1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Monster DC Sniper, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: Radio and Tenderfoot TV. The views and opinions expressed in 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,720 Speaker 1: this podcast are solely those of the podcast author or 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: individuals participating in the podcast, and do not represent those 5 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: of I Heart Media, Tenderfoot TV, or their employees. Listener 6 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: discretion is advised. It is February six, two thousand and two, 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: and my niece is gone. This is Ice and Nichols, 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: the former accountant for John and MILDRAA Mohammed. She came 9 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: home from grocery shopping one day to find that her niece, 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: Keenya Cook, had been shot dead in her kitchen. I 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: just went into a cold state. I was just on 12 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: auto pilot. My body had just shut down. They started 13 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: roping off the house and I saw where King's head 14 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: had laid. The bullet case it was still there, and 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: I just saw blood the back of her head that 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: just been blown out. Now my house is a crime scene. 17 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: We go through burying Kenya and our family is grieving. 18 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: It's a cold case, and we don't hear anything, and 19 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: we're trying to go on with our lives. I'm no 20 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: longer in the house at this point. For several months. 21 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: But when I do move back into my home. But 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: we're trying to get back into some sense of normality, 23 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: if there's such a thing. With my husband and I, 24 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: we were just going through the motions and one day 25 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: I was at Bible study. This is like the end 26 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: of October. My page is going off. It was my husband. 27 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: I go and I returned. The colony says, what are 28 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: you doing. I said, I'm at Bible studies Thursday. He said, 29 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: have you looked at the TV? I said, I just 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: said I was at Bible study. He said, no, no, no, no, no, 31 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,639 Speaker 1: you need to go home. Meet me at the house. 32 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: And I'm like, what what's going on? Need to just 33 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: meet me at the house. I get to the house 34 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: and I turned on the TV and we had been 35 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: hearing about these shootings on the East Coast. We're hearing 36 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: just shots of people pumping gas. A child was shot 37 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: at school. We're hearing about a woman getting shot in 38 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: the head coming out of home depot. I think she 39 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: was an FBI analyst. So where everybody's like, whoa, this 40 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: ain't it time to be traveling to the East Coast. 41 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,679 Speaker 1: I actually had clients who canceled flight plans because this 42 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: what's going on. We're listening to all this news and 43 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: stuff on the West coast, and then I was sudden 44 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: the backyard of a duplex here in Tacoma, carefully marked 45 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: off in a grid up pops a tree trump at 46 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: a former client's house for almost nine hours, a deliberate 47 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: search by hand investigators sifting through dirt, then sawing down 48 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: a tree stump and hurting it off evidence believed to 49 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 1: have been used for target practice, possibly containing bullet fragments. 50 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: There's these helicopters flying all over the Tacoma community. There's 51 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 1: FBI agency, a t F Why is the investigation coming 52 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: to Washington? The DC sniper? They are actually saying it's 53 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: linked to Tacoma. At that point, in my soul, in 54 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: my heart, in my mind, I knew I was connected. 55 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: I'm on the couch and fetal position. The next thing, 56 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: you know, my husband comes home and he said, that's 57 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: what I was trying to tell you. It's John. It's John. 58 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: There is a ruthless person on the loose. What un 59 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: nerves this community the most is the randomness of the murders, 60 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: ordinary people doing ordinary things. They killed the five people 61 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: in one day, and then when on the rampage for 62 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: the next month. It is quite a mystery. The police 63 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: say they have never had a crime quite like this. 64 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: Be careful, these guys are using weapons that are going 65 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: to go right straight through our bulletproof vest. From my 66 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: Heart radio and Tenderfoot TV, this is Monster DC Sniper. 