WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 -- Ballistic evidence has conclusively linked a shooting in Falls Church, Va., to the series of sniper attacks that have killed eight other people and wounded two more in the Washington area, police said Tuesday.
Fairfax County Police Chief Tom Manger said that the killing of Linda Franklin, 47, Monday night outside a Home Depot located in a busy shopping center 10 miles west of the nation's capital was the work of the serial sniper, who has been linked to at least 12 shootings.
FBI officials confirmed Tuesday that Franklin was an FBI employee, who worked as an analyst of the Washington headquarters facility.
Police said they are searching for a cream-colored Chevrolet Astro van with a broken left rear taillight that was seen heading east on Route 50 from Falls Church. The vehicle has a silver ladder rack on top. Witnesses at the scene of a shooting last week in Virginia described a similar vehicle.
According to police, Monday's shooting happened in view of more witnesses than the previous attacks and some bystanders reported seeing the driver of the van. Police said a composite sketch of the suspect could be released Tuesday.
Ellen Qualls, press secretary for Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, said that Franklin was standing near her husband when she was struck.
Traffic around Washington came to a standstill late Monday as police shut down bridgesand the Washington Beltway that loops around the nation's capital. "We have police officers saturating the area," Manger said.
The shooting came just hours after President George W. Bush called the serial sniper "a sick mind who obviously loves terrorizing society."
"I'm just sickened, sick to my stomach, to think that there is a cold-blooded killer at home taking innocent life," Bush said.
Investigators hunting for the serial sniper said the release of a composite image of a white box truck seen in the area of at least two of the shootings has generated several tips from the public.
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose on Sunday encouraged anyone who might have serviced the suspected vehicle in the past to come forward with any information. The sniper has fired a single round into each of 11 victims, killing nine, since Oct. 2. Another attack -- believed to be the first -- was a rifle shot fired through the window of a hobby store.
The composite image of the truck was posted on Web sites run by the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Authorities said they believe the vehicle's rear bumper is damaged. They said the truck has dark lettering on the side and emitted a loud noise, suggesting it is an older vehicle.
"The puzzle has yet to come together," Moose said. "We are continuing to make progress."
Officials are offering a reward of $500,000 for details leading to an arrest and indictment.
The FBI has asked the Pentagon to search its records for recently discharged soldiers who received training in sniper school, Time magazine reported in its latest edition. The schools teach snipers to work in tandem -- one as the spotter, the other as the shooter. |end| Content: 02001000 02003000