Although this movie is based upon actual events, certain characters and scenes have been fictionalized.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2002
- [Sirens Wailing] - [Panting]
Freeze!
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
There he is! There!
[Sirens Continue]
[Woman Gasps, Whimpers]
Where are you, boy? Come on, son.
I said freeze!
[Horn Honking]
[Sirens Continue]
[Horn Honks]
TWO WEEKS LATER
OCTOBER 3, 2002
[Newsman] And a good morning, and our top stories around the world today...
Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly continues his talks in Korea...
this time with North Korean officials.
This is the first mission to the country by a senior American official...
since the Clinton administration.
Checking business news... A rally by the stock market...
may boost investor confidence, but are more criminal charges...
in the works for Enron executives?
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND In local news, Montgomery County police are investigating...
a shooting last night in a Wheaton shopping...
[Alarm Beeping]
DAY ONE
- Come on, Sandy. We gotta go. - I'm up. I'm up.
What time did you come to bed last night?
I don't know. 2.00 or so.
You need to get more sleep, Charles.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE We had a murder last night in Wheaton.
I told Jacobs to check in.
- A domestic dispute? - We don't know.
[Radio Newsman] How will that affect our weather?
All on our forecast after our look at Thursday morning traffic.
[Newswoman] A lot of traffic out there, especially if you're on the Outer Loop...
leaving l-95 College Park headed toward Silver Spring.
The Beltway out of Oxon Hill is gridlocked...
with everyone leaving for the Wilson Bridge.
Did Lieutenant Jacobs have something he needed to tell you at 2.00 in the morning...
that he couldn't have told you at 8.00?
I've gotta drop you at the airport, stop by the headquarters...
go to Officer Murphy's funeral, get back to the airport for my flight.
You know, I might miss Jacobs altogether.
[Radio Newswoman] Chesapeake Bridge and a lot of slow traffic left...
however, on the 95 and 395 between Springfield and Bridge Street.
If you're on your way to work, allow a lot of extra time and patience this morning.
That's the shape of things at the moment, Jim. Back to you.
[Jim] Thanks, Christine. In the Middle East...
Do you realize that since we moved here, you haven't...
you haven't lost one officer in the line of duty?
Yeah, that's one thing I don't miss about Portland.
Yeah.
[Radio Newsman] The almanac says the record high in Montgomery County...
for October 3 was way back in 1954.
So how hot can it get?
WHITE FLINT, MARYLAND
- Hey. Yeah. Yeah. - Yeah.
- [Phone Ringing] - Good morning, Chief.
Good morning, sir. I'll call you back.
I typed up the notes for your talk with a couple Post-Its where it reads awkwardly.
Don't worry, Silvia. My vernacular endears me to people.
- Yeah. Paulson. - [Sighs]
[Officers Chattering]
- Paulson. - Yes, sir.
You want to talk about the sergeant's exam?
Ah, no. It can wait, Chief. I mean...
You got five minutes. Come into the sanctum.
[Gunshot]
A man's gotta know his limitations.
I'm not saying don't take the test. I'm saying give yourself...
- [Knocking] - Chief, we have a problem.
ASPEN HILL, MARYLAND
[Quiet Chattering]
DOUG DUNCAN MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE
- Good morning, Mayor Duncan. - Good morning.
?? [Cartoon Soundtrack]
- You're gonna miss the bus. - What?
- You're gonna miss the bus. - That's okay. I'll ride my bike.
- Ride fast. - Milk, honey.
So I miss homeroom, maybe. It's not a big deal.
- All right? - Kiss.
- Sandwich? Thank you. - Phone?
- [Phone Ringing] - Come on, Jack.
- It's here. It's here. - Thank you.
- [Boy] See you later. - Are you in front of the TV?
Is it on? See it?
[TV Newsman] Witnesses are saying they heard one shot.
- One report from a rifle or a handgun. - Yeah, I see it.
A shooting last night. A second one earlier this morning.
I'm at the third. I don't know what's going on.
- Declared dead by paramedics. - Yeah, I'll meet you downtown.
His name has not been released.
Again, if you are just joining us...
there has been a shooting at a local Rockville Mobil station.
Yeah, this is Doug Duncan. I need to talk to the governor.
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND
- [Sirens Wailing] - [Chattering]
Three witnesses heard a shot.
It was a single shot.
One says he saw a white box truck fleeing the scene, white male driver.
The guy was just filing his taxi.
Okay. Here's what happens.
Every cop on the street wears a vest. Mandatory!
I want autopsies on the bodies... Wheaton, White Flint, Aspen Hill...
done this morning.
I want an officer to hand-deliver the slugs...
from the M.E. To the ballistics lab.
I want results from the ballistics lab today!
Chief, we've got another one! Post office in Silver Spring. That's three.
- Four! Four, you count last night. - Damn it!
Wheaton, White Flint, Aspen Hill, Silver Spring.
- What time, Foster? - What?
- The Silver Spring shooting. What time? - I don't know. Five minutes ago.
That'd be 8.37. And our guy here?
- 8.12. - Twenty-five minutes.
Look, we need the state police chopper up over the interstate now.
We need an all-points out for the box truck!
- Chief? - He's using the Beltway.
? [Radio... Rap]
? [Rap Continues, Indistinct]
Put it on AM, John.
[Man On Radio] The super sale will be on for two days...
so you don't want to miss out.
- Hit the other button. - Slashing prices in every department.
- [Newswoman] The cockpit voice recorder was recovered yesterday... - Change it again.
[Radio Newsman] If you've just joined us, there's been a series of shootings.
We're not sure if they're related or not at this point.
[Siren Wailing]
- Stop chewing your face, son. - At 7.40 this morning.
Police are still processing the crime scenes, and we expect...
KENSINGTON, MARYLAND
[Newswoman] We're outside Montgomery County police headquarters...
in Rockville, Maryland...
just moments outside Washington, D.C., awaiting some news on these murders.
