Ohio freeway sniper

[Mighty_Emperor]

Travelers avoiding I-270 after string of shootings


By Liz Oakes
The Cincinnati Enquirer


COLUMBUS - In the wake of 11 reported shootings on Interstate 270 that have killed one person and narrowly missed several others, Thanksgiving travelers and residents here were driving out of their way to avoid the circle freeway.

"I go around 270 all the time. I'm a construction worker," said Robert Stewart, 42, of Columbus at the Interstate 71 rest stop in Warren County Saturday.

But "since that lady got killed, I don't take 270. At all."

Gail Knisley, 62, of Washington Court House, was shot and killed on Tuesday as a friend was driving her on a southern stretch of the Columbus beltway for a medical appointment.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office said last week that authorities have been investigating 11 reports of shootings since May along about a five-mile southern stretch of highway circling the city. The area is about 75 minutes from Cincinnati's I-275 beltway at Interstate 71.

Authorities say the shooting of Knisley - the only person hit by a bullet - was not accidental and is linked to at least one other case after conducting tests on bullets found after the shootings.

Police won't use the word "sniper" but say more shootings may be connected.

Stewart, a roofing contractor, and his brother were returning to Columbus after visiting their sister in Cincinnati. They said the shootings dominated their return-home conversations.

Stewart said he thought kids might be involved. But he's still worried enough to avoid I-270.

The Rev. Raymond Miller, 48, pastor of Truth Baptist Church in West Salem, Ohio, said, "I'll take 71. I won't travel that road."

He found out about the incidents after driving on the interstate on Wednesday to get to a church service, where a member mentioned them.

Now, he says, he won't risk the lives of his family.

"Even if the traffic were bumper-to-bumper going through Columbus, we would still take (71), rather than going around 270," Miller said at the rest stop.

He was returning from Thanksgiving at his daughter's house in Kentucky, and had his pregnant wife, Wanda, his daughter, Leah, 17, and sons, Aaron, 5, and Jedidiah, 5 months, as passengersr.

"I have no desire to risk their lives trying to drive through a dangerous area," he said. "If it's God's providence, sometimes you can't avoid such things.

"Am I worried? Yes."

Speculation: It's not a trucker

Not everyone on the road is so concerned.

Tom Otten, 44, of Price Hill, an Elder alumnus, stopped for gas at the Jeffersonville exit on his way to his alma mater's championship football game on Saturday. He said he happened to be driving I-71 straight through Columbus, but wouldn't mind taking 270.

"It wouldn't matter to me," said Otten, dressed in a purple Elder jersey and pumping gas into a gray Plymouth minivan with "Elder Panthers" painted in large white letters on the side windows.

"I move pretty quick. A moving target's hard to hit," Otten said.

Even those who sometimes must drive stretches of the road where the shootings have occurred as part of their occupation are worried.

Dwayne R. Jones, 38, of New Iberia, La., who drives a tractor-trailer for Covenant Transportation Inc. of Chattanooga, Tenn., said he heard other truckers discussing the incidents at a truck stop.

Jones said the truckers were speculating on the shooter. They didn't think it was someone in their business, he said, because a trucker wouldn't aim at fellow truckers.

On Saturday, three Ohio State Highway Patrol cars were parked in the I-270 median from U.S. 62 in the west to U.S. 23 in the east, where many of the shootings have occurred.

Mark Smith, 47, a self-employed interior trim carpenter and a Columbus native, said he has seen twice the normal number of state troopers along the interstate recently. But the increased presence hasn't relieved many residents' minds.

"What relief does that give?" said Smith, pausing outside the Waffle House in Grove City, a Columbus suburb, on U.S. 62. "If a guy wants to shoot you, he's going to shoot you."

Many residents are taking alternate routes to work, he said, stacking up back roads into the city.

"There are friends of mine that are (avoiding) 270," Smith said, but he isn't.

"Catching a bullet is like winning the lottery," he said. "It's one in a million."

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/11/30/loc_driverfears30.html

 

[Anonymous]

I live on the north side of Columbus, a few miles from where all this is happening. I'd not even been aware of it until about a week ago, when I saw an article in the news.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Windwhistler: Any other aspects that are missing from the main news items? Any rumours or ideas doing the rounds?

