Are they Caught?..

[Spyder32]

This is an article from yahoo.com related to the news that two men have been arrested last night at 3am and taken into custody. They fit the evidence (the very little) that the FBI has and they really think that these two men were behind it. Read this chilling article about it:


FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - Two men wanted for questioning in the wave of deadly sniper attacks were arrested early Thursday after they were found sleeping in their car at a Maryland rest stop, authorities said.

The arrests came amid a flurry of activity in the investigation of the attacks that have killed 10 people and wounded three others since Oct. 2.


The break occurred hours after authorities descended on a home in Tacoma, Wash., that was believed to hold clues important to the investigation. They then issued a nationwide alert for the car, spotted by a motorist and an attendant at the rest stop.


Members of the sniper task force arrested the men without incident at 3:19 a.m. off I-70 in Frederick County, Md., about 50 miles northwest of the nation's capital, said Larry Scott, an agent for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.


The men were arrested in a car that matched a description police gave at a midnight press briefing, said Maj. Greg Shipley, a spokesman for the Maryland State Police.


"I don't know what their reaction was," Shipley said. "It wasn't an aggressive one."


Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, who is leading the investigation, said John Allen Muhammad, 42, was being sought for questioning in the slayings and called him "armed and dangerous." Muhammad was said to be traveling with a juvenile, identified by a law enforcement source as 17-year-old Lee Malvo.


The relationship between Muhammad, who also goes by the name John Allen Williams, and the teen was not clear, but several newspapers reported that Malvo is Muhammad's stepson.


A law enforcement source close to the investigation told The Associated Press that "I'm confident that these are indeed the people" sought in the killings.


"The evidence is all there and because of things we've received in the communications," the source said on the condition on anonymity. "It fits together with evidence they've collected in the last couple days."


Several federal sources told the Seattle Times that Muhammad and Malvo may have been motivated by anti-American sentiments in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Both were known to speak sympathetically about the men who hijacked jetliners over Washington, New York and Pennsylvania, the sources said.

But neither man was believed to be associated with the al-Qaida terrorist network, sources said.

The Times reported that Muhammed was stationed at Fort Lewis outside Tacoma in the 1980s, served in the Gulf War and was later stationed at Fort Ord, Calif. Malvo, who authorities said is a citizen of Jamaica, attended high school in Bellingham, Wash., last year.

Shipley said the men were being transported to Montgomery County, where the investigation is based.

The witnesses at the rest stop called police at 1 a.m. after they spotted the men sleeping inside one of the cars sought in the investigation — a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice.

Moose had cautioned that it shouldn't be assumed Muhammad is involved in any of the shootings that have stricken the Washington area since Oct. 2.

On Wednesday, authorities opened two new avenues in the investigation: FBI agents spent hours at the Tacoma home, eventually carting away a tree stump from the yard and other potential evidence in a U-Haul truck.

And in Montgomery, Ala., Mayor Bobby Bright said federal authorities were investigating whether a fatal shooting there last month was linked to the sniper.

Bright said a caller to the sniper investigation tip line apparently claimed responsibility for the sniper shootings and the Montgomery shooting Sept. 21. One woman was killed and another wounded.

A law enforcement source told the AP that police found a piece of paper at the scene of the Alabama shooting that bore Malvo's fingerprints. Police then traced Malvo to the Tacoma home, where he had been living with Williams, a source told the AP.

Late Wednesday night, Moose held a media briefing here he issued his latest cryptic message in his ongoing dialogue with the sniper.

"You have indicated that you want us to do and say certain things. You've asked us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose.' We understand that hearing us say this is important to you," Moose said.

He also expressed frustration at the failure to make contact despite the sniper's repeated attempts through "notes, indirect messages and calls to other jurisdictions." He asked the sniper to call.

A Fort Lewis spokesman did not return a call for comment on whether Muhammad was stationed on the base.

Felix Strozier, who ran a karate school with Williams in 1997 and 1998, said Williams told him he had been in the Army but did not say where.

Pfc. Chris Waters, a Fort Lewis soldier who lives across the street from the Tacoma home, said he called police after hearing gunshots in the neighborhood nearly every day in January.

"It sounded like a high-powered rifle such as an M-16," he said. "Never more than three shots at a time. Pow. Pow. Pow."

Dean Resop, who lives a block away, said quite a few tenants had been in and out of the home.

"Makes you want to watch your neighbors closer," said Resop, who has lived in the area seven years.

FBI agents also visited Bellingham High School, 90 miles north of Seattle, on Wednesday. Mayor Mark Asmundson told the Bellingham Herald the agents were apparently seeking information on a male teenager who once attended the school and an older man. He said both left the area about nine months ago.

--Yahoo.com

Well, that was interesting. Both have expressed sympathy for the September 11th Hijackers. That is extremely familiar, maybe with the little kid who took plane lessons and decided it would be "cool" to follow in and crashed the plane into a building in Chicago. This is pretty sad, as they are basically people who express sympathy and decide to take action, just in the wrong way. I forgot who, but someone said he was ex-military. Well yeah, he was in the Special Forces and served in the Gulf War. As of right now, the news is saying thay have caught him and that everything is fine now. Are they saying this because they have no other leads and are willing to go with whatever they get, or do they really have those responsible for the 13 shootings? You can decide..

