October 4, 2002	Friday	Rajab 26, 1423

WASHINGTON, Oct 3: Five people were killed during a 17-hour period in a series of shootings in an affluent Washington suburb, police said on Thursday.

Police spokeswoman Nancy Nickerson said one woman and four men were killed in six separate shooting incidents that began at 5:20pm on Wednesday. The latest one was at 10 am on Thursday in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is north of Washington.

Victims were killed outside gas stations and shopping centers in a 16-kilometre radius. Police said all schools in the county were locked down and outside activities were halted.

Nickerson said police were looking for a small white delivery truck with black or purple lettering, seen leaving one of the shootings. She said it was unclear whether the same people were involved in all the shootings.

“At this point we can’t say definitely they are all related but it’s probably they are all related,” Nickerson said.—Reuters