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 snipers

Authorities initially attributed the attacks to a lone sniper, dubbed by journalists the "Beltway Sniper," the "D.C. Sniper," the "Washington Sniper," the "Serial Sniper" or the "Tarot Card Killer."

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After their capture, there was much confusion about the names of the two suspects. The older of the pair, John Allen Williams, age 41, had joined the Nation of Islam some years earlier and changed his name to John Allen Muhammad in October 2001. The younger man was born Lee Boyd Malvo, but also calls himself John Lee Malvo and had posed as Muhammad's son. Malvo's actual relationship with Muhammad was initially unclear, although it was later learned that Malvo's mother had been involved in some illegal activity with Muhammad in Antigua.

Related Topics:
Nation of Islam - John Allen Muhammad - October 2001 - Lee Boyd Malvo - Antigua

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