67 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: October two two it had been nearly three weeks since 68 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 1: the DC sniper attacks began. The investigation had become the 69 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: largest man hunt in the nation's history, which meant that 70 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: expenses for every police agency involved were skyrocketing. Law enforcement 71 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: had limited resources and limited time to catch the killers, 72 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: so they had to act fast. Three days had passed 73 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: since Jeffrey Hopper became the snipers twelve victim at a 74 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: Ponderosa Steakhouse in Ashland, Virginia. Since that time, investigators had 75 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: connected the d Sea shootings to a liquor store robbery 76 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: in Montgomery, Alabama. There, police found a fingerprint on an 77 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: armor like gun catalog. Federal authorities ran that fingerprint through 78 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: the database of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or i 79 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: n S, and they got a match. The fingerprint belonged 80 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: to Lee Boyd Malvo. As soon as we found out 81 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,799 Speaker 1: that his name was referenced in an I n S file. 82 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: We had them pull the file so we could see 83 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: what was in it, and the other name that came 84 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: up in that file was actually John Mohammed. This is 85 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: Linda Hooper. She was a supervisory special agent for the 86 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: FBI during the sniper investigation. Hooper immediately started to learn 87 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: everything she could about Malvo and Mohammed, and in doing 88 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: research on John Mohammed, we found out that he had 89 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: been in the army. He certainly knew weapons. The more 90 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: we dug into his background and who he was, there 91 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: was more and more information on his interest in weapons, 92 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: his shooting practice, shooting, target shooting, his involvement with this 93 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: young boy, seventeen year old Malbow. They weren't related, but 94 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: Malvo lived with him. He had a very rough, to 95 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: say the least, early childhood and not a good situation 96 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: with his mother, and he was kind of taken in 97 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: by John Mohammed. Much of this information came from a 98 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: man in Tacoma, Washington named Robert Holmes. He had called 99 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: the Sniper Task Force with a tip and he had 100 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: said that he had had a friend that had left 101 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 1: the area that was a very militant person, very upset person. 102 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 1: This is Michael Myrick, a former lieutenant for the Montgomery, 103 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: Alabama Police. Myrick says the tipster, Robert Holmes, was a 104 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: former friend of Mohammed's and he had served in the 105 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: Mill of Terry alongside Mohammed. He described as just being 106 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: very unhappy with life. The guy was very dangerous, and 107 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: he said it just bothers me that all this is happening. 108 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: His ex wife lives in the DC area, and he said, uh. 109 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: He left with an a R fifteen Bushmaster rifle. He says, 110 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: nothing for nothing, But I'm just gonna let y'all know. 111 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: Don't want to sit on this information. And he had 112 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: a son named Lee. The friend thought this was his son, 113 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: at least step son, and he said son was a 114 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: very very good shot, and they talked about snipers and 115 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: they played sniper games. I and Nichols actually knew Robert Holmes, 116 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: the man in Tacoma who called in the tip about 117 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: John Mohammed, Well, John stayed with him. He was a 118 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: good friend John. They both were in Fort Louis together 119 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: in the military, both of them former Army vets. Holmes 120 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: said that a few months before the shooting started in 121 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: d C. Mohammed stopped by his house. He wanted to 122 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: test out a homemade silence or for a rifle, and 123 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: in order to see if it worked, he had target 124 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: practice in his backyard in one of the trees. And 125 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: so that's why they were here getting the tree trump 126 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: and how the investigation came here. The tip from Robert 127 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: Holmes effectively connected Washington State to the DC sniper attacks. 128 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: So the Sniper task Force went to Tacoma. They took 129 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: the tree stump that Mohammed and Malbo had supposedly used 130 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: as target practice for evidence. Following the bullet trail, FBI 131 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: agents are now focused on this woodpilot in Olympia pieces 132 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: of potential evidence. The wood cut down months ago from 133 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: the backyard of this Tacoma duplex. It's where John Alan 134 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: Mohammed once lived, and it's said to have used the 135 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: tree for target practice. Authorities mapped a grid in the 136 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: backyard and carefully scammed for bullet fragments and shellcases, then 137 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: removed the stump from that tree sent to the woodpile. 138 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: NBC News has learned evidence recovered here, including the tree stump, 139 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: has been analyzed that the a t F lab in Maryland, 140 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: and already the evidence has been described just having quote 141 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: potential value. Again, all this is happening not in days, 142 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: it's happening in hours. Now we had a very very 143 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: clear suspect to pursue my name. Police had quickly learned 144 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: a lot about the pair, but they weren't ready yet 145 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: to name them the snipers. Still, it fell to investigators 146 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: like they were finally zeroing in on their targets. Meanwhile, 147 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: I said, Nichols was getting some answers about the murder 148 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: of her niece Keenya Cook. Next thing I know, I 149 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: get a knock at the door. It's the FBI agent. Well, 150 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: he confirms that Lee and John were in Tacoma during 151 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: the time my niece was murdered. And that's all I 152 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,439 Speaker 1: needed to hear. That said to me that they killed 153 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: my niece. She took a bullet mit for me. Nobody 154 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: knew she was leaving with me. She opens the door 155 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: and he lodges off his weapon. I didn't realize how 156 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 1: he the caame this diabolical evil person. But Mohammed and 157 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: Malvo weren't done yet. While the task force was making 158 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: the connection to Washington State, Mohammed and Malvo were in 159 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: Montgomery County, Maryland, and they were planning their next attack. 