FACTS ABOUT THE 2002 DC AREA SHOOTING RAMPAGE

By Toby Tunwase

The Mid-Atlantic/Washington DC area has seen a ton of vicious acts since 1776 to date. But, the death of ten people and the fatal injuries caused on three others from shootings that happened in sniper-style is one to note. We take a look at this gory event from October 2002 as we place a timeline on the events that took place, the arrests, and the judgments that followed.

Image courtesy of baltimoresun.com

Timeline – DC Area Shooting Rampage

October 2, 2002

The shootings started when a bullet was shot through a window at an Aspen Hill Michael’s crafts store. There were no casualties that day until a 55-year-old man was shot dead in Wheaton, Maryland.

October 3, 2002

On this day alone, 5 deaths were recorded from shootings. 4 of these deaths happened in different parts of Maryland and only one in Washington, D.C.

October 4 and 7, 2002

2 ladies were shot at separate locations in Virginia and Maryland, respectively. They both suffered almost fatal injuries but later recovered a few days later.

October 9, 2002,

A tarot card was discovered close to the scene of one of the shootings. From then on, 5 shooting cases were reported leaving 4 people dead and one person severely injured .

October 24, 2002

Finally, the two juvenile masterminds, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were apprehended while sleeping at a rest stop in Maryland. Muhammad was executed 7 years later following his death sentence in 2004.

Image courtesy of cnn.com

February 26, 2020

Malvo’s plea was heard by the Supreme Court. The court ordered that Malvo be eligible for release on parole by 2022 in Virginia. Notwithstanding the ruling, his life sentence without parole in the state of Maryland still holds.