County executive Doug Duncan and Chief Charles Moose...
are set to make a statement in a few moments.
I'm getting 150 state troopers to fill in the blanks. Two hundred tomorrow.
Governor Glendening has committed emergency funds. Don't worry about O.T.
I wasn't going to.
What are we looking at? Hate crimes?
- The guy's a world-class misanthrope. - What do you mean?
He shoots men and women, minority and white. Hates everybody.
Charles, we're not talking about terrorism?
I don't want to cry terrorist if this is just some asshole with a scope.
A little panic might make people cautious. It might save some lives.
There's no such thing as a little panic. Not any more.
[Reporters Shouting]
- The chief looks nervous. - Can you blame him?
- The whole nation's watching. - [Shouting Continues]
Nothing like this has ever happened in Montgomery County.
Our homicide rate just increased...
by 25% in one day.
To the people in the D.C. Metropolitan area...
be advised to be alert, be vigilant.
There's been no consistency in the people that have been targeted.
We are not able to assure anyone...
their safety at this time.
Chief, are you exploring connections to terrorism?
Sir, we are a large...
suburban community, adjacent to our nation's capital.
We're not gonna rule out any avenue at this time.
Chief, are we dealing with a professional of some kind? A trained sniper?
[Moose] We do have someone that, so far...
has been very accurate at what they're attempting to do.
Thank you.
[Woman] Children! Supper!
[Newswoman] This murder spree began yesterday evening in Maryland...
and continued today with four more shooting deaths.
Police have launched a statewide manhunt.
Last night the victim was a 55-year-old man shot dead at a local market.
At 8.00 this morning, a second man was shot while mowing a lawn.
A short time later, a cab driver was killed while filling his taxi at a Rockville gas station.
Then a woman sitting at a post office...
and then a second woman shot down while cleaning her car.
Police are urging the public to remain vigilant and alert.
There seems to be only one correlation in these shootings...
Every victim was doing the things each one of us does every day.
- Good evening. - Hey. How are y'all doing?
Good, good, good. I was wondering if we can get a... get a locker.
Would that be a family membership?
Sure. You have month-to-month?
- Mm-hmm. - Okay, that'll work.
- This your boy? - Yes.
- What's your name, baby? - You can tell her.
[Caribbean Accent] My name's John, ma'am, just like my father.
- Where's your island accent? - [Laughs]
- His mother's Jamaican. - Oh.
- My blood's all red, white and blue. - [Laughs]
Uh, why don't you come on over here? I'll take your picture.
Come on. Stand right there.
Oh, come on, baby. Smile for the camera.
- Do you want mine? - Most definitely. [Laughing]
Now, why don't you give me one of them smiles?
Okay.
- Okay, let me run some things by you. - Right, right, right.
Do you remember seeing the box truck before or after Chief Moose announced it?
I'm sorry, but the chief won't be giving interviews.
All questions can be addressed through our public information office.
I'll know better within an hour. Thank you.
My office is getting calls.
Scared people asking questions I can't answer.
- What do they want to know? - They want to know how to be safe.
Asking about instituting curfews.
They've killed at night. They've killed during the day.
We can't ask a million people to hide indoors.
- We have to define this, Charles. - [Knocking]
Chief, I've got Sandy.
- We have to give it a name. - There is no name for it.
- Sandy? - Hey, baby. I'm back. I'm home.
- You okay? - Yeah, yeah.
- I'll be there as soon as I can. - All right.
Chief! Special Agent Tremain from the F.B.I.
Baltimore field office.
Chief, we open the door to the Feds, they are gonna ask us to step out.
Don't worry, Jacobs. I reached out for the Bureau.
- [Phone Ringing] - [Chattering]
[Newswoman] This suburban Beltway community normally offers safe haven...
from the crime and violence of the District.
But since the last shot rang out at 9.58 this morning...
Montgomery County police have announced neither leads...
nor suspects in this series of random murders.
There are more questions tonight than there are answers.
Paralysis has set in across this quiet suburban county.
Citizens are behind locked doors, wondering if the horror has ended...
as abruptly as it started, wondering if this is all over...
if it's safe to walk the street, buy gas or go shopping.
[Radio Newsman] Has some sleeper cell awakened...
in the shadow of our nation's capital?
Authorities will neither confirm nor deny that the shootings are terrorist-related.
Terror...
[TV Reporter] You said one shot, Chief.
Are we dealing with a professional of some kind? A trained sniper?
We do have... someone...
that so far has been very accurate...
at what they're attempting to do.
[Newswoman] The specter of terrorism looms large in the mind of Americans...
and it cannot be ignored.
This is Connie Kingston reporting live from Rockville, Maryland...
a city under siege.
[Woman] Oh! Oh!
Chief Ramsey had a shooting in the District last night.
DAY TWO 6.15 A.M.
If it's connected, that's six.
Six people in 24 hours.
AIF AGENT RUSSELL STONE D.C. Metro turned the bullet fragments over to us this morning.
The fragments you've recovered so far have all been 223s.
It's a common bullet. Several companies make it. Several weapons fire it.
- We can't trace it? - You haven't found any shell casings.
- We assumed he was collecting them. - Or he's using a bolt-action rifle...
and ejecting the shell casings later, or he's firing from inside his vehicle.
The shooting in D.C. Does match the MO.
Long range, one shot, no casings.
D.C. Metro has a witness...
who saw a burgundy-colored Chevy Caprice leaving the scene.
African-American driver.
F.B.I. SPECIAL AGENT JACK TREMAIN I don't think so. Spree killers skew white.
Our profile says he's late 20s, early 30s, educated, divorced.
That matches yesterday's description... white box truck, white driver.
We're putting together a geographic profile.
Most likely, he lives near where he kills.
He or they? If this is a serial killer, okay, that's one thing.
But the press has chained this to anthrax and 9/ 11.
Long-range assassination is a page out of Al-Qaeda's playbook.
