Seven years after a series of sneak-attack sniper shootings terrorized the Washington D.C. area and left 10 people dead, the mastermind of the mass murders has been put to death. John Allen Muhammad was executed by the state of Virginia at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday.Observers said Muhammad made no final statement before receiving a lethal injection.
Muhammad was executed for the shooting death of Dean Harold Meyers while he was stopped as a gas station in Manassas, Virginia. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Muhammad's final appeal Monday and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine denied his request for clemency Tuesday.
"We extend our condolences not only to the families and loved ones of the victims, but also to the family and loved ones of John Allen Muhammad," J. Wyndal Gordon, one of Muhammad's attorneys, told reporters. "It's just a tragic situation all around."
A Reign of Terror
Throughout October 2002, Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, launched a series of apparently random sniper attacks from Muhammad's car, which had been rigged so that a shooter could lay down in the trunk and shoot a rifle through a hole in the back of the vehicle without being seen.
They killed 10 people in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. during their spree. They were finally caught Oct. 24, 2002 after a truck driver called police to report that they were asleep at a rest stop in Maryland. They were arrested without incident.
Lee Boyd Malvo was also convicted for murder in Virginia and Maryland. Because he was a juvenile at the time of the shootings, he was not eligible for the death penalty. He is serving several life sentences.
The two were also suspected in shootings in Arizona, Louisiana and Alabama.
See Also:
DC Sniper Muhammad Executed for 2002 Attacks
Previous Articles:
D.C. Sniper to Die by Lethal Injection
Sniper Muhammad's Execution Date Set
D.C. Sniper Muhammad Loses Appeal
Sniper Muhammad Gets 6 Life Sentences
Sniper Muhammad Found Guilty in Maryland
Malvo Outlines Snipers' Plan of Terror
Finding an Unbiased Sniper Jury May Be Tough
Sniper Won't Face Death in Maryland
Sniper Wants Separate Trials for Six Murders
Snipers Face Six Murder Counts in Maryland
Sniper Muhammad's Death Sentence Upheld
Judge Rejects Sniper's Double Jeopardy Claim
D.C. Sniper Victims Get $2.5 Million Settlement
Virginia Judge Drops Sniper Murder Charges
Malvo Gets 2nd Life Sentence
Photo: Mug Shot
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