School Shooting Linked to Sniper Attacks

B O W I E, Md., Oct. 7, 2002 -- A 13-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded outside a middle school in suburban Maryland today, and police said ballistics evidence indicated the attack was the work of the sniper who shot seven people — six fatally — in the Washington, D.C., area last week.

"The projectile that was recovered from our victim this morning has been linked to our sniper. We are continuing to follow up on leads," Prince George's County Police Chief Gerald Wilson told a late-afternoon news conference.

The boy was shot at 8:09 a.m., police said. He had just been dropped off at the Benjamin Tasker Middle School by his aunt, who was starting to drive away when she heard a loud noise, looked back and saw the boy slumped on the ground, Wilson said. The boy told her he thought he had been shot, Wilson said.

"He was already trying to stand up, and she encouraged him — she is a nurse — to stay still and she put him in the car," said Bowie City Councilwoman Audrey Scott.

His aunt took him to Bowie Health Center, a small hospital, and a Maryland State Police helicopter then flew the boy to Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., which specializes in traumatic injuries in children.

Frightened parents rushed to the school to retrieve their children, while police hunting for the serial sniper swarmed the scene. "I was nervous and scared I had to come up here and get here. I couldn't leave her here," said Patty Goff, whose daughter, Stephanie, is a student at the school.

"I thought there was a guy running around here like he might come into the school so I got really scared," Stephanie Goff said.

Tensions in the area have been running high since last week, when a serial sniper shot and killed five people in nearby Montgomery County, Md., and one in Washington. A woman was shot in Northern Virginia, but she survived.

‘Cowardly and Senseless’

Today's shooting indicated the sniper was still at work.

"Forensic evidence recovered today has been linked to the shooting at the scenes in Montgomery County, the District of Columbia and Fredericksburg, Va.," said Special Agent Joe Riehl of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose wrote this evening to Attorney General John Ashcroft, requesting federal assistance be made available to investigators as needed.

President Bush denounced the attacks as "cowardly and senselessacts of violence." He pledged government support to localauthorities and schools.

"I applaud the state and local law enforcement officialswho are working around the clock to help solve these heinouscrimes and protect our citizens," Bush said in a writtenstatement. "Laura and I send our thoughts and prayers to thevictims and their families."

‘We Don’t Need to Panic’

After this morning's shooting, the Tasker school was shut down for the day. Other schools in the district remained open, but all outside and after-school activities were canceled, said Iris Metts, head of the Prince George's County schools district.

"We don't need to panic. We need to let our children know that we're there for them and remain secure during these incidents," Metts said.

Police were stationed at the district's other schools to maintain security there, Wilson said.

The boy shot at the Tasker school suffered one gunshot wound to the abdomen, said Dr. Martin Eichelberger of Children's Hospital. The youngster, whose name was not immediately released, was in critical but stable condition after undergoing three hours of surgery.

The bullet "went through his chest, spleen, pancreas and diaphragm, injuring the abdomen and lower portion of his chest," Eichelberger said — but the doctor was optimistic the child would survive. He also said the surgery team made a special effort to find the remnants of the bullet, which they gave to police.

ATF Special Agent Michael Bouchard said his agency was sending specially trained dogs to sniff for gunpowder residue around the school, and police recruits have been called in to do a "grid search" — looking inch by inch for any evidence. They are focusing in particular on a wooded area across from the school.

ATF agents are also doing a geographic profile of the shootings before the incident today, using information to create a computerized map that might point to areas where the suspect lives. The FBI is working to come up with a psychological profile.

Police were questioning students who were outside the school at the time of the shooting, hoping they could offer some clue as to how the shooting occurred, Wilson said.

At the White House, press secretary Ari Fleischer deflected questions about whether the shootings could be the work of terrorists.

"I've not heard anything like that, but the fact of the matter is that people are trying to determine who the shooter is, or shooters are, and we continue to help local officials in that endeavor," Fleischer said.

Preying on the Most Vulnerable

The sniper attacks began Wednesday night in Montgomery County, then spread to Washington and suburban Virginia. They appeared to stop over the weekend, but then the middle-school student was gunned down.

The fact that the sniper had attacked a boy was particularly worrying.

"To choose a child is to choose probably one of the most vulnerable victims out there and it also goes to the sense of outrage that he is trying to instill in the community," said former FBI profiler Gregg McCray.

"All of our victims have been innocent and defenseless, but nowwe're stepping over the line," Moose told reporters, with tears trickling down his face. "Shooting a kid— it's getting to be really, really personal now."

The Montgomery County police chief told reporters he feared the killer won't not stop until he's caught. "I'll just tell you professionally, I've never heard of a concept that says 'satisfied killer.'"

ABCNEWS' Martha Raddatz in Maryland and Barry Serafin in Washington contributed to this report.