What if it's not Osama Bin Laden? What if it's Timothy McVeigh?
We're looking into militia groups up and down the Seaboard.
We're referencing that against weapons purchases...
Wait... Wait a minute.
Referencing that against any members with weapons training.
Lieutenant?
This guy, these guys, whatever the hell they are...
they haven't targeted government institutions or employees.
They haven't made any demands. Nobody's claimed any responsibility.
So if this is terrorism, what's the point?
What's the message?
Fear.
[Helicopter Approaching]
- [Man] Okay, listen. Like I said... - [Woman] Honey...
- [Chattering Continues, Indistinct] - [Horn Honking]
- Stop worrying, Mom. - [Man] Stay inside.
- You missed the bus. - Oh, yeah. I'll just ride my bike.
- You got all your gear. I'll drive you. - But l...
I don't want you to miss homeroom. I'll call you.
Come on, guys. I'm driving. Come on.
Come on! Come on, come on. Push it! Push it!
Push! Get it off of you! Push! Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive it.
Drive it! Get it off you!
Look at me, John.
John, look at me.
John, John, Allah Akbar.
Bring it. Bring it. Come on! Come on!
- [Grunting] - Allah Akbar. Bring it.
Bring it! Get it off! Get it off of you!
- Yeah! - [Panting]
Good job! [Laughs] That's what I'm talking about.
John, that's what I'm talking about.
[Laughs] Allah Akbar.
[Woman] If something should happen and a child gets hurt...
MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL I couldn't live with myself...
knowing that we might have done something and did not.
We have done something. The schools are under lockdown.
It's like living in a bunker eight hours a day.
Kids are safer in school than out.
- Your kids too? - Yes, my kids too. Absolutely.
How do we make an informed decision about the schools...
without something concrete from law enforcement?
- The chief is giving us everything he can. - Which ain't much.
I propose we shut 'em down. Close the schools until this is over.
And tell the kids what? Give up? Hide under your bed?
- I'd rather see them scared than dead! - No one wants our children hurt.
It would only be as long as it takes to catch the bastard.
And how long will that be?
- We don't know. - What if we don't catch him?
I guess we'll be looking for a new police chief.
[TV Newswoman] The sheriff's department has verified...
that Montgomery County schools remained...
under a code blue lockdown status today.
[Newsman] And there's talk of opening military bases so local school children...
can carry on with sporting events.
Barring the apprehension of a suspect, they plan on keeping their children in this Halloween.
They just don't want to take a chance.
We will release a composite image...
of a white box truck...
seen fleeing one of the crime scenes.
A white male was seen driving this vehicle.
[Newswoman] That was Chief Charles Moose...
speaking to reporters earlier today on some recent developments in the D. C...
- We want you to start wearing a vest. - You gonna put a million vests on a million people in Montgomery?
- No. - Then you're not putting one on me.
I want to assign a security detail in case... in case...
I'm telling people to go on with their lives.
- Doug, the Feds have intel... - I'm going out in public. My family's...
Al-Qaeda's trained snipers to hit U.S. Government officials.
You're the highest elected officer in the county.
- They're killing civilians! - Now! You're a rung up the ladder.
- So are you. - I carry a gun.
I'm surrounded by people carrying guns.
I'm talking about two cops in street clothes.
Rapid Start collects the tips, tracks who's working the lead.
F.B.I. BALTIMORE FIELD OFFICE
Most of the operators are trainees, but we have experienced agents overseeing them.
Did you take any flak opening the door to the Feds?
Murders in the District go Federal. You would have come in anyway.
- We don't know D.C.'s connected yet. - Yes, we do. We just can't say it.
Sniper tip line. Please state your name.
"Don't talk. Just listen. I want to talk to the policeman."
[Woman On Phone] I need you to state your name, sir, before I take your information.
My name? No, no. You don't get that.
L... I do... "I have something for you.
You're looking for the wrong people."
I can't take any information unless you state your name first.
- You're not listening. - Please, just start with your name, okay?
Okay. Call me God.
[Phones Ringing]
[Man] We got a possible. George Lenehan.
He's one of the sniper school rejects that Fort Bragg spat out of the computer.
What's he done since the army?
- He's tied to a militia group... Brothers of the Cross. - [Moose] The rifle?
Purchased a Bushmaster in 2001, semi-auto. It shoots 223s.
He was cited yesterday for speeding outside of Thornburg, Virginia.
That's Spotsylvania County. He's in the neighborhood.
FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA
[Car Alarm Chirps]
- [Gunshot] - [Man] What's that?
- [Man Gasps] - [Spectators Murmuring]
Oh, my God! I need help!
Help me! Please!
Chief, shooting in Fredericksburg.
That's 20 minutes from Thornburg on l-95.
That's 20 minutes from Rockville. Jacobs! We're going for a ride!
Go, go, go!
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA
- [Man #1] Look at the goosebumps. - [Man #2] Look how cold that water is.
[Man #1] Just teasing. She looks good, doesn't she?
- The way she grabbed hold of that dorsal fin. - [Man #2] Nice. [Laughs]
- This way, ma'am. Come on. - What's going on?
- Go on down that way. - Right. Right.
[Man #1] Tina hasn't been this wet since the spring break show.
You remember that one. [Laughs]
[SWAT Officer] Go, go! That's it! Hurry! Let's go!
Let's go!
[Men On TV Laughing]
[TV Newsman] We interrupt this program to bring you a fast-breaking live exclusive...
on the D.C. Sniper case.
[Newswoman] Our news team has learned federal law enforcement has converged on a hotel...
- [Helicopter Hovering] - What the hell?
It's not one of ours.
[Newswoman] What you are seeing now is a live feed from our aerial camera.
Go! Make your breach! Now!
Well, there is a significant amount of police activity outside the hotel...
Now! On the ground!
George Lenehan, this is the F.B.I! Come out with your hands up!