Emps

 

[Anonymous]

Windwhistler: Any other aspects that are missing from the main news items? Any rumours or ideas doing the rounds?

Really it's kind of a non-event here. The local news outlets are fussing a lot over it, of course, but it's not really something that people are actually worked up about. What a lot of the news stories aren't mentioning is that the area involved is pretty much out in the country, and there's a lot of hunting, target-shooting, etc., that takes place there. It may just be a series of accidents, although that police seem to think otherwise now.


If you're interested in the local news, try http://www.onnnews.com/ - that's Ohio News Network.

http://www.dispatch.com/ is the Columbus Dispatch, a long-established regional paper.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Weirder and weirder

Caller Claims to Be Ohio Highway Sniper

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)--For the first time, someone called police, claiming to be the sniper responsible for a string of 20 highway shootings, authorities said Friday.

Chief Sheriff's Deputy Steve Martin said that the call is being taking seriously and that the task force investigating the shootings at cars, school buses and homes is trying to confirm whether the caller is the gunman.

AP-NY-01-30-04 1619EST

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/n...tml/National/AP.V7345.AP-Highway-Shootin.html

Alightly loner report:

Caller Claims Responsibility for Ohio Highway Shootings


January 31, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Police in Ohio say someone has claimed responsibility for the series of highway shootings near Columbus.
It's the first time someone has claimed responsibility for the 20 linked shootings in southern Franklin County.

Police say the man claimed to have shot a car that day. But no shootings were reported that day to a task force investigating the 20 shootings in southern Franklin County. Chief Deputy Steve Martin says authorities are trying to determine the validity of the calls.

No new shootings have been linked since January 22, when a shot was fired at a car.

Police say four calls were made over two minutes on Monday and at least two of the calls disconnected.

On the 911 tapes, the dispatcher appears to not take the caller seriously.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=1625017

and then what happens?:

Second Caller Claims to Be Ohio Shooter

Second Caller Claims Responsibility in Ohio Highway Shootings, Investigators Say

The Associated Press



COLUMBUS, Ohio Jan. 31 — A day after announcing that a 911 caller had claimed responsibility for a string of highway shootings, investigators said Saturday that a second man has stepped forward and threatened to attack police officers.

Investigators say they believe the man who called early Saturday morning is different from the man who repeatedly called 911 on Monday to claim responsibility for 20 shootings at cars, school buses and homes on or near a section of Interstate 270 south of the city. One person was killed in November.

"It's gonna get worse," the latest caller said. "I am intend to start shooting at the police now."

Sheriff's officials said they warned law enforcement officials around the state of the latest caller's threats, and that a task force on the shootings was taking both sets of calls seriously.

Sheriff's officials issued a press statement and released a tape of the roughly 50-second call on Saturday, but did not immediately respond to requests for more information.

On the tape, the caller sounds like he has a deep voice, and says he was committing the shootings because the police have "corrupted the world."

He tells the dispatcher, "Tomorrow, the whole world will see our highways."

"They will?" the dispatcher asks.

The caller responds, "They will see my impact. Tomorrow, live."

Authorities also are investigating the first caller, who made four 911 calls Monday totaling about a minute and said, "I'm the highway shooter."

The man said he fired at a car that day but did not specifically claim responsibility for any of the shootings connected by police. Police had no reports of highway shootings Monday.

The police dispatcher appears to dismiss the first caller on the 911 tape, saying "whatever" several times and "Yeah, yeah, yeah." At another point she says, "You just want attention, don't you."

The call ends soon after she asks the caller to stay on the line while the call is traced.

Police were investigating the dispatcher who took Monday's calls. Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said the dispatcher's use of words such as "whatever" was inappropriate.

The shootings began in May, but most have occurred since October. The only person hit, Gail Knisley, 62, was fatally wounded Nov. 25 while riding in a car on I-270.

The last shooting linked to the case took place Jan. 22, when a car was hit on Interstate 71, which intersects I-270.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040131_1323.html

Emps

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I'd been hoping that it really was just a series of accidents

On the most recent shooting (the 22nd, I think) the victim saw the sniper standing on the overpass shooting at his car, and someone else got a good look at what may have been the sniper's car as he drove away. It was initially reported that the police had found shell casings with fingerprints, although that part of the story seemed to just vanish from later reports.

