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D.C. sniper attacks

Also known as: Beltway sniper attacks, John Allen Muhammad, Lee Boyd Malvo

Active

2002–2002

Region

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, USA

States

AL, DC, MD, VA

Kind

Spree

Status

Convicted

Victims

11

Over three weeks in October 2002, John Allen Muhammad, 41, and Lee Boyd Malvo, 17, shot people at random from a modified Chevrolet Caprice in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., killing ten and wounding three. A fingerprint from an earlier killing at a Montgomery, Alabama liquor store led investigators to Malvo, and a truck driver's call led police to the pair asleep in their car at an I-70 rest stop in Maryland on October 24, 2002. Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia and executed in 2009. Malvo is serving life sentences in Virginia and Maryland.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• Claudine Parker, 52 · September 21, 2002

  Worked at an Alabama Beverage Control liquor store in Montgomery.

• James Martin, 55 · October 2, 2002

  A program analyst for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

• James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39 · October 3, 2002

  A landscaper.

• Prem Kumar Walekar, 54 · October 3, 2002

  A part-time taxi driver.

• Sarah Ramos, 34 · October 3, 2002

  A babysitter and housekeeper.

• Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25 · October 3, 2002
• Pascal Charlot, 72 · October 3, 2002

  A retired carpenter.

• Dean Harold Meyers, 53 · October 9, 2002

  A civil engineer.

• Kenneth Bridges, 53 · October 11, 2002

  A businessman.

• Linda Franklin, 47 · October 14, 2002

  An FBI intelligence analyst.

• Conrad Johnson, 35 · October 22, 2002

  A Ride On bus driver.

Timeline of locations

1. September 21, 2002
   Liquor store, Montgomery, Alabama (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Claudine Parker was killed and a co-worker wounded outside the liquor store where they worked. Malvo testified in 2006 that Muhammad fired from the car as a "test". A fingerprint left at the scene later identified Malvo.

2. October 2, 2002
   Shoppers Food parking lot, Wheaton (Crime scene, approximate area)

   James Martin was shot in a grocery store parking lot, the first killing of the October attacks.

3. October 3, 2002
   Montgomery County shootings, October 3 (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Within about two hours on the morning of October 3, four people were shot at separate places in Montgomery County: near Rockville Pike, at a gas station in Aspen Hill, outside Leisure World and at a gas station in Kensington.

4. October 3, 2002
   Georgia Avenue at Kalmia Road, Washington, D.C. (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Pascal Charlot was shot on the street that evening, the only killing in the District.

5. October 9, 2002
   Gas station near Manassas (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Dean Harold Meyers was shot while pumping gas in Prince William County. Muhammad's death sentence was for this killing.

6. October 11, 2002
   Gas station off I-95, Spotsylvania County (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Kenneth Bridges was shot at a gas station near Fredericksburg.

7. October 14, 2002
   Home Depot, Seven Corners (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Linda Franklin was shot in the store's parking garage in Fairfax County.

8. October 22, 2002
   Bus stop, Grand Pre Road, Aspen Hill (Crime scene, approximate area)

   Conrad Johnson was shot on the steps of his bus, the last killing of the attacks.

9. October 24, 2002
   I-70 rest stop near Myersville (Arrest, approximate area)

   After a truck driver called 911 about a Chevrolet Caprice parked at the westbound rest stop, police sealed off the area and arrested Muhammad and Malvo while they slept in the car.

10. October 2003
    Virginia Beach courthouse (Court / trial, approximate area)

    Muhammad's trial for the killing of Dean Harold Meyers was moved here from Prince William County. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

11. December 18, 2003
    Chesapeake courthouse (Court / trial, approximate area)

    Malvo's trial for the killing of Linda Franklin was moved here from Fairfax County. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole.

12. May 30, 2006
    Montgomery County Circuit Court, Rockville (Court / trial)

    Muhammad was convicted of six Montgomery County murders after Malvo testified against him. Malvo pleaded guilty to the same six murders. Both received six life terms.

13. November 10, 2009
    Greensville Correctional Center (Prison)

    Muhammad was executed by lethal injection here on November 10, 2009.

14. September 2024
    Keen Mountain Correctional Center (Prison)

    Malvo was moved here from Red Onion State Prison in September 2024 to continue his Virginia sentence.

Watch, listen, read

Sources

• D.C. sniper attacks (Wikipedia)
• Lee Boyd Malvo (Wikipedia)
• John Allen Muhammad, D.C. sniper, dies (UPI, Nov 10, 2009)
• Judge denies DC sniper's request to overturn 6 murder convictions in Montgomery County (WJLA, Sep 2024)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.