160 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:44,960 Speaker 1: October two. Aspen Hill, Maryland. In Montgomery County, it's early 161 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: in the morning, so early that it's still dark out. 162 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: In a dense wooded area, someone is walking up a hill. 163 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: They're carrying a duffel bag with a sniper rifle inside. 164 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: Once they reached the edge of the wood area, they 165 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: stopped at the opening. They see an empty playground with 166 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: rusty slides, still swings and old park benches, and on 167 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: the other side of the playground sits an idle bus. 168 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: Inside the bus driver is waiting to start his morning route. 169 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: The person in the woods crouches. They pull a paper 170 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: note out of the duffel bag and attach it to 171 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: a nearby tree branch. Then they go back to the 172 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: duffel bag and pull out the sniper rifle. They get 173 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: low to the ground and lay flat on their stomach. 174 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: They set up the rifle on the cold, leafy floor 175 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 1: and set their aim towards the driver of the bus. 176 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 1: So now we get to the morning of October, which 177 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: is day number in the morning, this has retired Maryland 178 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: State at least Lieutenant David Reichenball. He says that a 179 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: Jamaican American bus driver named Conrad Johnson was training a 180 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,679 Speaker 1: new female driver. Johnson was standing up just inside the 181 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: entrance of the bus, on the other side of the 182 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: meter where riders pay. He was talking to the trainee 183 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: and getting ready to start his day. As he was 184 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: prepping his bus, he was shot and killed. The shot 185 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: came from a wooded area. This bus stop shooting would 186 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: be the thirteenth attacks since October two. I visited the 187 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: spot and was joined by Nick to Carlo, a retired 188 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: Montgomery County detective sergeant who responded to the shooting that morning. 189 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: I learned from officers on the scene what happened, who 190 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: the victim is, and where he's been transported. And we 191 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: have one witness. I have one of my investigators take 192 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: a statement from that witness that would have been the woman, 193 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: the trainee who was on the bus with Conrad Onto 194 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: One of the keys at this point in time in 195 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 1: the task force was the as you know, the involvement 196 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,439 Speaker 1: of federal agencies, one of those agencies being the a 197 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: t F. Once we had a t F come on 198 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: the scene, they used their laser technology to give us 199 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: a trajectory show us exactly where the shot came from. 200 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: That led us to the edge of the woods. Here 201 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,559 Speaker 1: I orchestrated and conducted a line search of probably about 202 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: twenty to thirty officers agents along this wood line, and 203 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: so we went I'm gonna say thirty yards into the woods, 204 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,880 Speaker 1: where we found a note stuck on a tree limb, 205 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: and we also found a discarded duffel bag, which would 206 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: have been useful in carrying a long gun. To Carlo 207 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: remembers that this shooting felt like coming full circle. The 208 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: bus stop was only a mile down the road from 209 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: the very first shooting where James Martin was killed at 210 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: the Shopper's food warehouse. De Carlo had also been on 211 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: that scene three weeks prior. He says, police had learned 212 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: a lot of lessons between then and now. A homicide 213 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: involving a rifle in the outdoors very unusual, But when 214 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: you use a high powered weapon like that, your crime 215 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: scene has to expand. If you know that's what you're 216 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: dealing with, the scope of your crime scene grows immensely 217 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: now that we knew what we were dealing with. Fast 218 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: forward to Mr Johnson and this scene. We knew we 219 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: were dealing with a large area that had to be 220 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: closed off in a number of different directions, and a 221 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 1: lot further than you typically would do at a homicide. 