Everyone's taking the whole thing rather more seriously now, although from watching the way they treat it on the local news, you'd think people thought and spoke of nothing else. I suppose people may be a bit more apprehensive on the south side of town too, for that matter. I live on the north side of Columbus, away from where the shootings are taking place.

 

[lopaka]

Saturday shooting is attack #24

Ohio's Highway Gunman Remains Elusive

By JONATHAN DREW

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ballistics testing confirmed a shooting on Saturday morning was the 24th in a series in the Columbus area, investigators said Sunday. No one was injured in the most recent shooting, though one person has been killed since the attacks began in May.

Witnesses described the shooter as a clean-shaven white male in his 30s with dark hair, wearing a hat and sunglasses and driving a small black sedan. Experts said he is becoming bolder.

``He's sending a message to police: 'You're not as close as you think you are. I can shoot in broad daylight, and you still won't find me,''' said Jack Levin, a criminologist and director of the Brudnick Center on Violence at Northeastern University.

On Friday, Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin said he felt confident in the investigation's progress. ``We feel that we're getting closer all the time,'' Martin said. ``We are doing exactly what we need to do.''

Levin said his studies of criminals, including the recent Washington, D.C., sniper case, indicate reckless behavior can make serial shooters feel more powerful and important.

``It enhances the cat and mouse game he plays with law enforcement,'' Levin said. ``Psychologically, he gains with these risks.''

The serial shootings began in May, though most have occurred since mid-October.

Until last month, the gunfire at vehicles and buildings was scattered along or near Interstate 270, a busy highway that circles Columbus. The previous four shootings, including two Feb. 8, had moved progressively farther southwest on Interstate 71. Saturday's shooting was the farthest east the shooter has struck.

The shooter is starting to get careless, perhaps on purpose, said W. Scott Thornsley, criminal justice professor at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.

``If he gets away with it, it's more thrilling to him,'' he said. ``If he doesn't get a way with it, it puts an end to what he may be going through.''

On the Net:

Franklin County Sheriff's Office: http://www.sheriff.franklin.oh.us


02/16/04 06:03

© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

And I do love the way events like this seem to generate sub-weirdness:

Lie about bullet wounds family

Hoax suspect feared telling dad that he’d shot van

Friday, February 20, 2004
Melissa Kossler
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — Richard A. Adams III told authorities he thought his false alarm would get him out of trouble.

Instead, it landed him in jail, possibly facing prison time, and attracted unwanted attention to his family.

On Wednesday, Adams reported that a bullet had struck the van he was driving in an area frequented by the serial shooter. His call kicked the task force and television crews into action.

Adams later told a state trooper he was target-shooting when his gun discharged and struck the van, which was his father’s. He said he made up the story about a shooting along Rt. 23 in southern Franklin County for fear of his father’s reaction, according to court documents.

Friends and family members are trying to raise bail money for Adams, who was being held in the Pickaway County jail in lieu of a $22,500 bond.

He appeared in Circleville Municipal Court yesterday on felony charges of inducing panic and making a false alarm, and a misdemeanor charge of making a false statement to authorities. The felonies each carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Adams, 33, of 17250 ZigZag Dr. in northern Pickaway County, asked Judge John R. Adkins for a court-appointed lawyer. The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for Wednesday.

During Adams’ court appearance yesterday, his wife, Misty, sat in the back with her hands over her face. She asked the news media not to film her husband.

At home later, Mrs. Adams cried as she defended her husband of 15 years: "He’s never been in trouble — ever."

Their two daughters stayed home from school yesterday, she said — ashamed to face their classmates.

Mrs. Adams said she didn’t know why her husband lied about the gunshot.

Still, his sister said, the family stands behind him.

"I couldn’t ask for a better brother," Angela Certain said.

Investigators do not believe family members knew about the hoax, said Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin, who heads the sniper task force.

Adams’ wife and sister said they learned of the hoax when deputies brought him to the families’ apartment around 8 p.m. Wednesday to pick up the insulin he takes for diabetes.

