October 2003


I can’t believe that it’s been a year since the D.C. area sniper attacks. Just one year after 9/11 and people in this area had another fear to contend with. I will never forget the feeling of fear of just going to the gas station or walking across a parking lot to go the store or to my car at the subway station. Most of us talked about how when going to the gas station we would either get back in our cars while the gas pump was going or just stoop down next to your car. Stuff you don’t normally do at a gas station. If you were in a parking lot, whether at the store or the subway station parking lot, most of us talked about how we would zig zag instead of walking in a straight direction so we wouldn’t be a target. And no one cared how crazy it looked. No one should fear for their lives in these types of situations. And a child should not have to fear going to school. But John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo made us experience these types of fears. In Montgomery County, MD a woman sitting on a bench in front of a store was killed. A man just doing a job for a friend was killed. A Ride On bus driver just starting his shift early in the morning was shot and killed while standing on the bus steps. Several people were killed at gas stations in Maryland and Virginia. A man walking across a grocery store parking lot was shot and killed (his murder was the first of the attacks which started on October 2, 2002, though a woman working in a nearby Michael’s store had narrowly missed being the first victim). An elderly man who was taking care of his ill wife was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. just walking to the store. A woman standing next to her car with her husband in the Home Depot parking garage in the Seven Corners area of Northern Virginia was shot and killed. A 13 year old student was wounded in front of Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, MD. A woman was wounded while loading her vehicle with packages in front of a Michael’s store in Spotsylvania County, VA and a man was wounded in a restaurant parking lot in the Richmond, VA area. In all 10 people were killed and 3 were wounded. Muhammad and Malvo are also connected to several murders in other parts of the country including Washington state and Louisiana.

During the month of October 2002 I remember waking up in the morning and hearing about a shooting that took place overnight. Or I would be at work and find out that someone was shot and killed in the early morning hour. Everyone at work had their pc’s tuned to CNN. The final saving grace was when I woke up one morning and found out they had caught the killers.

I’m bringing this up because the trial is about to start for John Allen Muhammad. Right now they’re going through the jury selection process. The trial is taking place in Virginia Beach, VA. Far away from where most of the crimes were committed. One of the shootings took place outside of Richmond, VA. To be honest I would have a biased opinion if I had to be on a jury for this trial because my mind would already be made up about these two. I am pro death penalty in certain situations and this is one of those situations. I am not one of those black people who fall in lock step and defend blacks in trouble at all costs especially when you know what they did was wrong. I didn’t defend Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson, former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry or that child molester R. Kelley. And I’m certainly not gonna defend Muhammad & Malvo. In my opinion these 2 terrorized an entire metropolitan area. I remember reading about Muhammad and that his ex-wife lived in the Clinton, MD area. She feared this man. Some say that’s why he targeted the D.C. metro area.

I know some people say that shootings go on in certain neighborhoods everyday so something like this doesn’t faze them and they tend to have the fatalistic attitude of “we’re all gonna die anyway.” But for most of us doing certain routine things like pumping gas in your car, loading packages in your car, going to school (a lot of schools in the area were on lockdown, especially after the student was shot), standing next to your car in a parking garage or doing a favor for a friend by mowing a lawn and getting shot in the process is not the norm and we want to enjoy our lives. It’s something that majority of us do and we shouldn’t have to fear doing it.

The survivors of these attacks were very fortunate. But for the families of those who were killed it leaves an empty feeling. Many of the victims left behind parents, wives, husbands, children, nieces and nephews. One of the victims who was shot at a gas station was on his way home to Pennsylvania from a business trip. He left behind 6 children. The Ride On bus driver had 2 children. Another victim shot at a gas station was the father of 2 children. The victim shot in front of Home Depot was the mother of 2 children and she was a breast cancer survivor. Two of the female victims had one child each. The first victim was the father of one child.

I know that implementing life time sentences or the death penalty for Muhammad and Malvo won’t bring back the deceased but for many it will mean they will be punished for their crimes and bring closure to this case.


For more information on the Sniper Shootings you can check out these links:

Sniper Shootings Coverage
Timeline
Profiles of sniper victims
Arbitrary Victims, Identical Fate
New Lives, Old Ties Ended With Gunshots
Spotsylvania Victim Improving
Boy, 13, Shot by Sniper at School
Victim Was Vivacious, A Cancer Survivor
Bus Drivers Devastated At Slaying of 'Loving' Man
Bus Driver Is Mourned By Family, Colleagues
United in Loss, Families Grieve Independently
Sniper Victim's Laugh, Love Resonate Still
Family of sniper victim forms foundation to honor his legacy
Police: Shooting similar to sniper attacks
Muhammad's Inexorable Slide