Sniper strikes again; boy critically wounded

BOWIE, Md. -- The Washington-area sniper struck again Monday, shooting and critically wounding a 13-year-old boy as his aunt dropped him off at school, authorities said.

The shooting of the gunman's youngest victim yet heightened fear across the densely populated neighborhoods surrounding the nation's capital. Schools kept youngsters indoors at recess and lunchtime, and parents raced to pick up their children early under the watchful eyes of police.

The child was shot once in the chest before the start of classes at Benjamin Tasker Middle School and was in critical but stable condition at Children's Hospital in Washington. Doctors said they were optimistic he would survive.

"All of our victims have been innocent and defenseless, but now we're stepping over the line," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said, tears streaming down his face. "Shooting a kid -- it's getting to be really, really personal now."

President Bush denounced the attacks as "cowardly and senseless acts of violence," and he promised government support to local authorities and schools.

The sniper has shot eight people since Wednesday, killing six of them. Five died in Montgomery County within five miles of each other, and the sixth died on a Washington street. The latest attack was in neighboring Prince George's County, just north of the nation's capital.

No eyewitnesses

Police say there have been no eyewitnesses and precious little to go on.

Ballistics tests found that the bullet which struck the boy was identical to those which killed some of the other victims and wounded a woman in Virginia, said Joe Riehl, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

All victims were hit by a single shot.

In Monday's attack, a shot was heard and the boy slumped over, telling his aunt he thought he had been shot, Prince George's County police chief Gerald Wilson said. Police cars surrounded the school and officers put up crime scene tape and searched the campus.

Schools in Montgomery and Prince George's counties initiated a "code blue" alert, keeping students inside during recess and lunchtime.

Sharon Healy had just sent her 12-year-old son, Brandon, off to Benjamin Tasker on his bicycle when she heard of the shooting shortly after 8 a.m. She said she ran there and pulled him out of class.

"You think you're safe, but you're only as safe as your next step," Healy said. Said her son: "I was scared."

In Lanham, Dana Buckner picked up her two children at Seabrook Elementary School as the school day came to a close. They normally ride the bus.

"I felt better having them with me," Buckner said. "I'm worried. I'm going to have to send my kids to school tomorrow."

Another parent, Sonja Moore, came to Seabrook to pick up her 6-year-old son, Aaqil, who normally takes the bus.

"You send your kids off to school, you think they're going to be safe," she said.

Said Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan said: "This community is in a state of fear."

Police and federal agents pored over maps and put together a psychological profile to hunt down the sniper, stepping up patrols and sorting through thousands of tips.

They also began to use a geographic profile submitted by investigators that uses crime locations to determine where the killer feels comfortable traveling and may live. A $150,000 reward has been posted for help in solving the attacks.