- [Newscast Continues] - [Glass Shattering]
- Get down! Get down! - [Grunting]
[Shouting, Grunting]
Yes, yes! It looks like they have him. The suspect has been apprehended.
- [Reporters Shouting Questions] - We are holding the man on a warrant...
unrelated to the crimes we've been discussing.
We have yet to make any connection...
between this man and the shootings.
DAY FIVE
If and when we do...
we will provide you with that information.
For now...
we have to stay vigilant.
- Check. - Live your lives...
but be aware.
Don't let your anxiety control you.
Go to work.
Go to school.
Your children are safe at their schools.
[TV Newsman] That was Chief Moose now confirming that they do have a suspect in custody.
- [Newscast Continues, Indistinct] - Checkmate.
You didn't see that, did you? You gotta see it, John.
You gotta see that. You gotta focus. Free your mind.
I told you this 10 times already.
I returned that gun months ago.
[Jacobs On Monitor] Yeah, I guess a Bushmaster...
would be too much gun for a skinhead redneck like yourself.
I can handle any weapon you name.
- You're a regular shit-head. - Have we found it?
No.
He could have dumped the rifle in the Potomac, Chief.
[Lenehan] I guess that's what they told you, huh?
Why would he do that? He didn't know we were coming.
We haven't had a shooting since we apprehended him.
Yeah.
[Sighs] Quiet weekend.
[Jacobs On Monitor] You can think about that a little bit longer...
then we'll come right back in here, or you can tell me where you set the gun!
[Phone Ringing]
- Hello? - It's me.
Hey, you. Get any sleep last night?
Mm, yeah, yeah. I'm good.
- You coming home tonight? - You'll be in bed before I do.
I'll wait up.
Charles, keep calling, even if it's just to say you can't make it home.
I will.
And tell your troops to do the same thing.
They need to call home...
even if it's just to say, "I can't talk."
Charles?
I'm sorry, Sandy. I can't talk.
- [Helicopter Hovering] - [Children Shouting]
- [Siren Wailing] - [All Shouting]
BOWIE, MARYLAND
[Officer] Out of the building, please.
[Woman] Help!
The boy's aunt was just dropping him off.
A few people heard the shot. No one saw the shooter.
Thirteen. He was 13 years old.
What the hell kind of sick bastard shoots a kid?
- Is he alive? - They took him to Children's Hospital.
[Sirens Wailing]
[Newsman] Here's what we know so far...
Police have closed down Route 197, which fronts the school.
Traffic is crawling throughout the area. It's total chaos here.
We've got parents trying to get into the area to get their kids...
home safe and sound.
Police won't comment on any connection to the sniper shootings...
but the MO looks to be the same... one shot, fired at a distance.
We may not have Bin Laden or Timothy McVeigh.
No. Maybe David Berkowitz.
"Dear Mr Policeman. Call me God.
Do not release to the press."
Get a fingerprint off that shell casing.
I doubt he'd plant clues and forget to wipe them clean.
It's the first time he's got out of his vehicle.
Why, do you suppose?
I said they were safe.
I said the schools were safe.
[Chattering]
He went outside his comfort range with the boy.
He went out of range on October 4 too, Hasbro.
But I redesigned the profile for Virginia, and then he comes back.
I don't know what variables are defining his kill zone.
It becomes more accurate the more samples it gets.
How many more samples you want?
[Newsman] October in the D.C. Area is supposed to be a time for the outdoors.
The heat of the summer has melted away...
- [Siren Wailing] - but this season a state of siege has paralyzed the community.
Its citizens are staying in, afraid to venture out.
Student sporting events have been rescheduled or canceled altogether.
High school teams are practicing in their gyms...
uncertain when activities will resume...
uncertain when their lives will return to normal.
[British Newsman] Well, what makes this not just an American story but an international story...
Somebody like this could hold London to hostage...
or Rome or Paris or Berlin.
[British Newswoman] The random shootings are especially shocking here in England...
where strict gun control limits gun ownership...
to a small minority of the population, usually farmers.
But gun-related violence is on the rise here...
and there is much empathy for those in the D.C. Area.
[Shuddering]
[Woman On Radio] I'm from San Diego, and even though we're all the way on the other coast...
we're... we're nervous around here too.
CLINTON, MARYLAND I have two kids, and I don't even want to leave the house any more.
[Man On Radio] I live in Phoenix, Arizona, and I'm afraid to buy gas.
[Talk Radio Host] Calls are coming in from not only the East Coast...
but the West Coast, the Southern States, the Pacific Northwest.
[Woman On Radio] The Towers, then the anthrax and now this...
and you wonder, is there a line they won't cross?
I.D., ma'am.
[Helicopter Hovering]
Mildred Muhammad. Okay.
I'll get you to pull ahead. I'll radio in for 'em.
[Moose] Red dots represent the victims.
Red, orange, yellow and green should be where he lives.
- [Agent] Correct. - The cable cops say he lives in the vicinity of his crimes.
And then he leaves it. Hits Virginia.
- You say the schools are safe... - Then he proves us wrong.
We're defining his kill zone.
Our victims have all been innocent.
They have all been blameless and defenseless.
But today...
a line was crossed.
Today...
it got down to the children.
And whether it was the person we're looking for...
or someone else...
someone so cruel...
so mean-spirited...
to shoot a child...
they've given our community a level of fear that we're not used to.
Now, come on.
That's crossing the line.
Our children don't deserve this.
I guess it's getting to be really, really personal now.
So, parents, please engage your children tonight.
Be there for them. Tell them that they're safe.
They're gonna need that. They've got to hear that from you.
And tell them that we're gonna...
carry on.
We will carry on...
because that's what we do in this country.
That is what we do.
[Newsman] That, of course, was Chief Moose...
of the Montgomery County Police Department...
speaking earlier today, emotional...
clearly upset over the shooting of a 13-year-old boy in suburban Maryland.
Law enforcement officials are...
