of sending envelopes full of deadly anthrax.
For example, he threatened another scientist, and in a group therapy session, investigators say he revealed his anger at those who were investigating him, as well as his plans to kill his coworkers and others who had wronged him. As the investigation heated up, Ivins seemed to fall apart emotionally, although he likely had been very depressed for a long time. Indeed, on July 29, 2008, he took his own life.
Mini Mystery: Out of the Blue
On October 2, 2002, one of the most baffling terrorism cases in American history started when ten people in the Washington, D.C. area were randomly murdered by a sniper in less than a month and three more people were critically injured, all having been shot with a single bullet. When they were shot, these people were going about their everyday lives—mowing the lawn, pumping gas, shopping, reading a book, and so on.
The first shooting occurred on October 2, when a man was killed while crossing a parking lot in Wheaton, Maryland. The next day, October 3, four people were shot within two hours in Aspen Hill and another in nearby in Montgomery County. That evening, a fifth person was killed in the District of Columbia.
Following this, investigators determined that all of the shootings were linked. They knew that each had been done from some distance away by a sniper and that the same rifle had been used. Fear in the Washington area became pervasive, and parents began taking their children to school early and not allowing them to ride a school bus. From the variety of people shot (and killed), anyone seemed to be fair game.
Fear spread after a 13-year-old boy was shot in Bowie, Maryland, on October 7 and then a man was murdered on the same day near Manassas, Virginia, while pumping gas. On October 11, another man was shot dead near Fredericksburg, Virginia, also while pumping gas, and on October 14, Linda Franklin, an FBI intelligence analyst, was shot dead near Falls Church, Virginia, while coming out of a Home Depot with her husband.
The shootings continued. Someone gave a tip on the shooting of the FBI agent, but this was ultimately determined to be fake; indeed, the tipster was arrested for interfering with the investigation.
After five days without shootings, 37-year-old Jeffrey Hopper was shot dead on October 21. At the time, a white van was thought to be involved in the shootings and two immigrants were arrested, but this trial led nowhere.
Meanwhile the shooter had been sending taunting notes and other communications to Chief Charles Moose, Sheriff of Montgomery County. For example, the tenth victim was a bus driver in Aspen Hill, and after that killing, the sheriff received a note that said, in part: “Your children are not safe anywhere, at any time.”
An investigation that included federal agents had been going full tilt, but eyewitness accounts were spotty, although they included people spotting the white van and a gray car speeding away from the four shootings that had occurred in Aspen Hill.
Besides the notes, which were handwritten and inside plastic bags, Moose received Tarot cards with the Death sign, upon which was written “Call me God.”
A telephone call made by the killer and traced to a pay phone in Henrico County, Virginia, almost resulted in an arrest but that effort missed by minutes. But what the killer said was highly significant, particularly when he boasted about having committed a murder in a liquor store in Montgomery, Alabama.
On October 17, investigators matched that information to John Allen Muhammad, who was known to authorities. Muhammad’s exwife lived near the Capital Beltway in Clinton, a community in suburban Prince George’s County, Maryland, and had taken out an order of protection against him.
Further investigation found that Muhammad had bought a 1990 dark blue Caprice, but horribly, the cops screwed up. The Caprice had been stopped a couple of times by radio cars because it was in the area,
For example, he threatened another scientist, and in a group therapy session, investigators say he revealed his anger at those who were investigating him, as well as his plans to kill his coworkers and others who had wronged him. As the investigation heated up, Ivins seemed to fall apart emotionally, although he likely had been very depressed for a long time. Indeed, on July 29, 2008, he took his own life.
Mini Mystery: Out of the Blue
On October 2, 2002, one of the most baffling terrorism cases in American history started when ten people in the Washington, D.C. area were randomly murdered by a sniper in less than a month and three more people were critically injured, all having been shot with a single bullet. When they were shot, these people were going about their everyday lives—mowing the lawn, pumping gas, shopping, reading a book, and so on.
The first shooting occurred on October 2, when a man was killed while crossing a parking lot in Wheaton, Maryland. The next day, October 3, four people were shot within two hours in Aspen Hill and another in nearby in Montgomery County. That evening, a fifth person was killed in the District of Columbia.
Following this, investigators determined that all of the shootings were linked. They knew that each had been done from some distance away by a sniper and that the same rifle had been used. Fear in the Washington area became pervasive, and parents began taking their children to school early and not allowing them to ride a school bus. From the variety of people shot (and killed), anyone seemed to be fair game.
Fear spread after a 13-year-old boy was shot in Bowie, Maryland, on October 7 and then a man was murdered on the same day near Manassas, Virginia, while pumping gas. On October 11, another man was shot dead near Fredericksburg, Virginia, also while pumping gas, and on October 14, Linda Franklin, an FBI intelligence analyst, was shot dead near Falls Church, Virginia, while coming out of a Home Depot with her husband.
The shootings continued. Someone gave a tip on the shooting of the FBI agent, but this was ultimately determined to be fake; indeed, the tipster was arrested for interfering with the investigation.
After five days without shootings, 37-year-old Jeffrey Hopper was shot dead on October 21. At the time, a white van was thought to be involved in the shootings and two immigrants were arrested, but this trial led nowhere.
Meanwhile the shooter had been sending taunting notes and other communications to Chief Charles Moose, Sheriff of Montgomery County. For example, the tenth victim was a bus driver in Aspen Hill, and after that killing, the sheriff received a note that said, in part: “Your children are not safe anywhere, at any time.”
An investigation that included federal agents had been going full tilt, but eyewitness accounts were spotty, although they included people spotting the white van and a gray car speeding away from the four shootings that had occurred in Aspen Hill.
Besides the notes, which were handwritten and inside plastic bags, Moose received Tarot cards with the Death sign, upon which was written “Call me God.”
A telephone call made by the killer and traced to a pay phone in Henrico County, Virginia, almost resulted in an arrest but that effort missed by minutes. But what the killer said was highly significant, particularly when he boasted about having committed a murder in a liquor store in Montgomery, Alabama.
On October 17, investigators matched that information to John Allen Muhammad, who was known to authorities. Muhammad’s exwife lived near the Capital Beltway in Clinton, a community in suburban Prince George’s County, Maryland, and had taken out an order of protection against him.
Further investigation found that Muhammad had bought a 1990 dark blue Caprice, but horribly, the cops screwed up. The Caprice had been stopped a couple of times by radio cars because it was in the area,
Similar Books
