Washington, D.C. Police Arrest Beltway Snipers After Month-Long Killing Spree
On October 24, 2002, police in the eastern US arrested two snipers after their month-long shooting spree left 10 people dead and four wounded, reports BritPanorama.
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, known as the Beltway Snipers, were apprehended while sleeping inside their Chevy Caprice family sedan. The FBI and local law enforcement discovered a Bushmaster rifle in the vehicle, which was confirmed to be used in the attacks.
The pair had modified their car, cutting a hole in the trunk near the license plate to fire shots from the vehicle. This setup effectively turned their car into a rolling sniper’s nest.
Their reign of terror began on October 2, 2002, with an initial shot fired through the window of a craft store, fortunately without injuries. However, the situation escalated the same day when a 55-year-old public servant was fatally shot in a shopping centre car park.
Following this, a series of murders ensued, including a landscaper shot while mowing a lawn and victims fell while fueling their vehicles at service stations. An off-duty FBI crime analyst was among those killed as she exited a home improvement store.
In Washington, D.C., the only fatality occurred at night when an elderly man was shot while walking. Fear gripped the community, leading many residents to alter their daily routines to avoid becoming victims. Service stations, common targets for the snipers, erected large sheeting to shield customers from gunfire.
US law enforcement agencies mobilised hundreds of investigators to track down the perpetrators. A significant breakthrough came when an unknown caller made a ransom demand, claiming responsibility and linking themselves to a previous murder in Alabama.
Fingerprints collected from the Alabama crime matched those of Malvo, which led investigators to Muhammad as his accomplice. The arrests culminated in convictions; Muhammad received a death sentence and was executed in November 2009, while Malvo received multiple life sentences without parole.
