Shootings recall deadlier D.C sniper rampage of 2002 - Baltimore Sun
It would take five killings over the course of 17 hours the next month before it became clear that at least one shooter was on the loose in the greater Washington area. The shootings that led to the arrest this week of Hong Young, 35, brought back memories of that terrifying time when John Allen Muhammad and teenage protege Lee Boyd Malvo fired indiscriminately at people. They shot at 13, killing 10, over a three-week period in October 2002 and ultimately were linked to at least 11 other shootings, including LaRuffa's. Now 68 and living in Hollywood, Md. , LaRuffa still remembers "mind-boggling flashbacks" and nightmares until Muhammad and Malvo were captured. Anne Arundel Police Chief Timothy J. Altomare, at a news conference on the Young case Wednesday, noted the parallels: "As I look around the room today, I'm struck by the fact that most of us here were probably in some way, shape or form aware of... The Beltway sniper killings began in Montgomery County, in broad daylight, and the locales included homes, stores, gas stations and schools. As fear descended over the area, businesses closed, school activities were canceled and simply pumping gas or wheeling a shopping cart across a parking lot became unnerving. This week's shootings, by contrast, led to little widespread unease. While police released information about individual shootings, they did not publicly connect the cases until shortly before they arrested a suspect. Source: www.baltimoresun.com
