Five Killed in Maryland County By STEPHEN MANNING

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Five people were shot and killed within a one-mile radius in less than 24 hours, gunned down one by one in public places in several Washington suburbs, authorities said Thursday.

Authorities were attempting to determine whether the shootings late Wednesday and early Thursday were related. Investigators had not found any indication that the five victims were related in any way or had any conflict with anyone, Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said.

Police were looking for two individuals in a white cargo van, possibly with damage at the back. Several witnesses told police they saw such a vehicle leaving some of the shooting scenes.

A 55-year-old man was killed in the parking lot of a Wheaton grocery store Wednesday, police spokeswoman Nancy Demme said.

A man riding a lawnmower was killed about 7:45 a.m. Thursday in the White Flint area, and another man was shot at 8:15 a.m. while pumping gas at a Mobil station in the Aspen Hill area. He died at the scene.

About a half-hour later, a woman died at a post office next to the Leisure World retirement community in Silver Spring. The woman was shot in the head, according to a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department.

A woman was then shot about 10 a.m. at a Shell gas station in Kensington. Mechanics at the gas working said they heard the shots but didn't see the person or persons who killed the woman, who was vaccuuming her van.

``We didn't see any confrontation or anybody around her,'' mechanic John Mistery said.

As a precaution, Montgomery County schools canceled all outdoor activities and locked down school buildings. No one was being allowed to leave or enter school buildings unless a parent calls ahead to retrieve their children. District of Columbia schools also canceled outdoor activities.

The lockdown would remain in effect until police said it was safe to lift the restrictions, schools spokeswoman Kate Harrison said.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Answers

Manhunt Underway After Five Shot and Killed in Mont. Co. By 9 News

Aspen Hill

Montgomery County Police say five people have been shot and killed in the last 18 hours. Police Chief Charles Moose says he "strongly believes" the incidents are related. Moose also says the victims were apparently picked at random.

# Here's the sequence of events according to county police:

At 5:20 pm Wednesday, a window was shot out at the Michaels store in the Northgate Shopping Center in Aspen Hill. No injuries were reported.

Around 6 pm Wednesday night, a 55-year-old man was shot and killed outside a Shoppers Food Warehouse in Wheaton.

At 7:41 am Thursday, a Hispanic man on a lawn mower was shot and killed near the 11,400-block of Rockville Pike, that's near White Flint Mall.

At 8:12 am at the Aspen Hill Mobil, a cab driver was shot and killed while he was filling his cab with gas at Connecticut and Aspen Hill Roads.

At 8:37 am, a 30 to 35-year-old Hispanic woman was shot and killed while sitting on a park bench outside the post office in the Leisure World Shopping Center.

At 9:58 am, a woman was shot and killed cleaning out her car at the Shell station at Connecticut and Knowles. 9 News Reporter Dave Statter reports it appears likely the man who did the shooting shot from the Safeway parking lot across the street. Police don't believe he came up close to the woman. Witnesses say they heard a bang, and noticed the woman was underneath her car.

# Suspect Car Description

Police are asking people to be on the lookout for two men in a white Isuzu or Mitsubishi delivery-box-type truck, with small black letters on it and damage to the rear lift door. Police say it appears the shooter used a high powered rifle. Police are asking anyone to call 911 with information. Police Chief Charles Moose says the 911 lines are extremely busy, so be patient.

# Schools Respond with Restrictions

In response to the shootings, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Fairfax, Arlington and DC public schools have issued restrictions. That means the schools are locked down. There will be no outside activities and no open lunch. Afternoon kindergarten classes have been cancelled.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Good God. These poor people could have been me, before I moved. The Kensington Shell gas station was my gas station.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Makes my blood run cold. Sick bastards.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Git, that's why they're doing it.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Person shot outside mall store

A woman was shot and wounded outside a store at the Spotsylvania Mall this afternoon. The shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m., outside Michaels Arts & Crafts, which is near the front of the mall off State Route 3.

Authorities at the scene said the woman was loading purchases into the back of her car when she was shot in the back. Police said the shot came from the other side of the mall entrance, in the vicinity of a Pizza Hut. There was no immediate information available about the victim's condition, although she was desribed as breathing and speaking. There was no immediate information about a possible suspect.

The shooting was similar to the series of shootings that occurred Thursday in Montgomery County, Md., but authorities were not confirming a link. Area police, however, were stopping vehicles similar to the one being sought in Maryland--a white van or panel truck. During the shooting spree in Montgomery, a shot was fired into a Michaels, but no one was struck. Five others were fatally shot later in Montgomery.

Date published: Fri, 10/04/2002

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002