222 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: By the time they had finished searching the scene, they 223 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: had found a duffel bag, a single glove, and another 224 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: note attached to a treat in the woods. Here's David 225 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: reichenba again again a notice found. This time it's an 226 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: angry note for you, Mr Police, call me God, do 227 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: not release to the press. You did not respond to 228 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: the message. You departed from what we told you to say, 229 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: and you departed from the time. Your incompetence has cost 230 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: you another life. You haven't toiled nine am to deliver 231 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: the money and until eight a m. To deliver this 232 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: response to let us know that you have our demands. Quote, 233 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: we have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose. 234 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: The same red sticky stars on top of the note 235 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: claiming that you know we we screwed him over and 236 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: we weren't talking to them, and the body counts from 237 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: then on was on us, not on them. The notes 238 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: had new deadlines for a phone call and for money, 239 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: but by the time police had secured and read the note, 240 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: they'd missed the deadline. The note also told police to 241 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: send a false message to the public that police had 242 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: caught the snipers like a duck in a noose. That's 243 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: where the media comes back in, because now we send 244 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: Chief Moose back out giving them some phrases that they 245 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: put on the note so that they know we were serious. 246 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: One of the phrases that the chief used, and I'm 247 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: sure the media was maybe a little astonished by it, 248 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: was you asked us to say, quote, we have called 249 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: the sniper like a duck in a noose. End quote. 250 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: We understand that hearing us say this is important to you. However, 251 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: we want you to know how difficult it has been 252 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: to understand what you want because you have chosen to 253 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: use only notes, indirect messages, and calls to other jurisdictions. 254 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: The solution remains to call us and get a private 255 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: toll free number established just for you. If you are 256 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: reluctant to contact us, be assured that we main ready 257 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: to talk directly with you. Our word is out bind 258 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,280 Speaker 1: let's talk directly. We're waiting for you to contact us, 259 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: sort of giving them Okay, now we give we know 260 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 1: you're in charge. We're gonna do whatever it is you 261 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,159 Speaker 1: want us to do, but we need you to call us, 262 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: so reach out to us. We'll make it work. Basically, 263 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: what the chief was trying to do was bide some 264 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: more time for us to track these guys down because 265 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: the chief knew that, you know, all the leadership knew 266 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: that we were starting to focus. We now knew their names, 267 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: so we were trying to communicate through the media back 268 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: to the snipers to have them reach out to us. 269 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: That was a role that the news media willingly but 270 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: cautiously took on. Here's Channel nine reporter Dave Stanner, A 271 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: lot of information was being transmitted through the news media. 272 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,719 Speaker 1: We didn't know if the snipers were paying attention to 273 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: us in the news, but it was clear that we 274 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 1: were getting information out there that could be going to 275 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: the snipers specifically. We knew we had a responsibility to 276 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 1: be as accurate as we can be, as we always are. 277 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: But Statter says local journalists don't want to just regurgitate 278 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: what police were telling them. He says, sometimes police have 279 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: an agenda and they put out false information as a 280 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: means to an end, and so the media has to 281 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,199 Speaker 1: be careful if they were to broadcast false information it 282 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: would blow back on them and not law enforcement. When 283 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 1: you are the news media and you're a reporter, you 284 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: don't want to become the news and that's for sure. 285 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: Still Channel nine and other local stations aired nearly every 286 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: press conference by Montgomery County Police. In another press conference 287 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: that day on October, Chief Moose revealed the contents of 288 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: the previous letter found up the ponder Rosa steakhouse shooting 289 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: in Ashlyn, Virginia. There continues to be a great deal 290 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: of speculation as to a reference a threat in the 291 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: usage previously received. As stated earlier, everyone knows that all 292 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,919 Speaker 1: of our citizens are and have been at risk. We 293 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: recognize the concerns of the community, and therefore are going 294 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: to provide the exact language in the message that pertains 295 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:22,680 Speaker 1: to the threat. Your children are not safe anywhere at 296 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 1: any time. My impression of why Charles Moose went out 297 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: