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• D.C. Snipers Case Background
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Update - 10/25/02
Suspects to Be Charged in Sniping Deaths
State prosecutors in Montgomery County, Maryland, stated they would charge sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo with six counts of first-degree murder. Officials stated they would seek the death penalty against Muhammad. While prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, he will be tried as an adult.

Currently under arrest are John Allen Muhammad, a 42-year old, a Desert Storm veteran, also known as John Allen Williams and Muhammad's 17-year-old stepson John Lee Malvo. 

Muhammad and Malvo were arrested early Thursday morning while sleeping in their 1990 Chevrolet Caprice at a Middletown, Maryland highway rest stop. 

Update: Police Confirm Muhammad, Malvo 
Suspects in Sniper Attacks
Late Thursday, Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief Charles Moose announced that while Muhammad and Malvo were currently in custody charged with federal firearms violations, they were considered suspects in the sniping incidents. Moose said he expected charges in the sniper attacks to be brought against one or both of the men on Friday.

Muhammad was arrested for possessing a firearm in violation of a court order issued against him at the request of his divorced wife in 2000. Malvo, as a juvenile, was detained as a material witness to the firearms violations. 

Update: CNN Reports Rifle Found in Muhammad's Car
CNN reported on Thursday afternoon that police had removed a .223 caliber Bushmaster XM-15 rifle from the car in which Muhammad and Malvo were found. According to CNN, the rifle was found behind the rear seat of the 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, which had been modified to allow the rifle to be fired from inside the vehicle. The Bushmaster rifle is a civilian, semi-automatic version of the Colt M-16 military rifle, which can be fired in fully automatic mode.

Update: Police Confirm Seized Rifle is Sniper Weapon
Late Thursday, police officials confirmed that ballistic evidence from the Bushmaster rifle found in the possession of John Allen Muhammad matched that of the weapon used in at least 11 of the sniping attacks.

Alabama Shooting Leads to Arrest
Maryland police were led to Muhammad and Malvo by reports of a September 21 shooting at a Montgomery, Alabama liquor store where police found a piece of paper bearing Malvo's fingerprints. Earlier reports that .223 ammunition had been used in the Alabama shooting were later discounted by authorities.

Search Spanned Nation
Late Wednesday afternoon, authorities in Tacoma, Washington searched the back yard of a duplex near Fort Lewis, where Muhammad once served in the U.S. Army. According to military officials, Muhammad did not receive sniper or Special Forces training at Fort Lewis, but was trained in "combat support missions." [See: D.C. Sniper Suspect's Military Background]

FBI and ATF agents combed the grounds with metal detectors, searching for bullet casings and spent projectiles that could possibly be tied to the .223 caliber ammunition used in the D.C.-area sniper attacks. A tree trunk, possibly used by Muhammad for target practice was removed for investigation.

From the Pacific Northwest, the investigation moved to Marion, Alabama, where federal agents were reported to have searched a civilian paramilitary training camp known as "Ground Zero USA." Authorities suspected that Muhammad may have received training at the facility, which specializes in "urban warfare, martial arts and SWAT tactics." It was not known if any evidence was removed from the scene.

Update: FBI Denies Ground Zero USA Search
FBI officials on Thursday afternoon denied reports that its agents had searched Ground Zero USA in Marion, Alabama as part of its investigation of the D.C. sniper attacks. The FBI also stated it had no evidence showing either  Muhammad or Malvo had ever attended training at the facility.

Possible Ties to Terrorism?
The Seattle Times reported that Muhammad, a Muslim convert, was known to be sympathetic to Islamic terrorists and may have been motivated by anti-American sentiments in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Both were known to speak sympathetically about the men who attacked the United States," reported the Seattle Times.

In a July 25, 2002 report, ABC News reported that British police authorities believed the Marion, Alabama camp known as "Ground Zero USA" was being used by Muslim extremists to prepare for a Jihad, or holy war. ABC reported that their sources at Scotland Yard believed foreign extremist groups were training in the U.S. in order to "take advantage of America's gun laws." 

In response to the ABC News report, Ground Zero USA issued this press release stating that it had made information on all of its attendees available to the FBI and British anti-terror agencies, and that the FBI had confirmed that, "no one who had attended any training programs at the Ground Zero training venue in the USA had shown up on any terrorist watch list."

The Sniper's Victims

James D. Martin, 55, killed on Oct. 2
James "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, killed on Oct. 3
Prem Kumar Walekar, 54, killed on Oct. 3
Sarah Ramos, 34, killed on Oct. 3
Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, killed on Oct. 3
Pascal Charlot, 72, killed on Oct. 3
Unidentified 43-year-old woman, critically wounded on Oct. 4
Unidentified 13-year-old boy, critically wounded on Oct. 4
Dean Harold Meyers, 53, killed on Oct. 9
Kenneth Bridges, 53, killed on Oct. 11
Linda Franklin, 47, killed Oct. 14
Unidentified 37-year-old man, critically wounded on Oct. 19
Conrad Johnson, 35-year-old man, killed on Oct. 22

[Details on Victims from CNN]