He cried when he told them he would spend the night in jail, Certain said.

"He was upset," she said. "He told everybody he loved them. He apologized to all of us. That’s the type of person he is."

Adams doesn’t work because of a bad back. He devotes much of his time to his family, his wife said. He runs errands for his dad. He coached his nephew’s football team.

"Anything the family needs," Mrs. Adams said, "we’re the first to jump."

Investigators doubted Adams’ story after studying the bullet hole, Pickaway County Sheriff Dwight E. Radcliff said. When detectives told Adams the trajectory of the bullet hole indicated the van was stationary when struck, he confessed, according to court documents.

Adams could face additional charges in Franklin County, where deputies, cruisers, officers with police dogs and a helicopter were dispatched to search for the shooter.

"We’re anticipating charging him locally because of the expense of everything," Martin said.

http://www.dispatch.com/reports-story.php?story=dispatch/2004/02/20/20040220-A1-01.html

They are some good sounding charges - "inducing panic"!!

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Police Hunt Ohio Highway Shooting Suspect

25 minutes ago


By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Police on Tuesday hunted for a 28-year-old man they believe was the gunman in two dozen highway shootings that have terrorized motorists for months.



Charles A. McCoy Jr. has had mental health problems and was believed to be armed and dangerous, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said. He lived within miles of where the gunman's bullets killed a passenger, shattered windshields, dented school buses and drilled into homes and a school.

"The key issue for us right now is to locate this guy," Chief Deputy Steve Martin said. "We believe he bought another gun."

Martin would not say what evidence led investigators to McCoy, but newspaper and television reports said Tuesday that McCoy's family gave authorities at least one of his guns.

The Columbus Dispatch, citing unidentified sources, said a relative contacted police and said McCoy could be a suspect. It said McCoy's father, Charles Sr., later gave police a 9 mm Beretta handgun, and on Monday it was ballistically matched to some of the bullet fragments recovered in the shootings. A woman cleaning snow off her car in the driveway of the father's home refused to comment Tuesday.

Martin's office, which is in charge of the investigation, would not release any details about the case Tuesday morning.

A bulletin from investigators to other police departments said McCoy was believed to have a semiautomatic pistol and ammunition, said Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly.

"McCoy has had mental health issues in the past and is currently not on medication," the notification read. "He is believed to have suicidal or homicidal tendencies."

Since May, two dozen sniper shootings have targeted vehicles and buildings around Interstate 270, which circles Columbus, and other highways. Most of the shootings have happened since October; the latest was on Feb. 14.

Investigators filed an arrest warrant late Monday for McCoy on a charge of felonious assault in a Dec. 15 shooting that damaged a house. No one answered the phone at that house late Monday.

In the three most recent shootings, witnesses described seeing someone aiming at them while standing next to a car. Their descriptions of the suspect and car were similar to information the sheriff's office released Monday.

The suspect is 5-foot-8, 185 pounds with brown hair and green eyes, the sheriff's office said Monday. The car is a dark green 1999 Geo Metro with a black hood.

McCoy's mother, Ardith, who lives with her son a few miles from McCoy's father, filed a missing person report with Columbus police on Monday, saying she had not seen her son since Friday.

She said he was upset over a possible move and withdrew 0 from a bank account, saying he was going to a restaurant-bar known for its array of video games.

From the beginning, Martin had said investigators believe the shooter is familiar with the area around I-270. Although the last four shootings were on other highways, most of those that occurred through January were within about a 10-mile southern stretch of the interstate.

Half a mile north of that stretch, other neighbors gathered in disbelief Monday.

"I even drove other ways to avoid being in the area where most of the shootings happened, and now I find out that the suspect lives right across the street from me," said Nicole Sewald, 28, whose son attends an elementary school struck one night by the shooter.




A light was on in the McCoys' split-level house Monday but the curtains were drawn and no one answered the door. A real estate agent briefly drove up to remove a "for sale" sign from in front of the house.

"I think my husband said once that they were having trouble selling the house because the shootings in the area," resident Nicole Sewald said.

Edward Cable, whose minivan was hit by a bullet Nov. 21 as he was driving on a road near Interstate 270, said by telephone he was glad to hear a suspect was identified.