with that information was one he likely knew it was 298 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 1: going to leak out to the press, and in fact 299 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 1: it already had started leaking out to the press, including me. Also, 300 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,399 Speaker 1: they knew if there's a specific threat to children, and 301 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: they didn't let the public know there's a specific threat 302 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,640 Speaker 1: to children, that this could be a problem for them 303 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,719 Speaker 1: down the road. Chief Moose also indirectly referenced the demand 304 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: from the ponderous a letter that money be deposited into 305 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: a credit card the snipers were supposedly carrying. The sniper's 306 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,959 Speaker 1: request for ten million dollars had not been made public, 307 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: but Statter says it had leaked to the media. It 308 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,640 Speaker 1: seemed bizarre to us as reporters. Suddenly there's a request 309 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: for a large amount of money, ten million dollars, and 310 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: we can't make sense of it. We know that to 311 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,640 Speaker 1: get that money, you're going to have to somehow show 312 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: yourself clearly you don't want to be caught from what 313 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,760 Speaker 1: you're doing. Now, all of it's not making a lot 314 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 1: of sense to us. What's the motive behind this? Was 315 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: it really money? But police we didn't know at the time. 316 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: We're actually getting a little bit closer and what this 317 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: was about. The media didn't know it yet, but police 318 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: had made significant progress on tracking down the snipers, now 319 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,160 Speaker 1: believed to be John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malbo. Here's 320 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: former FBI agent Linda Hooper. Again, it certainly looked like 321 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: they were two viable suspects in this case. But we 322 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 1: had no information that they were in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, 323 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: DC area at all. What they did is they were 324 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: looking for that name, John Mohammed. Had that name ever 325 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: been queried by any law enforcement in our area? And 326 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: it's called an offline search. And based on that offline search, 327 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: they got information that in Silver Spring, Maryland, day queried 328 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 1: John Mohammed October two, early in the morning, U. S. 329 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: Marshall Billy Serrucas asked the FBI to find out if 330 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: John Mohammed where Lee Boyd Malvo had any interactions with 331 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: law enforcement in the DC area. So the FBI went 332 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: to n c i C, the National Crime and Information 333 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 1: Center in c i C has one of the most 334 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: extensive crime related databases in the country. Police use this 335 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: database to get information on a driver when they run 336 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: a tag, that information comes back, who the owner of 337 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 1: the car is, information on that person in criminal history, 338 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. We didn't have any of that. 339 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: This is former FBI agent Linda Hooper. She says that 340 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 1: because they didn't have a tag number to run, and 341 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: they couldn't access Mohammed's vehicle history, but they could do 342 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 1: an offline search or reverse in c I S to 343 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:35,920 Speaker 1: see if John Mohammed's name had come up in any 344 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:41,119 Speaker 1: local police reports, and they're able to get information that 345 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 1: you couldn't get through running it through your dispatcher. As 346 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: a result of the offline search, the FBI discovered that 347 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: John Mohammed had been pulled over in Silver Spring, Maryland, 348 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: as well as in multiple other nearby locations in the 349 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,639 Speaker 1: last month. Here's retired Montgomery County pol He's commander Drew Tracy, 350 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: and one of the most important traffic stops was in Baltimore, Maryland, 351 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: where John Mohammed was stopped by a patrol officer and 352 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,439 Speaker 1: he ran him and I find very correctly. John Mohammed 353 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: was saying, oh, he's out visiting relatives and he was tired. 354 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: He was sleeping at the gas station. From that traffic stop, 355 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: we got information. Police learned that John Mohammed had been 356 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: pulled over on October eight in Baltimore, Maryland. Shortly after 357 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: the officers stopped John Mohammed, he cued his dispatch microphone. 358 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,159 Speaker 1: Over the radio, he announced the make and model of 359 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: the car, as well as the license plate number. But 360 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: the recording of that dispatch call was hidden. An hour's 361 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: worth of tape Deputy Marshall's listened to more than five 362 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: hours of police radio call tapes before they heard the transmission. 