I'm supposed to be all facts and evidence.
I go out there, I shed a tear.
He sees that.
He sees...
He sees he got to me.
He goes out and he does it again.
[Helicopter Passing Overhead]
Detective Paulson...
my sources in Prince George say that the sniper left a calling card.
You enjoying this?
Bad news is good news, and good news is bad for business.
The message was on a tarot card. The death card?
Mmm. What'd it say?
Are there any more cards?
[Chuckles] Happy hunting.
DAY SEVEN
[TV Newsman] As we last reported, the child shot yesterday in Maryland...
at the Benjamin Tasker Middle School was undergoing surgery...
- at Children's Hospital. - Hey, you up?
I'm told he's out of the operating room after several hours of intense work...
by the county's top surgeons.
But there's been no information as to his status.
We will continue to track this story and bring you updates as we get them.
[Newswoman] And if you've just joined us...
there's been a very unsettling update on the sniper case.
A calling card was left with the haunting message...
- "Hello, Mr Policeman. I am God." - Oh, no.
Sources say that the message then went on...
to warn the police not to release the card or its contents to the press.
- The card, the tarot death card... - What have they done?
Represents the sniper's first attempt to communicate with police.
[Dispatcher On Radio] King George Four. King George Four.
[Man On Radio] King George Four.
[Dispatcher] King George Four, concerned that your contact...
[Continues, Indistinct]
[Dispatcher] Chevy Chase Village, you can phone him on two.
- [Man On Radio] Chevy Chase Village... - You all right, sir?
Uh, sorry, Officer. Yeah, I'm okay.
Can I see your license and registration, please?
Oh, sure.
Been up all night. Drove down from Jersey to see my wife.
Took a wrong turn about 3.00 a.m. I just needed 40 winks.
[Shuddering]
- Where does she live, sir? Your wife? - Clinton.
All right.
[Helicopter Hovering]
[Police Radio, Indistinct]
[Dispatcher] Two-one-zebra. Registration current.
Registered to John Allen Williams.
[Sighs]
- Bang! - [Gasps]
- [Laughs] Get in, Sniper. - [Sighs]
[Laughing Continues]
[Newswoman] The tragedies continue to mount in Maryland and Virginia.
The sniper or snipers have taken the life of yet another victim.
This is the ninth shooting and seventh murder since October 2.
Police collected evidence at a Manassas, Virginia, Sunoco station...
where the man was shot down while filling his tank...
but have come away with no leads to follow.
This is the third shooting at a gas station.
Meanwhile, developments continue to come in...
on Monday's shooting at Benjamin Tasker Middle School.
"MISTER POLICEMAN, I AM GOD" The tarot card, the death card, which may have been left by the sniper...
is said to have included a warning to police.
Task force sources say the message explicitly told law enforcement...
DAY NINE not to release the card to media outlets.
You have to blame the press before the sniper blames us.
He's the only constant the community has.
He's the face of this investigation.
The face of the investigation can't go off half-cocked.
He has every right to give them hell. It's an issue of trust.
You can do this, Chief. You have a passionate history.
I'll see you all down there.
[Door Closes]
You attack the press today...
tomorrow all the stories are gonna be about your temper...
and your problems in Portland.
Did you talk to the county heads about running a dragnet?
- Charles, let me do this. - Is everyone on board?
- Let me do this conference. - Is everyone on board?
County, state and federal.
[Sighs] You know it has to come from me.
I'm the policeman.
As far as I know, the people in my community...
have asked the police department to work this case.
So I beg of the media, let us do our job!
If the community wants you to do it...
they will call today and we will have a vote.
And if it's decided...
that Channel 9 or the Washington Post...
is going to investigate this case, so be it.
You need to fill your airtime and write your columns...
so you make up news where there is none.
Each one of you is so hell-bent on beating the competition...
that you make public information...
that could, at best, jeopardize the investigation...
or, at worst...
jeopardize lives.
FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA
Okay, we are...
set.
Sit tight.
[Malvo] Got it.
All right, look. Traffic's clear. All clear.
Take your time.
Free your mind.
Free your mind, John.
- Free my mind. - Say it again.
Free my mind.
Allah Akbar.
[Screaming]
[Sirens Wailing]
[Truck Horn Honks]
[Man On Bullhorn] We are conducting a police investigation.
If you are driving a white van or white truck...
[Newsman] There's a dragnet going on up and down the Beltway here.
They've got all the off- ramps and the on-ramps closed off...
and they are checking all white box trucks.
- Open up the back. - Uh, white vans.
There was a report that it might be a light-colored Chevy Astro.
Well, today they're taking no chances whatsoever.
They're stopping any vehicle that even closely resembles that description...
and they're, of course, asking for all the identifying paperwork...
for anybody in that vehicle.
I repeat, you want to stay clear of the Beltway.
The traffic here is at a complete standstill...
as state and local authorities are searching vehicle to vehicle...
in pursuit, of course, of these killers or killer.
And, as I repeat, there are now 10 victims in a week's time.
Hand me the map, John.
[Horns Honking, People Shouting]
[Man] Let's go!
[Man On Bullhorn] If you are driving a white van or a white truck...
[Arguing, Indistinct]
[Moose] We had another shooting death on the ninth in Manassas...
another today in Fredericksburg.
We locked down the Interstate.
We backed up traffic for 50 miles.
MARYLAND LAW ENFORCEMENT BRIEFING
As of this moment, we've come up empty-handed.
DAY TEN
[Murmuring]
[Stone] Well, what if... what if we're talking about more than one here?
- Snipers work in two-man teams. A spotter and a shooter. - We've covered that.
That's not what I'm saying. Multiple teams.
Maryland has one cell. One in Virginia.
But you're not answering the dragnet question.
- How the hell do they get away? - Multiple teams, multiple vehicles.
[Jacobs] So we could be wrong on the truck.
Maybe it's a white van or maybe it's one of the other vehicles.
