casings and other evidence. A tree stump believed to have at least five bullet fragments in it was to be flown to a federal lab in Rockville, Md., to be examined by investigators in the sniping case.
Authorities in Washington state also searched a high school in Bellingham that Malvo attended in 2001.
Meanwhile, U.S. agents in Marion, Ala., searched a private paramilitary training facility known ''Camp Ground Zero,'' which authorities say has offered sniper training courses.
Officials are investigating a possible link between the sniper and a fatal shooting at a liquor store in Montgomery, Ala., on Sept. 22, sources said. A gunman killed the store's manager and stole a credit card from her. The card was used recently in Takoma Park, Md., a Washington suburb.
Its number was listed in a note the sniper left near the scene of a shooting in Ashland, Va., last week. The note demanded that police wire $10 million to the credit card account.
Authorities revealed Wednesday that they narrowly missed capturing the sniper the day before that attack. U.S. agents rushed to a gas station near Richmond, Va., 10 minutes after getting a call from the sniper that was traced to there. They surrounded the area and arrested two men who turned out to have no connection to the case.
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