363 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: They were searching for an officer reading off the license 364 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: and description of the car. Well, the information that came 365 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: back was this was driving this blue Chevrolet Caprices with 366 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,479 Speaker 1: new Jersey tags, and they provided the tag number for it. 367 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:14,640 Speaker 1: The snipers were driving a blue Chevrolet Caprice with new 368 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: Jersey tags. Chevy Caprices are long, boxy cars with big trunks, 369 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: and they were used by many law enforcement agencies in 370 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: the ninety nineties as police cars. David Reichenball says that 371 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,879 Speaker 1: even though the Caprice was stopped multiple times during the 372 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: sniper investigation, police had no reason to suspect that it 373 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: was involved in the shootings. There were no warrants, no 374 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: reason to stop the vehicle, and after all, we're all 375 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,440 Speaker 1: looking for white vans and white trucks. We had stopped 376 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: every white van in three states at least three times. 377 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,680 Speaker 1: They're not in a white van. Police had spotted them 378 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,560 Speaker 1: either before or after the shootings and just didn't make 379 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 1: the connection because we were so focused on the white 380 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: vans and the white trucks. But by October law enforcement 381 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 1: had the snipers names, their car, and their license plate number, 382 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: and although they couldn't directly connect Mohammed to the crimes, 383 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: they were able to secure a warrant for his arrest. 384 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,640 Speaker 1: That day was really spent putting everything that we had together. 385 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: By about nine thirty ten o'clock at night, we had it. 386 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 1: We knew who we were looking for, we knew what 387 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: they were in. We just didn't know where to find them. 388 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 1: So the next move was to inform everyone involved in 389 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: the investigation. Here's former FBI agent Linda Hooper. Again. They 390 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 1: put a bolo out beyond the lookout to tell all 391 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: law enforcements, and not just in Maryland and Virginia, but 392 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,560 Speaker 1: to tell all law enforcements. If you see this blue 393 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: Chevy Caprice with these new jersey tags, you need to 394 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: pull it over and identify it. There's a John Mohammed 395 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: driving it, and then there's an arrest forrant warm so 396 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: that it goes out so everybody knows, and then like 397 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,439 Speaker 1: at every briefing at every police department, particularly in the area, okay, 398 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 1: this is what we're looking for. Tonight. As I recall, 399 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: we had over twenty three police agencies involved the nets, local, state, county, 400 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: federal We had at the height over a thousand police 401 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: officers working this case. It was around the clock because 402 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: we knew these people were going to continue to kill 403 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: people until they were stopped. The cooperation among the agencies 404 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:45,520 Speaker 1: were unprecedented. I had FBI officials working for me as 405 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: a state trooper, I had county folks working for me. 406 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: I had my troopers taking orders from FBI. It didn't matter. 407 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: It was a joint effort in every true sense of 408 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 1: the word. Then the egos start to click in a 409 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: little bit and there became a bonut contention. When do 410 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,640 Speaker 1: we release the information about the caprice to the media. 411 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: There's a lot of reasons pro and con pro. Obviously, hey, 412 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: we've got the eyes of the public out there helping 413 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: us find this blue caprice. That's obvious. Public has a 414 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: right to know now this is what we're looking for. 415 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: Help us find them. The downside of it was, Hey, 416 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 1: the snipers don't know that we've got them yet. They 417 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: don't know that we have them pinpointed. So if we 418 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: keep it secret, we've got a chance to maybe gain 419 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 1: that element of surprise. That was a tough decision to make, 420 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,919 Speaker 1: right and Ball says he wanted to release the information 421 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,879 Speaker 1: before anyone else got hurt. In his mind, the sooner 422 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,399 Speaker 1: the info went out, the sooner they would find and 423 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: catch the killers. But not everyone agreed, including the federal authorities. 424 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 1: At a task force meeting that night, righting Ball says, 425 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: all the different agencies were arguing about what to do. 426 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,600 Speaker 1: So he stepped out of the meeting to call Dave Mitchell, 427 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: Superintendent of the Maryland's State Police. Briefed him on what 428 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: we had and he very quickly made the decision for me. 429 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 1: We don't care about anybody else. We're releasing it. We're 430 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: releasing it to the media. We need to find these guys, 431 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,639 Speaker 1: and we need to do it now. And I said, Colonel, 432 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: I'm going to be in trouble when I go in 433 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:30,400 Speaker 1: here and tell these guys that they're all Feds. He said, well, 434 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: you tell them it's from the order of the governor 435 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,119 Speaker 1: that trumps them. We're doing it. Get from flyers, and 436 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: in his words, get the hell out of there. I said, yes, sir. 437 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: The license plate info went out to the media and 438 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: news outlets. We're getting ready to make it public. Here's 439 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: Channel Night reporter Dave Stanner. They're making the connection, and 440 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: one of our reporters, the same reporter who came up 441 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,240 Speaker 1: with the Carrol card, Stacy Cohen, is the first to 442 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: find this information out for us at Channel nine. She's 443 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: got sources telling her that they're getting close, that they 444 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: have names, and that they have a vehicle that they're 445 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: looking for. So we knew that they had very specific 446 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: information that would soon come out, and it did come 447 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: out that they were looking for two people and they 448 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: were looking for a vehicle, this blue Chevrolet Caprice. I 449 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,080 Speaker 1: was actually in a restaurant at that point eating dinner 450 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: when this started to break, and I'm talking to Stacy 451 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: on the phone and seeing Fox News on the TV. 452 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,479 Speaker 1: Brian wilson't start to break the information. I called our 453 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: assignment desk. I said, you know, there's a lot of 454 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 1: specific information out here. I think this is going to 455 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 1: break tonight. Just my gut. I'll work overnight and see 456 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: if it turns up anything in the Washington area. Meanwhile, 457 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 1: Statter says they had other leads to follow up on. 458 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 1: One of the places we went to around midnight was Clinton, Maryland. 459 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: We had learned that these shooters had a connection, or 460 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,360 Speaker 1: at least one shooter, John Maha mommed to his ex 461 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: wife who lived in Clinton, Maryland, a woman I believe 462 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: her name was Mildred Well. When we were investigating John Mohammed, 463 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 1: we discovered that he was divorced and his wife, Mildred Mohammed, 464 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: was living in the area, and that she had a 465 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 1: restraining order against him. They had three children. Mildred's restraining 466 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:25,719 Speaker 1: order against John meant that he couldn't carry firearms. So 467 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 1: once police received the tip from Robert Holmes that Mohammed 468 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: was carrying a rifle, police could arrest him and they 469 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: could detain Melvo as a material witness. When I found 470 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: out that she was living nearby where these shootings had 471 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,160 Speaker 1: taken place, I thought that we needed to go over 472 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: and interview her and offer to move her and her 473 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: children out of their house. October FBI and E. T. 474 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: F knock on my door and they say, is Mildre 475 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 1: Mohammed here? Na? She not here? I was scared. I 476 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,560 Speaker 1: didn't know what they want. Say, Na, she not here? 477 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: I said, what, we really need to talk to her 478 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:17,120 Speaker 1: because we need to ask her some questions. I said, Okay, 479 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:22,479 Speaker 1: that's me. So when was the last time you've seen 480 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,840 Speaker 1: John Alan Mohammed, and my palms began sweating. I said, 481 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 1: why are you asking me questions about John? They said, well, 482 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: we just want to know when's the last time you've 483 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: seen him. I said September two thousand one at any 484 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: emergency custody hearing in Tacoma, Washington. And he says, we're 485 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: gonna name your ex husband as the sniper. I said, 486 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: what John. My head hit the table. They said yes, 487 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: but but do you think he would do something like this? 488 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: I raised my head and looked in the warner of 489 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: the room and said, well yeah. They said, well, why 490 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 1: would you think that? I said, because we were watching 491 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 1: a movie and I don't remember the name of it. 492 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: But he said, I could take a small city terrorize it. 493 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,160 Speaker 1: They would think it would be a group of people 494 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: and it would only be me. I asked him, while 495 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: he do something like that? And he changed the subject 496 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: so well, Ms Mohammed, would you like to go into 497 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 1: protective custody? I said, you gotta ask me that. Well, yes, ma'am, 498 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,120 Speaker 1: because some people don't want to go. I said, okay, 499 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: have you caught him yet, no, ma'am. Do you know 500 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:45,360 Speaker 1: where he is? No, ma'am, And you still have to 501 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: ask me. She accepted our offer. We moved her and 502 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 1: her children to a hotel. We get out of the 503 00:32:54,720 --> 00:33:02,120 Speaker 1: house into the car, drive away in the media, A 504 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 1: convoy is coming up. They perched themselves around the house. 505 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 1: My neighbor said that you would have thought it was daylight. 