We don't really know.
[Newsman] With each passing day and with each murder...
the sniper or snipers become bolder and more ruthless...
but law enforcement is also upping the stakes.
A tally shows that 390 F.B.I. Agents, 155 A.T.F. Agents...
and other government agencies have now joined the task force...
which has also reached out to the Pentagon...
requesting access to a military surveillance plane...
with high-tech equipment capable of tracking gunfire on the ground.
[TV Newswoman] In an interview, Senator McCain offered...
supportive words for those terrorized by the recent spree...
of sniper murders.
He was less supportive of Chief Charles Moose, saying...
"I've come to the conclusion that we need to have somebody in charge. "
He went on to say that with over 1,000 federal agents...
already on the task force...
the person to be in charge, the person to look to...
[TV Newsman] We've learned that back in Portland, Moose was criticized...
when protests outside his home over the closure of the city park turned violent.
As a patrolman, Moose was disciplined four times for outbursts.
He was ordered to attend anger-management classes...
to stem his rage.
Despite these incidents, county executive Doug Duncan...
hired the chief back in 1999.
[Newswoman] The latest sniper victim was a 53-year-old man, Kenneth Bridges.
Police are said to be working on a second composite sketch...
of a white van witnesses saw leaving the scene of this most recent shooting.
Police are also going through hours of business surveillance cameras...
to find something, anything, that might lead to a break in the case.
The serial sniper has left eight dead and two wounded.
The most recent victims were shot at gas stations...
while filling their cars, going about their daily lives.
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
DAY TWELVE
[Siren Wailing In Distance]
[Siren Approaching]
[Woman On Police Radio, Indistinct]
[Helicopter Whirring]
[Man] Did you see him? Did you see his vehicle?
- Was he alone? - What does the guy look like?
- Was it the white van? - I saw the sniper, man.
I saw the whole thing go down. It was a Chevy Astro I saw him driving.
Light-colored, like beige-ish.
- I got a good look at the driver. - You said you cut him off.
I cut him off, yeah, yeah, and he just glared at me, man.
Pissed off. He was in a hurry, and that...
What did he look like?
He was Arab-Iookin', like one of the hijackers.
- Like one of the 9/ 11 hijackers? - Uh-huh. Yeah.
We've come full circle.
[Man] Has the witness identified the type of vehicle driven?
Sir, I cannot go into any details specific to what the witness did or did not see.
[Man] Did he see the vehicle?
When I have more information, I will release it.
[All Shouting]
I would like nothing more than to provide you with a name...
an address and a phone number.
Are you withholding more information since the tarot card leak?
We withhold what would interfere with the investigation.
Or are you just learning less?
DAY SEVENTEEN
[Helicopter Whirring]
[Dog Barking]
There's no gear by the door. Don't you have practice today?
No, the, uh, soccer team has the gym today.
We have the, uh, weight room.
[Fork Clatters On Plate]
I'll be outside with the bodyguards.
Come on, guys. You're gonna be late.
- [Helicopter Whirring] - Are...
Are you going to another funeral today, Dad?
Yeah, honey, yeah. I am.
Come here. Have a good day, huh? Okay.
Are we all goin' out for dinner tonight? Is that still the plan?
[Door Closes]
[Malvo] "I am God. I am in control.
I am God. I am in control."
[Dialing]
- [Line Ringing] - You're very welcome.
Rockville City Police. Your call is being recorded.
"Good morning. Don't say anything. Just listen.
We are the people causing the killings in your area.
Look on the tarot card.
It says, 'Call me God. Do not release to press.'
- Sir, you have to call... - We have called you three times before...
trying to set up negotiations.
We have gotten no response. People have died."
Sir, anything to do with that is Montgomery County Police hot line.
Rockville is not investigating the crime. Would you like the phone number?
What did he say? What?
I couldn't really see his eyes, but, uh...
but his jaw was, like, sharp, you know, angled.
And he had a beard. Yeah.
Yeah, like that. And real, real, like, heavy, heavy eyebrows.
You know what I mean? Yeah.
- Chief? Foster. - Yeah, like that.
Fairfax County just finished with the mall security tapes.
Now, this is just seconds before the shot was heard.
And... bang.
He was inside. He was inside the whole time.
Yeah. I'm gonna do a tap dance on this asshole...
Fred Astaire would be proud of.
Th-Th-That looks like him a lot.
That's him. That's him, man.
[Muhammad] For you, Mr Police.
ASHLAND, VIRGINIA
Call me God.
Do not release to the press.
We have tried to contact you...
to start negotiations...
but the incompetence of your forces...
- What? - Incompetence?
L-N-C-O-M...
P-l-T-E-N-C-E.
[Man Yelling, Indistinct]
[Muhammad] These people... took our call...
for a hoax or a joke.
Your failure to respond has cost you five lives.
If trying to catch us...
is now more important...
then prepare your body bags.
[Sirens Wailing]
DAY EIGHTEEN
The Ponderosa victim's not dead. F.B.I. HQ- BALTIMORE FIELD OFFICE
- He's gut-shot, but he's stable. - What did the letter say?
Don't know yet. It just cleared processing.
"If stopping the killing...
is more important than catching us now...
then you will accept our demand... 7.05 AM
which are non-negotiable."
"Us." "Our." There's at least two of them.
"We will contact you at 6.00 a.m."
Son of a bitch.
- Had to process the note, Lieutenant. - Son of a bitch!
We open at the scene, we compromise prints, fiber evidence.
I know how to work a crime scene, you arrogant prick!
- It happened. It's over. Move on. - They have demands.
They're asking that 10 million be placed in a bank account.
They want to start withdrawing money from A.T.M.'s on a stolen card.
What do we do with that?
That's how we catch 'em. We start a dialog with them now.
It looks like we could have started a dialog days ago.
They say they've contacted the Montgomery Police...
the F.B.I. Task force, the priest in Ashland.
