- BETHESDA, Md. (Reuters) -
Children played in school yards on Friday for the first time in weeks after
a pall of fear lifted from the Washington suburbs with the arrest of two
suspects in a sniper killing spree that claimed 10 lives.
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- At Westbrook Elementary School in the tranquil suburb
of Bethesda, parents and teachers expressed relief that childrens' lives
could go back to normal and that they would no longer be cooped up inside
for fear of the marauding sniper.
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- "My son has not taken this whole thing very well,"
said parent Kate Ennis. "He has been displaying signs of stress --
upset stomach and sleeping with me -- so hopefully that will be over now."
-
- The shooter left a message at one murder scene saying
no child in the area was safe as long as he was on the loose. At another
scene he left a haunting Tarot "Death" card.
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- Gulf War veteran John Allen Muhammad, 41, and a teen-age
companion were held in jail and prosecutors jockeyed to be first in bringing
the two to trial for murder. Authorities said forensics tests determined
that a Bushmaster XM-15 .223 caliber rifle found in their car was the murder
weapon.
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- Ten people were killed and three were critically wounded,
each with by a single shot to the head or torso, in the shootings than
began Oct. 2. The apparently random attacks cut down motorists at gas stations,
shoppers outside stores and even a 13-year-old arriving at school.
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- The two men will be charged with murder and face the
death penalty for an earlier killing in Alabama, authorities in the southern
state said on Friday.
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- Montgomery Police Chief John Wilson said there was enough
evidence to seek murder warrants against Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, 17,
for the killing of a woman at a liquor store in Montgomery on Sept. 21.
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- "We are absolutely convinced we have a very strong
case," Wilson told a news conference in the Alabama capital. He added
that the evidence against the two men included identifications from several
witnesses.
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- State and federal prosecutors postponed a formal meeting
set for Friday to discuss charges against Muhammad and his companion, identified
by law enforcement sources as Malvo. They could be charged in two states
and the District of Columbia. Maryland and Virginia allow the death penalty.
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- Sources close to the investigation, however, said there
were talks taking place on Friday between the federal and state prosecutors
to review the case and what the next step in the prosecution should be.
-
- Broadcast reports said a decision had been made privately
to begin prosecution in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the suburban
sniper killed six people. State's Attorney Douglas Ganzler's office, in
a statement, said there would be no comment "on any charging decision
at this time."
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- With the arrests, announced on Thursday, school officials
happily dropped most of the security restrictions that had kept pupils
indoors all day and barred field trips.
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- "All of us ... are breathing a sigh of relief,"
said Montgomery County school superintendent Jerry Weast. Across the Potomac
River, in adjoining Fairfax County, Va., school superintendent Daniel Domenech
told parents in a letter, "We are deeply grateful that this ordeal
is over."
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- Said Westbrook Principal Michael Thomas: "It's going
to be a normal school day. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity, weather
permitting, to get outside for recess."
-
- Just as children were free to play again in schoolyards,
adults relaxed precautions recently adopted against attack, such as weaving
slightly while walking, avoiding gas stations or refusing to go out at
night.
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- NOT LOOKING OVER SHOULDER
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- "It's wonderful not having to look over your shoulder,"
said Westbrook School parent Jacqueline Gurwin.
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- Muhammad and Malvo were arrested before dawn on Thursday
as they slept in their car along a high-speed highway near Frederick, Md.
It was nighttime when authorities formally announced the big break in the
case.
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- "We have the weapon, it is off the street,"
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose told a news conference. However,
he offered careful responses to questions about details of the case, saying
he did not want to do anything to jeopardize the investigation.
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- "We think we put some giant piece of the puzzle
together, but there is more," he said. "And if you thought somehow
that tonight meant that all of the task forces were packing and going home,
we're still working."
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- Muhammad was held in a maximum-security facility in Baltimore
after an appearance in federal court on an unrelated federal gun law violation.
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- Clad in a dark green prison uniform, Muhammad answered
clearly when asked by U.S. Magistrate Beth Gesner if he knew why he was
there. "I know where I'm at," the former Army marksman said.
"I know why I'm here."
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- Malvo made a separate court appearance in a hearing that
was closed because he is under 18.
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- NO FORMAL CHARGES
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- No formal charges have been filed against either of the
suspects in the case, though Muhammad faced a federal gun violation charge.
Federal officials said the weapons charge -- possession of a firearm in
violation of a restraining order -- was seen as a way to keep him in jail
while more evidence was sought in the sniper case.
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- The arrests came at the end of a frustrating period during
which a 1,000-member task force investigated clues and some false leads
in a series of deadly one-shot attacks in the normally tranquil communities
around Washington.
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- President Bush called Moose from Texas to congratulate
him and others who worked on the case, saying "you have lifted a shadow
of fear from many families."
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- The break in the case came as police pursued leads in
Alabama, where Malvo was linked to the robbery and murder outside a liquor
store on Sept. 21 and in Washington state, near where Muhammad had been
stationed during his military career. Both suspects were known to be living
there earlier this year.
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