Witnesses to 9th Sniper Killing Give Clues
Oct. 15, 2002 -- Police are hopeful that clues gleaned from witnesses to the fatal shooting of an FBI employee outside a Home Depot store in Virginia will help them find the sniper who has terrorized the Washington, D.C., area for two weeks.
Linda Franklin, 47, of Arlington, Va., was shot once in the head Monday at about 9:15 p.m. as she and her husband loaded packages into their convertible in the parking lot of the Seven Corners Shopping Center in Falls Church.
Witnesses reported seeing a cream-colored Chevrolet Astro van leaving the scene, similar to composite sketches police released today of a white van with roof racks that witnesses sawafter Friday's sniper slaying of a man at a gas station nearFredericksburg, Va.
The sketches depict a Chevrolet Astro and a Ford Econo Van with ladder racks on top. Members of the public, including local residents who drive vans similar to those in the sketches, are asked to call (888) 324-9800, the toll-free tipline set up for the sniper investigation, with any information about vans that resemble the composites.
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Using ballistic evidence, officials conclusively linked Franklin's death to the sniper attacks that have left eight others dead and two seriously injured since Oct. 2 in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Franklin, an analyst at the FBI headquarters' cybercrimes division and mother of two grown children, did not work on the sniper probe and was not believed to have been targeted because of her job, said Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief Charles Moose, who has been leading the sniper investigation.
Franklin and her husband, who was not injured, planned to move into a new home this week and were buying supplies at Home Depot.
In a statement, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller praised Franklin's work for the agency and expressed shock and anger at her death.
"I am confident that our investigative team will find the killer and stop the senseless murders that have devastated the families of 11 victims and paralyzed the Washington area with fear," Mueller said.
Eyewitness Accounts May Help
After speaking to witnesses to Monday night's shooting, investigators were encouraged about the details the witnesses reported. For the first time, for example, investigators may have information about possible license plate numbers for the suspect vehicle.
Sources told ABCNEWS that police are interviewing an eyewitness who allegedly saw the sniper steady his weapon and aim at Franklin. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that one witness gave a description of a dark-skinned man, possibly Hispanic or Middle Eastern, in a white van at Monday's crime scene.
"There was some additional information that we were able to get from last night's case and I am confident that that information is going to lead us to an arrest in the case," Fairfax County, Va., Chief of Police Thomas Manger said this morning.
Monday night's shooting caused chaos at the shopping center, located 10 miles west of Washington, and tangled traffic for miles as some area highways, including the Capital Beltway freeway that rings Washington, were closed. Police searched white vans for the sniper, but to no avail.
The sniper investigation has brought in scores of law enforcement officers from the local, state and federal level and continues to grow. So far, close to 400 FBI personnel and 155 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have joined the probe.
Pentagon Stepping In
Also, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has authorized the Pentagon to consider ways to help with the investigation and possibly provide aircraft for surveillance. Sources said the aircraft surveillance would be able to look down on urban areas and capture images that local law enforcement is unable to take. Sources told ABCNEWS that the Justice Department will also give investigators satellite images taken of the crime scenes at the time the shootings took place.
Monday's shooting bore similarities to the previous sniper attacks.
At least two witnesses said they heard just a single shot — just like the previous 10 shootings attributed to the sniper. There is a Michael's Craft Store in the Falls Church shopping center, as well as near the site of two other shootings.
Indeed, investigators have noted other patterns in the killings: the sniper favors suburban gas stations; has not let two weekdays pass without opening fire again; and apparently enjoys taunting police. A tarot card found at one crime scene reportedly read, "Dearpoliceman, I am God."
According to sources close to the investigation, the Pentagon has been asked to search records for recently discharged GIs who have had sniper training.
However, police are not commenting on the reports. Nor are they talking about a yellow piece of paper found at the scene of a sniper killing Friday in Virginia. It reportedly contained scribbled directions from northern Maryland to the Beltway.
FBI: Use Tipline for Real Tips
In addition to the tip line, authorities have offered an address for people to send in tips: P.O. Box 7875, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-7875.
So far, authorities say they have received more than 1,700 credible leads since the shootings began. The reward for any information leading to the arrest and indictment of the individual or individuals responsible for the shootings has now reached $500,000.
FBI officials, who are running the sniper tipline, ask that anyone calling the toll-free number to make sure they have substantive information possibly related to the attacks, not theories, opinions or unrelated information that could tie up the hotline.
The public can use the FBI Web site, www.fbi.gov, to provide information that is not time-sensitive but may be relevant, officials said.
Contributions to the reward can be sent to Montgomery County Reward Fund, Office of the County Executive, 101 Monroe St., Rockville, MD 28050. Contributions also can be made by telephoning (240) 777-8970.
ABCNEWS' John Miller in Maryland, and Beverley Lumpkin, John McWethy and Pierre Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.