ROCKVILLE, Md. (REUTERS) — A Gulf War veteran who was an expert Army marksman was arrested along with a teenager Thursday in the Washington-area sniper case, fueling hopes that a three-week murder spree that has left 10 dead is over
The two were arrested while they slept in a car at a highway rest stop in rural Maryland, and authorities found a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle inside. The sniper’s victims were all felled with .223-caliber ammunition.
Government sources identified the two as former U.S. Army combat engineer John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17. They were not immediately charged in the sniper shootings, which have killed 10 and seriously injured three in Maryland, Virginia and the U.S. capital since Oct. 2.
Both were brought to Baltimore for federal court appearances. Malvo faced a magistrate in the juvenile division, where the proceedings were not public. During a break, Malvo met with two court-appointed attorneys.
Muhammad’s federal court hearing was to follow. He has been charged with violating U.S. gun laws unrelated to the sniper case.
The Maryland state’s attorney for Montgomery County, where six of the victims were killed, and the U.S. attorney for Maryland were set to meet Friday to discuss the filing of criminal charges against the two.
The arrests came at the end of a frustrating period during which a 1,000-member task force investigated clues and some false leads in a series of deadly one-shot attacks in the normally tranquil bedroom communities around Washington.
“We are being very, very cautious about this,” a Justice Department official said when asked if the two in custody were the snipers. “But it certainly looks good. We’re optimistic.”
The state’s attorney for the county, Douglas Gansler, was more positive. “There’s a strong feeling these people are related to the sniper shootings,” Gansler told WTOP radio. Asked if he believed the sniper was still at large, Gansler said, “No.”
That would be a relief to residents, many who have thought twice before performing such ordinary errands as pumping gasoline, buying groceries or mowing lawns, because some of the victims were gunned down while they did these very suburban chores. Area schools have been locked-down for weeks, keeping children behind locked doors with no outdoor activities.
The break in the case apparently came as police were pursuing leads in Alabama, where Malvo was linked to a robbery and murder outside a liquor store Sept. 21, and in Washington state, near where Muhammad had been stationed during his military career. Both detainees were known to be living there earlier this year.
Muhammad, a convert to Islam who changed his name from John Allen Williams last year, was described by a fellow soldier as “clean-cut” and “very competitive.”
“He was just an altogether 100 percent soldier,” Randy Lyons, who served with Muhammad at Fort Lewis in Washington state, said in a television interview in the Seattle area.
Muhammad qualified as an expert rifle marksman and was in the active Army from Nov. 6, 1985, until his release from the service at Fort Lewis on April 26, 1995, a senior Defense Department official said. He also served for at least eight years in the Army National Guard in Louisiana and Oregon.
The defense official said Muhammad earned several badges and ribbons, including an “expert marksmanship” badge with the Army’s standard M-16 assault rifle, which meant that he could hit 36 of 40 targets at ranges up to 984 feet.
The Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle that was recovered from the suspects’ car had been sold to a distributor in Washington state in June and probably cost between $700 and $800.
Police Chief Randy Carroll of Bellingham, Washington state, said Muhammad and Malvo were “known to be together” in Bellingham, sometimes staying at a homeless shelter, and Malvo had said he was staying there to complete high school, but his earlier school transcripts could not be found.
“It appears that these people who have been taken into custody are not acting with any group. … It appears that they have acted on their own,” Carroll told a news conference.
“The information that I have was that [Malvo] was quiet and that he spent a lot of time in the library studying,” Carroll said.
Muhammad was posing as Malvo’s father, but their exact relationship was not clear, the Bellingham police chief said.
Police Chief John Wilson of Montgomery, Alabama, said there were “very good similarities” between a police sketch of Malvo and the suspect in the killing in his city, but added that the bullet used in Alabama was not the same .223 ammunition as was used in the sniper spree.
Federal officials issued a search warrant for an unspecified target in Alabama. They also searched hotels in Washington on the supposition that the suspects had been on the move during the sniping siege.
Wednesday, FBI agents searched a property in Tacoma, Washington state, carting away a tree stump that may have been used for target practice. They also made inquiries about the two men in the nearby city of Bellingham.
The two detainees were arrested around 3:30 a.m. in Maryland, about 60 miles northwest of Washington, as they slept in a car that matched a description given out by police just hours earlier.
The two were taken into custody without incident.
The sniper or snipers appeared to strike at random for three weeks, targeting men, women and one 13-year-old boy, who was critically injured outside his school. All were felled with a single shot.
The suspected sniper communicated with authorities by telephone, letter and by leaving a Tarot “Death” card with the words “I am God” at the scene of the boy’s shooting.
Police would not confirm media reports that the sniper left at least two communications at the shooting scenes asking for $10 million.
