D.C. Sniper Shootings Affect Mass. Residents
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2002–When George Washington University sophomore Keith Raine sees a helicopter flying overhead, he now assumes that someone in the area has been shot. When Howard Parnell, a father of two in suburban Virginia, loads groceries into his car, he cannot help but wonder if he will be the next target of an unknown assailant.
The recent shootings by an anonymous sniper in the greater Washington area has rocked the lives of its residents, including many originally from the North Shore community.
Parnell lived in the Newburyport area for 10 years before moving to Vienna, Va., in Fairfax County, where 47-year-old FBI employee Linda Franklin was fatally shot Monday in the parking lot of a Home Depot store.
“The little routine things like getting gas, going to the grocery store, that you never thought about before–now you have to think about, are you going to make yourself a target?” Parnell, a former editor at the Newburyport Daily News, said.
The random nature of the shootings and the fact that all of the victims were doing mundane things like pumping gas, mowing the lawn or walking to school heighten residents’ sense of fear.
“Nobody ever expects to be shot, and that’s what makes this so scary,” said Raine, who grew up in Rockport. “It’s just so random; they [the victims] were just going about their daily lives.”
While those in the D.C. area are being extra cautious, most stress that they have not changed their daily routines because of the sniper.
Adam Arguelles, a freshman at Georgetown University from Westford, said that everyone is a potential victim and that changing his lifestyle would not end the threat of the sniper.
“Sure it’s a possibility, but I am not going to allow my life to be governed by fear,” Arguelles said. “The goal of the sniper is the paralysis of the D.C. metro area, and I think that by staying inside and changing your daily routine you are helping he or she accomplish their goals.”
Rep. John Tierney (D-Salem) said he has made sure that members of his staff who live in the D.C. area take safety precautions, but he said that none of them are letting minor fear turn into paranoia.
Tierney said he has fought in Congress for aid to police forces so they can combat random acts of violence and better identify murder weapons, and added that he hopes legislation to help community police forces will pass when Congress returns after the Nov. 5 elections.
Ironically, those living within the city, which has a higher crime rate than the suburbs, feel less affected by the sniper.
Newburyport High School graduate Elise Berton, a freshman at George Washington University, said she feels safe within the confines of her city campus.
Berton said that there is a high police presence on campus and that she is comforted by the argument that the sniper would not strike downtown because it would be difficult to make a getaway in such a busy area.
“It’s weird because it’s happening so close to me, but it’s so far from me. He wouldn’t be able to come into the inner city, but he’s just three miles away,” Berton said.
Since the shootings began on Oct. 2, all of the victims were shot in suburban areas of Maryland or Virginia, except for a 72-year-old man who was killed Oct. 3 in a section of Washington that borders Maryland.
Police from various jurisdictions are involved in an investigation in which there are few witnesses and no apparent connection between any of the victims.
The shooting outside the Home Depot Oct. 14 garnered the best evidence to date of the sniper and the getaway vehicle. Police said the vehicle is believed to be a light-colored Chevrolet Astro van or a Ford Econoline van. However, police announced Thursday that they could not offer a sketch of the sniper because witnesses from the Home Depot shooting could not agree on any details except that the sniper is male.
After living with the threat of the sniper for over two weeks, D.C.-area residents now expect to hear the worst when they turn on the television or pick up a newspaper.
“It’s part of living down here now,” Parnell said.
Parnell said people in the area have learned to deal with violent threats, but this month’s sniper shootings have especially worn out the community.
“Last year it was September 11, and then the anthrax scare, but this is a lot more prolonged and protracted. So it makes it that much more difficult.”
Published in The Newburyport Daily News, in Massachusetts.
