Hunt for Md. shooter intensifies

KENSINGTON, Md. -- Police pressed a search Friday for a sniper who randomly killed five people in this Washington suburb with a high-powered assault or hunting rifle, amid fears that the gunman might have struck again.

As sketchy details emerged about the 16-hour shooting rampage, police said the gunman probably had an accomplice and were investigating the possibility that they had committed two more shootings, in Washington on Thursday night and Fredericksburg, Va., Friday afternoon.

"People are on edge," said Montgomery County police Chief Charles Moose. "We're all human. We're all afraid."

The community of shopping centers and leafy residential streets about 10 miles from the White House remained anxious Friday after the most unusual crime rampage in its history. Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, an unknown killer gunned down five people going about such routine acts as mowing grass, vacuuming a car, pumping gasoline, going to the grocery store and sitting on a bench.

On Friday, police throughout the capital region continued to scrutinize small, white commercial vehicles, acting on one of the few tips from the crime scenes.

Tests on wounds and shell fragments suggested the shooter fired .223 bullets, a high-caliber, high-velocity round, police said. Military and civilian rifles might use such rounds, which are narrow and can even penetrate bulletproof vests, said Kevin McCann, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Baltimore.

Law enforcement specialists said the lethal efficiency of the five shootings, combined with the powerful weaponry, suggested that the killer might have a military background.

"It's highly likely this guy is a hunter or ex-military or both," said Reid Meloy, a San Diego forensic psychologist who profiles suspects for the FBI. "It's highly likely he has an intense interest in weapons."

Since the initial rampage, two more shootings have sparked questions about whether the rampage was still under way.

Police were looking into the shooting death Thursday night of Pascal Charlot, 72, as he stood on a street corner in the District of Columbia, several miles from the Maryland attacks. He died an hour later.

Police said Charlot was shot in the chest. Bullet fragments recovered in an autopsy have been submitted to the ATF for comparison with the other cases, but there was no conclusive evidence Friday evening. And on Friday, a woman was shot outside a store in a suburban Virginia mall while she was loading her car around 2:30 p.m. She reportedly survived.

Certain features of the crimes suggested the shooter was asserting at least some self-discipline, said Clint Van Zandt, a retired FBI official and expert on criminal psychology.

"These individuals are calculating," he said. "They know what they're doing."

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