506 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: They took us to a hotel where I still don't 507 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 1: know where it is. We run at their hotel room 508 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 1: and an undercover capacity, so her name was an associated 509 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,320 Speaker 1: with it at all. And we just kept her there 510 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 1: and told us was over. And I turned on the TV. 511 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,959 Speaker 1: And that was the first time they showed John's picture 512 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 1: on TV. And I went up to the TV and 513 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: put my hand on it and say, what happened to you? 514 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 1: My son crying on one bed, my daughters crying on 515 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:48,719 Speaker 1: the other. I pulled them together. They cried themselves to sleep. 516 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: I got a pillow, went in the bathroom, turned on 517 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 1: the water in the bathtub, sat on the floor and 518 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: screamed in the pillow because I didn't know what to 519 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 1: do and I didn't know who to call back. At 520 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: Mildry Mohammed's house in Clinton, Maryland, reporter Dave Statter was 521 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:15,439 Speaker 1: part of the media convoy that had showed up that night. 522 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,280 Speaker 1: We pulled way back when we saw police were already 523 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,759 Speaker 1: in the area, and police were there to see if 524 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 1: John Mohammed showed up. Different news outlets broadcasted the blue 525 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,839 Speaker 1: Caprice info at various points throughout the night, and now 526 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,880 Speaker 1: that the license plate had gone public, police hoped that 527 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: someone would spot the car and call it a tip. 528 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,719 Speaker 1: While we were down there in the Clinton area, we 529 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: got a call from a photographer who worked at a 530 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,800 Speaker 1: TV station in Baltimore, Maryland, who was heading home and said, 531 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:51,759 Speaker 1: police have I seventy shut down in Frederick County, Maryland, 532 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:56,040 Speaker 1: and he believes it's connected to the sniper shootings. Frederick 533 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: County is just northwest of Montgomery County and Washington, d C. 534 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: It's where Maryland State Police Lieutenant David Reichenba lived and 535 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,120 Speaker 1: he was heading home that night. I guess it was 536 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: probably eleven thirty. I switched over to UH Frederick Barrick 537 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 1: channel and I called the bar because I'm required, and 538 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,040 Speaker 1: I said car six six to Frederick, be advised, I'm 539 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:20,879 Speaker 1: in the area. The duty sergeant, Sergeant Hunter Mark comes 540 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: on and says copy that six six two. Can you 541 00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:27,160 Speaker 1: go to secure channel one and I knew something was up. 542 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 1: I switched over to Channel one and I got on 543 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:35,360 Speaker 1: the radio and start says, be advised, we've got the 544 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,240 Speaker 1: broadcast out there. We just heard it on the local 545 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:42,120 Speaker 1: AM radio station five minutes ago. And I just got 546 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:47,360 Speaker 1: a phone call. The nice blue caprix that you're looking 547 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:52,280 Speaker 1: for sitting at the rest area dropped seventy web bound 548 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:57,840 Speaker 1: South Mountain. They're in Frederick. The snipers are in the 549 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:06,280 Speaker 1: rest area Myers and next time on Monster d C Sniper. 550 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:13,400 Speaker 1: They had surprised for twenty one days. Now we had surprise. 551 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,160 Speaker 1: I wasn't anticipating this ending well. Once they realized they 552 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,320 Speaker 1: were cornered, I knew we were in for a shootout. 553 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,400 Speaker 1: I just knew it. I'm in the woodline, I'm listening. 554 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: I'm praying that there's no shots fired. My heart's running 555 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,279 Speaker 1: a mile a minute, and I hear the breaking of windows. 556 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: I remember feeling this immense relief and then just disbelief 557 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:38,520 Speaker 1: when the information came out that it was an older 558 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,040 Speaker 1: guy and a young guy. Like a young guy, A 559 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:45,000 Speaker 1: young guy did this? Why this kid just looked at 560 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:48,400 Speaker 1: me with that dead shark guy look the pal I'd 561 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 1: kill you and everybody here if I had the chance. No, 562 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 1: I don't way. When the snipers starting at randomly shooting people, 563 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:01,799 Speaker 1: nobody's said, oh, you know, this could be related to 564 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,560 Speaker 1: what happened to Paul. Nobody. Nobody had reason to think 565 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:14,759 Speaker 1: that until they found my computer. Monster DC Sniper is 566 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 1: a fifteen episode podcast hosted by Tony Harris and produced 567 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 1: by iHeart Radio and Tenderfoot TV. Matt Frederick and Alex 568 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:25,800 Speaker 1: Williams are executive producers on behalf of I Heart Radio, 569 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:30,800 Speaker 1: alongside producers Trevor Young, ben Kiebrick, and Josh Thine. Payne 570 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: Lindsay and Donald Albright are executive producers on behalf of 571 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 1: Tenderfoot TV alongside producers Meredith Steadman and Christina Dana. Original 572 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:44,040 Speaker 1: music is by Makeup and Vanity Set. If you haven't already, 573 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 1: be sure to check out the first two seasons at 574 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: Lanta Monster and Monster the Zodiac Killer. If you have 575 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:53,560 Speaker 1: questions or comments, email us at Monster at i heeart 576 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:56,839 Speaker 1: Media dot com, or you can call us at one 577 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,720 Speaker 1: eight three three to eight five six six six seven. 578 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:08,120 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. H