- Uh, priest in Ashland? - The Ponderosa was in Ashland.
- Yeah, I can run with that. - There is a postscript.
- [Woman] Chief! - [Man] Chief!
- [All Shouting] - [Man] You got any more, Chief?
[Shouting Continues]
[Woman] Chief, what is the current status of the victim in Ashland?
Do you plan to press charges against the false witness?
I want to read a statement...
to the person who left the letter in Ashland.
We've received your instructions.
Please phone again at the number you left.
We want to talk to you.
ASHLAND, VIRGINIA
[Man On Radio, Indistinct]
[Man] Not endured for our salvation.
His glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, and ready to greet him...
[Rings]
- Hello. - You're late.
- I apologize. - Have you transferred the money?
We're working on it, but we're gonna need more time.
You don't have more time.
To the person who just called...
the transaction you requested...
is not possible electronically.
Please call us...
at the same number you used before.
- [Rings] - Hello.
They got the trace.
[Siren Wailing]
- [Tires Screeching] - [Siren Continues]
- Down on the ground, now! - Hey! ¿ Qué pasa?
Get down! Get down! Get down!
- Father Sullivan. - Bill.
Lieutenant Jacobs, Montgomery County.
Have you received any strange phone calls in the last couple of days?
A man called me. It was difficult to understand him...
- but I thought he said he was... - God.
- Yeah. I thought it was a prank. - What else did he say?
He said to look into a liquor store shooting in Montgomery.
- County? - No, Alabama.
Chief. Detective Brooks in Alabama.
- [Beeping] - Detective, Chief Moose.
[Man On Speaker Phone] I checked what you said, and yeah...
we had a robbery and homicide on the 21 st of September.
Two women were shot, one fatal...
but it don't sound like your guy.
- Tell us why. - There were two perpetrators...
both male African-American.
What were they driving?
Uh, they fled the scene in a late-model Chevy Caprice.
Chief?
You, uh, recover anything at the scene?
We got a partial print off a gun magazine.
Yeah, we ran it, but our system's only statewide.
Uh, y'all wanna take a look?
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND
[Man] All right. We gotta go find it.
DAY TWENTY
[Trigger Cocking]
[Computer Beeping]
- Quit smoking? - Yeah, I'm tryin' to.
- How you doin', Elaine? - Hi!
[Beeping, Loud Beep]
- [Elaine Screams] - Get down!
[Woman] Oh, my God!
- [Beeps] - The print belongs to Lee Boyd Malvo.
He's a kid, 17,Jamaican by birth. Held by the I.N.S. On immigration charges.
Last known address puts him at a homeless shelter in Washington state.
[Ringing]
Jacobs.
- Chief, we have another shooting. - Where?
Aspen Hill.
They left another note.
[Muhammad's Voice] For you, Mr Police. Call me God.
"Can you hear us now?
Do not play these childish games.
Your incompetence has cost you...
another life."
They repeat the same threat they made in the Ponderosa letter.
We should release it. We owe it to the community.
We release, it rewards them, incites them. They haven't acted on it yet.
No, they've acted on it. Of course. On the seventh, they acted on it.
We can't incite them to do something they've already done.
Put it out?
It's your call.
[Man On TV] Today President Bush addressed the nation's fear and anxiety.
[Bush] It makes me sick to my stomach.
Uh, to think that there is a...
cold-blooded killer at home, taking innocent life...
Uh, l... I weep for those who've lost their loved ones.
I have said before that public safety is the priority.
We will not withhold information...
that might endanger the citizens...
of this community.
There was a postscript...
attached to the letter left at the Ponderosa...
which I will now read.
"Your children...
are not safe...
anywhere...
at any time."
- [Reporters Shouting] - Goddamn it.
[Man] Is there any reason why you waited so long to tell us this?
I don't know.
Just keep 'em in the backyard and don't let them ride their bikes on the street.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
I love you too, baby.
I'll call you later? Bye.
- [Phone Rings] - [Sighs] Yeah?
Say that again.
What the hell's in Washington state?
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
LIGHTHOUSE MISSION HOMELESS SHELTER
I remember the boy. He had a gentle manner.
Does this have something to do with his I.N.S. Hearing?
Or does this have something to do with John Muhammad?
We might be looking at a two-man team.
I met John and John at the "Y."
We used to work out together.
His kid was nice, quiet.
He didn't say squat without John's permission.
I personally found it refreshing... a kid today showing his old man respect.
John claimed Malvo was his son... or stepson.
It depended on who he was talking to.
But that boy, he never acted like a son.
He followed John like a zealot, took orders like a soldier.
John Allen Williams, also known as John Allen Muhammad.
Two years ago he was splitting with his second wife, kidnapped his kids...
took them to Antigua.
We think that's where he met Malvo.
The boy followed him back to the States?
- Followed him clear across the country. - And back again.
John called the kid "Sniper," like a nickname.
I mean, he was teaching him how to shoot, and I thought...
He taught the kid how to do everything... how to work out, how to eat right.
The guy's a serial loser.
Two failed marriages, two failed businesses we know about.
Only time he's distinguished himself was in the army.
What did he do?
Qualified as an expert on the rifle range.
He had these crazy ideas...
talked about blowing up oil tankers on the highway...
killing cops who showed up at the scene...
and blowing up the churches during the cops' funerals.
Sick stuff. Crazy, right?
We got a hit.
Yeah, we got a... It's a Chevy Caprice. The color's blue.
Sweet Mary.
That car's been red-flagged in area one, two, three, four...
No less than 10 times.
Okay. Okay.
We gotta cast a wide net, but we've gotta do it quiet.
We need every county, state and fed cop looking for this car.
The team in Washington... where are they headed next?
After the shelter, they stayed with a friend from Muhammad's Gulf War company.
- Where? - Tacoma.
[Woman] With an update on the sniper story from Tacoma, Washington...
here is John Demeeta.
