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Latest sniper attack yields clues
( 2002-10-16 16:37 ) (7 )

Montgomery County police officer Joyce Utter, left, and Corporal Robert Moroney of the Maryland State Police, right, steady a composite of a Ford van being sought in possible connection with the sniper shootings during a press conference, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002, at Montgomery County police headquarters in Rockville, Md. [AP]

The Washington-area sniper's latest slaying has yielded the most detailed clues yet in the search for the elusive killer: information about license plates and the description of a man in a white van seen fleeing the attack.

In another development, the Pentagon has agreed to provide aerial surveillance in the hunt for a sniper who has terrorized the Washington, D.C., suburbs for the past two weeks, killing nine and injuring two.

The new clues surfaced in the Monday night slaying of FBI employee Linda Frank after she and her husband loaded their purchases from a Home Depot into their car.

For the first time, witnesses were able to give information about license plates on vehicles they said were fleeing the scene. Some described a light-colored Chevrolet Astro van with a burned-out rear taillight.

At least one witness saw a male sniper aim and fire, then flee in a van, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The newspaper cited anonymous law enforcement sources.

"There was some additional information that we were able to get from (Monday) night's case, and I am confident that that information is going to lead us to an arrest in the case," Fairfax County Police Chief Tom Manger said.

Robert Young, a Washington construction worker, was among witnesses who returned to the shopping center Tuesday to talk with police. He said he had heard a muffled gunshot and seen a white van Monday night.

Young said as he backed his truck out of his parking spot, a white Astro van with two men inside tried to turn into his lane. He said the driver appeared very agitated to find his way blocked and instead drove by a neighboring restaurant and out of sight.

Young described the driver as a short man of slight build who appeared to be Middle Eastern. "I got a good look at the guy," he said.

The driver "seemed to be excessively irritated because he couldn't pull into my lane," he said. "I thought this fool was going to want to get out of the van and duke or something. But he didn't. He kept on going."

Law enforcement sources told The Associated Press there was no indication the sniper targeted Franklin, 47, because of her job with the FBI's Cyber-Crimes Division, created last year to focus on computer crimes as well as intellectual property cases.

In Maryland, Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, the head of the investigation, emphasized that Franklin was not working on the sniper case.

With the terrifying spree two weeks old, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld agreed Tuesday evening to provide military surveillance aircraft in the hunt for the killer, a Pentagon spokesman said. Sources said federal agents on the plane will relay any information they collect to authorities on the ground.

The Army also has started searching its records for people with sniper training.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said investigators are hesitant to rule out the possibility that the slayings are the work of a terrorist because there is no hard evidence about motive.

Each of the victims was cut down with a single bullet fired from a distance by a high-powered rifle. All were going about everyday tasks.

Last week police found a tarot death card at a crime scene inscribed, "Dear Policeman, I am God."

In a continuing appeal for the public's help, Moose released composite images of a white van with roof racks that witnesses saw after Friday's slaying of a man at a gas station near Fredericksburg, Va.

Moose said there appeared to be similarities between the van seen at Friday's shooting and the van from Monday night's attack. Manger would not say whether witnesses to the latest attack were able to give complete license plate numbers to investigators.

"Each shooting has revealed more to this investigation. We're encouraged every day," said Michael Bouchard, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.