"I just hope they find him soon, and I wish it hadn't taken so long," the retired prison guard said. "If they do have concrete evidence that this guy was the one who did it, I hope they pick him up before someone else is shot."

___

On the Net:

Franklin County Sheriff: http://www.sheriff.franklin.oh.us

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...p_on_re_us/highway_shootings&cid=519&ncid=716

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Las Vegas Police Nab Ohio Sniper Suspect

Email this Story

Mar 17, 9:25 AM (ET)

By KEN RITTER



LAS VEGAS (AP) - The man suspected in two dozen sniper shootings that have terrorized motorists along Ohio highways was arrested at a Las Vegas motel early Wednesday, authorities said.

Charles A. McCoy Jr., 28, was taken into custody near the Stardust casino two days after he was named as a suspect in the Columbus-area shootings, said Las Vegas police Lt. Christopher Van Cleef.

"We got him in custody without incident," Van Cleef said.

Police were told of McCoy's whereabouts by a person who recognized him from media reports, Van Cleef said. Las Vegas police said they staked out McCoy's motel and arrested him after he identified himself.

"He wasn't armed, but we haven't been in the motel room or his vehicle yet," Van Cleef said. He said police have impounded a 1999 Geo Metro that McCoy was driving.

Police had said McCoy had a history of mental illness and was believed to be armed, with "suicidal or homicidal tendencies." His family refuted that description, calling McCoy troubled but peaceful.

"I knew it would happen without incident because he was a very passive individual," McCoy's sister Amy Walton said on NBC's "Today" show. "This came as a great shock to our family."

When asked what she would say to her brother, Walton said, "We can't wait to talk to you. Everything will be OK."

Conrad Malsom, 60, of Las Vegas said he told authorities he met McCoy at the Stardust casino late Tuesday. He said he offered McCoy a slice of pizza but recognized the disheveled-looking man with a darkening beard from photographs in newspapers.

"In my heart and mind, I knew this was the man the police in Ohio were looking for," Malsom told The Associated Press.

He said McCoy told him his name was "Mike." When he left the casino, Malsom found "bizarre writing" on a 8 1/2 by 14-inch sports betting sheet the man left behind.

"There was writing - it filled the whole sheet - about 30 lines," Malsom said.

"Each line started with 'You' or 'You are' but you can't read it, you can't read any of it," he said of the illegible scribble. He said he turned the sheet over to authorities.

FBI special agent Todd Palmer said McCoy is being processed in the agency's office and likely will be transferred to the U.S. attorney's office.

"They'll be in communication with the Columbus U.S. attorney," Palmer said.

Authorities said McCoy had been questioned about the shootings, but not charged.

The 24 shootings around several highways on the southern outskirts of Columbus pierced homes and a school, dented school buses, flattened tires and shattered windshields. They began in May.

The shootings prompted commuters to take detours and schools to cancel classes or hold recess indoors. Police increased patrols and offered a ,000 reward. The state installed cameras on poles along Interstate 270.

The only person struck, Gail Knisley, 62, was killed as a friend drove her to a doctor's appointment Nov. 25. Lab tests showed that bullets from nine of the shootings - including the one that killed Knisley - were fired from the same gun.

Authorities haven't said what evidence led them to McCoy. Newspaper and television reports Tuesday said McCoy's family gave investigators at least one of his guns.

Edward Cable of Lucasville, whose minivan was hit by a bullet as he was driving on Nov. 21, said Wednesday he was glad to see McCoy was picked up.

"Not so much for myself, but for anybody else whose worried about getting him off the street," Cable said. "I haven't talked to my daughters yet, but my wife was pretty happy he was picked up."

An arrest warrant charges McCoy with felonious assault in a shooting with a 9 mm handgun that damaged a house Dec. 15.

Until January, the gunfire was scattered along or near Interstate 270, the busy highway that encircles Columbus. The last four shootings had moved toward the southwest on I-71.

In a missing person's report filed Monday, McCoy's mother, Ardith, said her son was upset over a possible move. She said he withdrew 0 from a bank account and left home Friday for a restaurant and bar that features video games at a nearby mall.

