October 3, 2002 marks the first instance of “spree killings” committed by the snipers. Within the span of approximately two hours four people were shot dead in areas throughout Montgomery County, Maryland. A fifth victim was killed that evening in the Takoma neighborhood of the District of Columbia. In each shooting, the victims were killed by a single bullet fired from some distance and, in each case, the killers struck and vanished.
7:41 am
Police are first called to a crime scene when 39-year-old landscaper, James L. “Sonny” Buchanan, is fatally shot near Rockville, Maryland while mowing the grass at the Fitzgerald Auto Malls.
911 audio from the crime scene.
Lawn mower left behind after James L. "Sonny" Buchanan was shot. The cones indicate a blood trail left behind as he tried to run for help.
Buchanan made it to the Colonial Dodge near where he was working before collapse.
Location where James L. "Sonny" Buchanan died.
8:12 am
Police dispatch audio of officers en route to the crime scene.
54-year-old taxicab driver, Prem Kumar Walekar, is killed in Aspen Hill in Montgomery County, while pumping gasoline into his taxi at a Mobil station.
Mobil in Aspen Hill where Prem Kumar Walekar was shot.
Walekar stumbled away from his taxi cab after being shot and collapsed next to a van across from his vehicle at the gas station
Location where Prem Kumar Walekar was killed
8:37 am
Less than 20 minutes later, Sarah Ramos, a 34-year-old babysitter and housekeeper, is killed at the Leisure World Shopping Center in Norbeck, Maryland. She had gotten off a bus and was seated on a bench reading a book. Witnesses say two men in a white box truck with black lettering are seen speeding away from the scene, which leads police to erroneously believe the snipers are driving a white box truck or van. After this, law enforcement are inundated with sightings of white vans and white trucks.
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Bench Sarah Ramos was reading on when she was killed by the snipers.
Book Sarah Ramos was reading when she was shot.
Bullet hole behind the bench where Sarah Ramos was killed.
9:58 am
25-year-old Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera is killed while vacuuming her car at the Shell station in Kensington, Maryland.
911 audio from the crime scene.
Shell station where Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera was killed.
Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera was shot while vacuuming out her van.
9:20 pm
911 audio from the crime scene. WARNING: Explicit language.
The snipers wait nearly 12 hours before shooting Pascal Charlot, a 72-year-old retired carpenter, while he is out for a walk in Washington, D.C. Charlot died less than an hour later from his injuries.
Corner of Connecticut Ave where Pascal Charlot was killed.
Location where Pascal Charlot was shot.
In the wake of the shootings Montgomery County Police urge the public to remain inside and place schools on lockdown.