[Palemoon]

I believe that they may have in fact caught the right people. But I see some currents here that I find unsettling. The fact that these persons may have converted to Islam is not an issue nor a motivation I believe but an excuse to profit from the acts of terror this country has endured. If the issue of their faith of Islam is used to deny and railroad and hide true facts in the case then there is a problem. Remember that US justice is based upon one not being guilty unless they are so found by their peers (a jury) in a court of law. If we begin to discard this base based upon the media, and a faith then we undermine due process of law. As violent as these acts were and the people caught let a court decide their fate then. Remember also the goal of terrorist is to destroy the USA ways, and if things continue then our own goverment may in fact help them win. Do some goolge searches on what rights have been lost, like attorney client privlages, spying where you may worship. Yes we got the bad guys in this case I believe but they are and should not be used by out goverment to further erode American freedoms. If they are guilty let there be a fair trial in a court, stay objective on the matter, the media and goverment do not rule on these matters of crime this is why we have courts and people called judges and juries and let it be open to the public as our law also states.

[El Diablo]

Originally posted here by Spyder32


I forgot who, but someone said he was ex-military. Well yeah, he was in the Special Forces and served in the Gulf War.

I have a question regarding the above quote for you. Where did you see that he was in the Special Forces? According to military sources he was never part of the Special Forces.

The following is from CNN.com (yeah yeah I know not the paradigm of consitancy, but still) and has also been confirmed by numerous other news sources.

•Military officials told CNN Muhammad was not trained as a sniper and was not in the Special Forces, but had expertise in combat support missions.

I think they did catch the right people here, but let's not turn this in to a witch hunt until all of the evidence has been proven out.





El Diablo

[qwerty_smith]

the way i figure, if the shootings stop, they have the right guys. if they dont, well, back to the drawing board.

i heard a theory the other day that suggested four people: a driver, a spotter, a shooter and a walker. so if they caught these guys, there may be more. so i dont know.

it is interesting times, though.

[DjM]

I am not sure what we are suppose to read into this, but here is a quote from one of the Canadian newspapers.

"There's a strong feeling these people are related to the sniper shootings," said Douglas Gansler, state's attorney in Maryland's Montgomery County, where the sniper task force is based. Asked if he believed the sniper was still at large, he said "no."

Sure hope it's right.

Full story is Here


Cheers:

[Primordial_Ooze]

they found a hole bored into the back of the two guys vehicle, which was probably used to snipe out of, thats pretty strong evidence right there. i was pretty shocked to see it was a father/son team, and that they would be stupid enough to be sleeping in their car when theres a thousand fbi agents looking for them.

its good to see the reign of terror is over though.

[Spyder32]

They also found a rifle inside of their truck and authorities said that the bullets in the gun had been also found at the scene of the Gas Station. As for special forces, he served in the Gulf War and was apart of the special forces. I saw that on yahoo.com and on various news stations. Unless they are wrong, I dunno. I could care less what he was but they said that motivation was that they both had sympathy towards the 9/11 hijackers. Yahoo.com has had articles on the situation since it started, and their latest one was pretty interesting. Read It Here



Oh, btw half the articles is new, they included snippets from the last one (The one I posted).

[El Diablo]

hrmz... all the reports I'm seeing, and I'm sure I'm not seeing all that many, say that he wasn't special forces, but was combat support. Also, the latest thing I have seen is:

• Military officials say Muhammad qualified as "expert" with M- 16 during Army service

and then this quote:

Strozier also said Muhammad led him to believe that his military experience included serving in the U.S. Special Forces, the Army's special operations soldiers known as the Green Berets. The 1st Special Forces Group is located at Fort Lewis but military officials told CNN that Muhammad was not in the Special Forces, but had expertise in combat support missions and had the same basic firearms training anyone in the Army would have. Military officials also told CNN that Muhammad was discharged from the Army in the mid-1990s.

/shrug

who really knows as the media will be changing and updating their stories as the week goes on.



I know some people have said they don't care if the guy was SF or not, but I can say that as a veteran it does mean a lot to me. It's bad enough that this guy is former military, but if he was one of the elite of our military then it's a double blow.

btw that last statement was not meant as a flame to any particular person or group of people.


El Diablo

[Palemoon]

Vets mean everything but face it McVey was a vet also..a grunt as this person it is media hype. Tell me in basic training at what yard could any grunt hit a target? Not beyond what they all can that is why they got through basic training. The media is blowing away even basic training making it something it is not. War is one thing in it there is a chain of command, he said he was God above us all. Orders are that orders, free choice free, this man cannot will never reflect the way of any military personnel, he just happed to serve and leave for his reasons then turn it against the very people that provided him with that knowledge. Vets have honor, and some Vets have no honor it is not the military's fault but the fault of a sick mine wanting to make a buck. Hey Enron, WorldCom..he just needed that as an excuse!

[.Sy.]

the way i figure, if the shootings stop, they have the right guys. if they dont, well, back to the drawing board. - qwerty_smith

This may be true but what I am worried about is copycats. Somebody will probly see this, think, hmmm....something I could do, and then take thier rifle and go start killing people. Like the kid who ran his plane into a Chicago building and the school shooting that spurred off many other school shootings. This could happen anywhere now that the idea has come up, and I am almost certain that there is someone somewhere who feels that they would not be caught, and they are smarter than those who were caught. I hope this doesn't happen, but will not be extremely surprised if the same thing occur in that area as well as other places.