October 10, 2002	Thursday	Sha’aban 3, 1423

ROCKVILLE (USA), Oct 9: The elusive sniper who has killed six people and injured two in the Washington area reportedly left a Tarot card with the message, “Dear Policeman, I am God”, near the scene of one shooting, but investigators refused to discuss this on Wednesday.

The sniper reportedly left the message on a Tarot “Death” card not far from where a 13-year-old student was critically injured in a shooting near Benjamin Tasker Middle School on Monday.

Investigators reportedly recovered a shell casing in woods near the school, but angrily refused to discuss the possible evidence, which was leaked to the media.

“We’re going to forget about that issue and continue with the investigation, that’s the best thing to do,” Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said, adding that he would be “surprised” but “excited” if a break came from the card.

He had earlier told reporters that the investigation “continued to unfold” but offered few details about how police work was progressing in finding the killer.

“The person, or the people, that are doing this, rethink what you are doing, turn yourself in to law enforcement,” Moose pleaded at a news briefing.

Moose said Montgomery County had sent resources to neighboring Prince George’s County to help search a wooded area near two other schools after a witness said she saw a “suspicious person” entering the area with a long black bag. Authorities said on Monday that the sniper could be carrying his weapon in a long black gun case.

By mid-day, Prince George’s County police spokeswoman Diane Richardson said the search had ended with no trace of the man: “There were no signs that anybody had been back there.”

Since Oct 2, the sniper has killed five people and wounded one in Maryland suburbs of Washington, killed one person in the US capital and wounded another in Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 130kms south of Washington.

With the sniper silent since early Monday, area residents were on edge on Wednesday, wondering if the shooter might strike again. Schools in Montgomery County, which were heavily guarded by police following Monday’s shooting, were closed on Wednesday for a long-planned teacher training day.

Authorities had also examined evidence from an earlier shooting in Montgomery County to assess if it was related to the sniper shootings. “The forensic work on the Sept. 14 shooting is inconclusive,” Moose said, adding that further tests were not expected.

Each victim was hit by a single shot fired from an assault rifle.—Reuters