Beltway sniper attacks

The Beltway sniper attacks took place during three weeks of October 2002 in the eastern United States. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured by spree killers in and around Washington D.C. in various locations throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia. It was later learned that the rampage apparently began the month before with murders and robbery in other states which had resulted in 3 deaths.

The attacks begin

The sniper attacks began October 2, 2002, with a series of five fatal shootings in 15 hours in Montgomery County, Maryland, a suburban county north of Washington, and continued for the next three weeks in the Washington metropolitan area, filling residents of the region with fear. Police received messages left at the murder locations and believed, correctly, that the killer worked in concert with another person.

Related Topics:
October 2 - 2002 - Montgomery County, Maryland

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The shootings occurred at gas stations and in parking lots outside supermarkets, restaurants, and schools in a rough circular pattern around Washington. The victims were apparently selected at random, crossing racial, gender, and socioeconomic categories. The locations of the attacks always had close freeway access. It is believed the sniper used the circular Capital Beltway to get from place to place, although several of the attacks occurred along Interstate 95 south of the Beltway in Virginia.

Related Topics:
Capital Beltway - Interstate 95

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The attacks were carried out with a Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic .223 caliber rifle at a range of 50 to over 100 yards. The rifle came from Bull's Eye Shooter Supply in Tacoma, Washington, which had an extensive history of firearms violations and had not reported the rifle as missing, as required by federal law.

Related Topics:
Bushmaster XM-15 - Semiautomatic - .223 - Rifle - Bull's Eye Shooter Supply - Tacoma, Washington

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