The Dc Sniper

The Beltway Sniper During October 2, 2002 a series of murders started to happen around Washington D.C area, as well as in the Baltimore area. Five shootings attacks occurred in a fifteen hours period, which continued on for another three weeks. People were surrounded by fear and authorities did not have any clues of what or why these shootings were happening. Different messages and signs were left at the scene of the crime by the killer, but still nothing solid enough to have any suspects. The shootings took places in different establishments like, gas stations, restaurants, super markets, and even near schools. Victims were selected at random, and there was not a specific gender, age group, or even an ethnicity background that was being targeted. It was determined by investigators that the killings always occurred near highways in order for the shooter to have an easy access to an escape route. The weapon of choice used by D.C Sniper was a Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic .223 caliber rifle. There were not any witnesses that could offer any solid description or any information. The police set up hotlines so citizens could report any suspicious activity, as well as a mailbox to receive any tips via mail. However, not enough information was gathered ( FBI, 2007). As the time went on, the shooter engaged police in different ways, he would leave the tarot death card at the scene of the crime with written messages on them like: I am God, Do not tell the media about what is going on, and even a note requesting a sum of 10 million dollars or children were going to be targeted next. The huge investigation was led by the Montgomery County Police department along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Usually right after it is determined by the leading police department that is in fact, the work of a serial killer the FBI is asked to intervene and to become the leading agency on the matter (FBI, 2007). While the shootings continued, it was reported by a witness