[Demeeta] Authorities will neither deny nor confirm...
that this recent activity here in Tacoma has some connection...
to the rash of murders on the other side of the country.
Local F.B.I. Locked down this Tacoma home...
and have proceeded to perform a grid search of the yard with metal detectors...
as though they're looking for bullet fragments.
Firefighters are also working to remove a pockmarked tree trunk...
which looks like it might have been used for target practice.
Chief, if the press has Tacoma, they have the names too.
Screw the names. If the snipers see this, they're in old Mexico.
[Demeeta] F.B.I. Will load this trunk along with wood pile and rock debris...
and will ship it back to their lab in Maryland.
[Sighs] Would you tell my son I'm out at the car? Bad toothache.
- Ah, sure, baby. I'll do that for you. - Thank you. Appreciate it.
[Panting]
[Engine Revs]
[Revving]
[Engine Off ]
[Exhales]
[Clanking Sound]
[Man On TV] Earlier today, metal detectors were used...
to sweep the yard of this Tacoma, Washington address.
Sources close to the sniper investigation have stated that there is something...
a suspect, a witness...
something that links these two seemingly unrelated locations.
John! It's okay. He's just outside. Your daddy went to sit in the car.
[Exhales]
TACOMA FAMILY COURT TACOMA, WASHINGTON
- Beatrice Jaffe? - Uh, yes?
We're looking for information on a John Allen Muhammad.
- He's the ex of one of my clients. - Mildred Muhammad.
Yes, that's right.
Did he find her?
Chief?
I know why he came here.
[Girls Screaming]
John? John. Watch your sisters.
- All right. - I gotta run to the store.
- [Girls Screaming] - [John] Aaah!
[John Moaning, Roaring]
[Screaming Continues]
[Sirens Wailing]
[Girls Screaming, john Roaring]
- God. - [John Roars]
Play nice, babies.
[Screaming Continues]
[John] Aaah!
[Sirens Approaching]
[Helicopter Whirring]
[Sirens Growing Louder]
[Sirens Continue]
- They get to her in time? - Yeah.
House is secure, the wife and kids are safe.
Oh, my God.
I told Sandy about the Wheaton shooting when all this started.
She asked me...
"Was it a domestic dispute?"
Is this just some guy gone around the bend because his wife got custody?
- Maybe that's how it started. - Why'd he keep going?
Why didn't he stop?
It's hard when you're made to feel you're the Almighty.
[Speaking Japanese]
John Allen Williams.
John Allen Williams is said to be traveling with his stepson, John Lee Malvo.
John Allen Williams... [Speaking Foreign Language]
We go out with the make and model now, they're gonna dump that car.
You put the car out, it's easier for a citizen to spot.
Tip line might get us there faster.
Wouldn't we have to worry about a citizen taking the law into his own hands?
They are traveling in not a white box truck, not a white van...
but a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice.
We do now.
Dad?
Yeah.
What do we do now?
Uh, let's just...
Let's just close our eyes for a while.
[Moose] A federal arrest warrant has been issued...
for John Allen Muhammad...
also known as John Allen Williams.
Muhammad should be considered armed and dangerous.
12.45 AM He may be in the company of a juvenile.
DAY TWENTY-TWO Do not approach them.
Call 911.
[Man On Radio] Here's one with a wild hair. Call somebody else, all right?
All right, let's get back to our top story.
The sniper car's finally been I.D.'d by the Montgomery Police Department.
It's a blue Chevy Caprice, New Jersey tags.
That'd be NDA 21 Z.
Nora-David-Alpha 21 Z.
You see it out there, would appreciate it if you called 911 and let 'em know.
With your help, we can put a stop to this madness...
that's been terrorizing the area for the last few weeks.
Any of you eagle-eyes spot this car, please call 911 right away.
- [Phone Rings] - Yeah.
It's happening.
- [All Shouting] - Out of the car! Come on!
Get out!
Lay down! On the ground! Get down!
[Shouting Continues]
[Rings]
- Duncan. - [Moose On Phone] No shots fired.
We found them in their car, asleep.
- They get the weapon? - Yeah.
- A.T.F. Will have ballistics this afternoon. - That's great, Charles. Get some sleep.
- Okay. - Talk to you this afternoon.
I'll talk to you then.
[Sighs]
[Whirring, Beeping]
Congratulations.
They matched your rifle.
Today you graduate to capital murder, John.
What a waste.
[Door Slams, Lock Slides Shut]
[Inhales, Sobs]
[Approaching Footsteps]
[Jacobs On Speaker] Hey, John.
Death penalty's not a question any more.
Are you hot?
You want a soda?
You pathetic piece of shit.
[Beeping]
[Beeping Continues]
- Damn! - Careful!
- I got it! - Get out of there!
- Get him down! - Get off me! Get off me!
[Shouting, Indistinct]
Get off me! [Screams]
[Malvo] Okay. Okay! Okay, okay!
[Quietly] Okay. Okay.
[All Chattering]
[Moose] I wanted to express to you...
who have lost loved ones...
that...
a case like this...
a case of this nature...
there is no protocol...
no textbooks to follow.
We did everything...
everything we could.
But it wasn't enough for...
the ones you lost.
- [Woman Crying] - And I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry.
Chief Moose, my brother was the last...
He was the last victim.
Don't you blame yourself.
We don't blame you.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26th
Yeah. Okay.
Fine.
They're no-shows. They forfeit.
- [People Groaning] - [Boy] Aw, come on!
- What's the problem? - People are still scared.
[Phone Ringing]
Hello.
Yes.
Yeah, thank you.
What?
They say he's gonna be all right.
- The boy they shot... - [Sighs]
He's gonna be okay.
So, what do you guys wanna do?
- What you wanna do? - Let's play ourselves!
- [Whistle Blows] - [People Cheering]
[Man] Come on, come on, come on, come on!
Jeffrey!
Although this movie is based upon actual events, certain characters and scenes have been fictionalized.