Arrests link gun to sniper attacks

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- One of America's most extraordinary manhunts culminated Thursday in the arrests of an Army veteran and a teenager, asleep at a roadside rest stop -- perpetrators, authorities believe, of a bloody, three-week sniping spree that left 10 people dead and multitudes paralyzed by fear.

John Allen Muhammad, 41 -- arrested with 17-year-old John Lee Malvo -- appeared in court, and was ordered held without bail. Both, said Montgomery County police chief Charles Moose, are considered suspects in the sniper attacks.

A gun found in the suspects' car -- a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle -- had been linked by ballistics to 11 of the 14 shootings, including one in which no one was injured, said Michael Bouchard, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The AR-15 is the civilian form of the M-16 military assault rifle. As a soldier, Muhammad received a marksmanship badge with an expert rating -- the highest of three ratings -- in use of the M-16, according to Army records. Police also found a scope and tripod in the car, a law enforcement source said.

In handcuffs and a green prison jumpsuit, Muhammad appeared in a Baltimore federal courthouse patrolled by a dozen federal marshals armed with high-powered rifles.

Muhammad is due back in court Tuesday on a federal firearms charge stemming from a 2000 court order in Tacoma, Wash., that barred Muhammad from harassing or using force against an ex-wife and children.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Beth P. Gesner made no mention of the sniper killings. Muhammad spoke little during the 10-minute hearing. When Gesner asked if he understood the charge, he quietly answered, "Yes, ma'am."

Malvo is considered by the court to be a juvenile, and all of his proceedings are closed. Police said he was being held as a material witness, pending charges, and they did not identify him.

Catching a criminal

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, outlined developments that led to the arrests:

On Thursday, Oct. 17, a Montgomery County, Md., public information officer received a call from someone they now believe was the sniper. The caller referred to a robbery-homicide in "Montgomery" -- not, in itself, enough to prompt authorities to call police in that Alabama city.

The next day, a priest received a call from someone who mentioned a crime in Montgomery, Ala. It's unclear whether the caller referred to the sniper killings, but the conversation prompted the priest to call the hotline. Authorities put the two calls together.

Evidence from a Sept. 21 robbery attempt outside a liquor store in Montgomery, which killed one employee and wounded another, then led police to Malvo and Muhammad.

Two senior federal law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators hadn't ruled out other accomplices, including some who may have provided vehicles or other support.

Moose said the investigation was continuing. He bowed his head and fought back tears as he recalled the victims and their families.

"We have not given in to the terror," he said. "Yes, we have all experienced anxiety, but in the end resiliency has won out."

President Bush called Moose and told him "you have lifted a shadow of fear for many families," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Peaceful arrest

The two were arrested without incident by members of the sniper task force at a rest stop in Frederick County, 50 miles northwest of Washington. The time was 3:19 a.m.

Three hours earlier, Moose had announced that Muhammad and a juvenile were being sought and issued a nationwide alert for a blue, 1990 Chevrolet Caprice with New Jersey plates. A motorist and an attendant spotted the car and called police.

The Caprice is co-owned by a New Jersey resident, Nathanel O. Osbourne; FBI officials said he was being sought as a witness.

The car has an opening in its trunk that would permit someone to lie inside and fire the rifle while remaining hidden, two federal law enforcement sources said. That could explain the lack of spent shell casings in most of the shootings, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Investigators now believe that the Caprice was involved in all the shootings. Sightings of white vans and box trucks were attributed to erroneous witness accounts.

Police did not immediately confirm a report in The Baltimore Sun's Thursday editions that the Caprice was approached Oct. 8 by Baltimore officers who found Muhammad and Malvo sleeping. That was the day after a 13-year-old boy in Bowie was wounded as he arrived at school.

The two were allowed to go, sources told the Sun, because investigators were looking for a white van. In the weeks after, four more people were shot by the sniper, three fatally.