A check of court records in Franklin and nearby Delaware and Fairfield counties turned up a handful of traffic tickets for McCoy, but no other criminal or civil charges.

Neighbors on McCoy's street said they didn't know much about the suspect or his mother. The McCoys moved there about a year ago, did some repairs and put the house back up for sale.

The tan garage doors at the house were splattered with three eggs Tuesday. Police said they did not know who hurled the eggs or when they were thrown.

McCoy's high school football coach said he's praying for his former player.

"He was an ornery kid, but a lot of kids are ornery at that age," said Brian Cross, who coached McCoy for four years at Grove City High School. "I don't remember him doing anything extreme."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040317/D81C5VNG1.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Another highway sniper:

Bizarre 'projectile' incidents on I-91 baffling police



SPRINGFIELD (AP) -- It's a busy stretch of highway, carrying commuters, truckers and sightseers northward from Connecticut into the Pioneer Valley. But during the past few months, Interstate 91 has seen a series of incidents that have mystified motorists and law enforcement officials.

About a dozen drivers have reported their car windows were shattered by unidentified objects that police described only as "projectiles." So far, no one has been injured, and whatever hit the cars hasn't caused any accidents.

Most of the incidents occurred on a stretch of I-91 through Springfield and Longmeadow, where road crews are doing construction work that some officials say could increase the likelihood of debris kicking up and striking cars.

The latest incidents were reported on Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon. All happened on I-91 in the same general area as the previous incidents and were "consistent with a low-velocity projectile like a pellet gun or paintball gun," Bennett said.

But police searches of wooded areas alongside the highway have turned up at least one suspicious clue: dozens of BB pellets.

Whether the blame lies with a BB gun-toting prankster, or with airborne pebbles, officials say they're certain that the damage is not the work of a sniper with a firearm.

"If it's a bullet, it's going to remain in the car or go out the other window," said Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett, who is investigating the reports of broken windows. "No one is reporting hearing gunshots. We're not dealing with a firearm. We're not quite sure what we're dealing with."

The reports started in April after a truck driver said his windows were broken as he drove along the Massachusetts-Connecticut border. In May, about a half dozen drivers said their windows were damaged, most in and around Longmeadow, just south of Springfield.

But police also heard from drivers saying their cars were struck along Interstate 391 near Chicopee and farther south on I-91 in Enfield, Conn.

"We had just got on the highway and the window blew out," said Gerald Adams, who said something smashed through the rear driver's side window of his Honda Accord earlier this month on I-391 after he left his job at a television station in Chicopee.

"The glass came into the window and hit me in the back of the head. "I'm relatively sure it's not an accident," he said. "There's somebody out there doing it."

Colleen Fenton agrees. On her way to work at a Walgreens in Agawam this week, the 23-year-old heard five "bangs" from the side of the road as she was driving on local roads through Longmeadow. When she got out of her car, there were five dings on the doors of her Chevrolet Cavalier.

"Nothing serious came of it, but if you hit the right person's car the right way, you don't know what will happen," she said.

If it's a shooter with a BB gun, Bennett said he's confident police will apprehend the person.

State police have stepped up patrols of roads where windows have been breaking, and a helicopter has been surveying the area from above. And for now, the DA says people shouldn't be looking for different routes around the area.

"We have thousands and thousands of cars that travel on that portion of Interstate 91 every day without incident," he said.

http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=1948467

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

No 'weapon' yet in road incidents

Thursday, June 17, 2004
By ALICIA GUIDE
[email protected]


SPRINGFIELD - A pellet gun, paint ball gun, a marble or a rock fired from a slingshot: any of these may have been used to shatter the glass of about a dozen motor vehicles traveling on local highways recently, authorities said yesterday.

After receiving three more reports of projectile incidents on Interstate 91 yesterday and Tuesday, Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett and Massachusetts State Police asked the public to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity along the highway and report it to state police at (413) 736-8390.

Bennett has said that investigators don't believe that a firearm has been used in the incidents.

In the most recent case, a van was traveling north on Interstate 91 near the Massachusetts/Connecticut line when the driver's side window was struck by a projectile sometime between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. yesterday, according to the district attorney's office.

