Two questioned in sniper case

9.45am

RICHMOND, United States - Two men were held for questioning on Monday in connection with a series of deadly suburban sniper attacks, as police in Maryland prepared to respond to a message left near the latest shooting scene.

The detentions raised hopes for a break in the case, which has spread anxiety through the Washington area. But there was no confirmation the two were directly involved in the shootings, which have left nine dead and three wounded since October 2 in and around the United States capital.

The two were taken into custody in Virginia earlier on Monday, two days after an attack at Ashland, Virginia, north of Richmond, that critically injured a 37-year-old man. Ballistics evidence linked that shooting to 11 others.

"The two people that we have in custody at this time are being questioned in regards to the sniper shooting," Hanover County Sheriff Stuart Cook told reporters. He identified the two as "male subjects".

"They are being questioned in regards to the investigation but have not been charged," Cook said, adding that ballistics evidence recovered after Saturday's shooting "has been matched with the other shooting cases".

The latest victim of the serial sniper was shot in a restaurant parking lot, under circumstances similar to other shootings -- only one shot was fired, reportedly from the cover of a wooded area.

A white van seized by authorities on Monday was in keeping with reported witness sightings of white vans or trucks near the scenes of previous shootings.

Authorities in Virginia detained one man at a gasoline station and seized a white van.

"Three guys in SWAT uniforms with bulletproof jackets and assault rifles with scopes tried to open the driver's-side door," said Mark Deering, a mechanic at a nearby car dealership. "It was locked. They tried to open the passenger door, opened it and held their rifles inside.

"One SWAT guy went in, pulled him out and they cuffed him," Deering said.

A second man was reportedly arrested at a nearby location. Police declined to comment on the details of that arrest.

The telephone booth may have carried a telephone number mentioned in the message found at the Ashland crime scene, which investigators disclosed on Sunday.

The message, discovered near the scene of Saturday's attack, was the second apparent communication from the gunman. The shootings have ranged from suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, north of the US capital, to Ashland, some 145km to the south.

"The message that needs to be delivered is that we are going to respond to a message that we have received," said Police Chief Charles Moose of Montgomery County, Maryland, where five of the killings occurred.

"We will respond later, we are preparing our response at this time," Moose told reporters on Monday, minutes after officers in Virginia took the two into custody.

On Sunday, Moose told reporters of the message with a very brief public statement: "To the person who left us a message at the Ponderosa (restaurant near where the shooting occurred) last night, you gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk to you, call us at the number you provided."

The Washington Post reported on Monday that authorities believed the message was from the sniper, and NBC said the note was "very lengthy" and contained "detailed threats".

The Richmond Times-Dispatch said the note containing the phone number and "significant text" was found in the woods behind the restaurant. Contents were not disclosed.

The first apparent message from the sniper was found near the scene of a shooting that critically injured a 13-year-old boy outside his school in Prince George's County, Maryland, east of Washington.

The message in that incident was on a Tarot Death card directed to police, reading, "I am God".

The victim of Saturday's attack remained in critical condition on Monday after two surgeries, during which doctors recovered the bullet that ripped through his stomach, pancreas and spleen.

He was conscious and responding to his wife's voice by midday on Monday, Dr. Rao Ivatury said at a news conference at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in Richmond.

"It's going to be a stormy course," said Ivatury. The victim remained in critical but stable condition, the doctor said.

A funeral service was held on Monday in Arlington, Virginia, for Linda Franklin, 47, the victim of the last fatal shooting linked to the sniper. Franklin was shot on October 14 outside a Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia.

A wide range of sports and other outdoor events have been cancelled and schools have kept children locked in during recess for two weeks.

Hanover County, Virginia, announced that schools in Ashland and elsewhere in the county would be closed on Monday in response to the shooting. Schools in Richmond and two other nearby counties were also closed.

- REUTERS

Further reading:
The Washington sniper

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