A man also notified state police yesterday morning that his vehicle was hit by a projectile about 3 p.m. Tuesday as he was traveling north on Interstate 91 near Exit 8.

It is one of two known incidents Tuesday, police said. About 8:05 p.m. yesterday, a driver received minor cuts from breaking glass when more than one projectile struck a car traveling south on Interstate 91, between exits 7 and 5.

There have been 13 projectile incidents, including 12 on Interstate 91 and one on Interstate 391, between April 27 and yesterday, according to a list Bennett distributed at press conference yesterday. In all of the cases, a car window or windshield has been shattered.

"There's nothing definitive that this is the work of one person or they're all related together," Bennett said of the incidents.

Police still haven't determine what type of projectile or projectiles were used to strike the vehicles, Bennett said.

The damage could be consistent with a low-velocity projectile such as a pellet gun or a paintball gun, Bennett said. "(Police) haven't recovered any ballistic evidence ... They did recover a marble in one of the cars," he said. The information Bennett released included a reference to finding BBs at a flagpole next to I-91 at the Forest Park curve.

Bennett said the marble that was found could have broken the car's glass. A slingshot also could have been used to hurl a rock or another object at vehicles, he said.

The person or people striking cars may be in a vehicle rather than standing on the side of the road, said state police Capt. Gary P. Lemay. "It's a possibility that they're mobile and they're not in a fixed position," he said.

"No one has seen anybody hanging out of a window or out of a car or by the side of the road or anything of that nature," Bennett said. "We need the public's help to be on the lookout and report anything suspicious."

Since the incidents started, the state police Community Action Team has been assigned to patrol Interstates 91, 391 and 291 and extra patrols are working overtime on the highways, Lemay said.

Local police departments are working with the state police and the district attorney's office on the incidents, Bennett said.

http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1087458440230610.xml

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

And another one?:

Police Probe Bizarre Shooting On U.S. 36

Autopsy To Reveal What Type Of Gun Killed Santos

POSTED: 8:22 am MDT July 12, 2004
UPDATED: 5:22 pm MDT July 12, 2004

Investigators in Boulder are looking into a bizarre Friday night shooting on Highway 36 that has left one driver dead.


Francis "Frank" Santos of Denver, 37, was driving on Hwy. 36 towards Boulder when he was shot in the head and killed. His car lost control and crashed into the median barrier, near the McCaslin Boulevard interchange.

Investigators don't know if the shooter knew Santos or if it was completely random. They don't know if Santos was a victim of road rage, or if the gunman followed Santos onto the highway, or if the killing was the result of a sniper.

"It's just kind of peculiar circumstances," said Lt. Phil West with the Boulder County Sheriff's Department.

Boulder County deputies were initially dispatched to an accident that occured just after 10:15 p.m. on the Boulder Turnpike.

Witnesses say they saw Santos' car slowly drifting from the right lane into the left lane and then into the concrete barrier.

When rescue crews got to the spot, they found Santos dead.

"When the paramedics arrived, they knew the driver had been shot and was dead because of a gunshot wound to the head," West said.

An autopsy confirmed that Santos died from a gunshot wound to the head and not from the accident. The autopsy was expected to reveal what type of gun was used and may help determine whether Santos was shot from close range or from a distance, a detective with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said. The coroner's statement to the media didn't reveal that information.

Investigators say none of the witnesses actually saw the flash of a weapon but one witness told police officers they saw glass "spraying on the highway" before Santos' vehicle started to drift. The driver's side window of Santos' car was broken.

"We're doing a lot of background checking, to see who would want to kill him," West said.

The Boulder Sheriff's Department is asking anyone who was driving west on Hwy. 36 Friday night to contact them. Detectives are particularly interested in locating a dark, large sport utility vehicle that was seen in the area immediately before the crash.

Santos was a family man with several young children. Police don't believe Santos shot himself. No gun was found in Santos' car, and two Saturday searches along the stretch of highway yielded no weapon or shell casing.

Anyone with more information is asked to call (303) 441-4763 or the Boulder County Communications center at (303) 441-4444. Anyone who would like to provide more information about this case while remaining anonymous, may do so by contacting Boulder County Crime Stoppers at (303) 440-STOP or (303) 440-7867.

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