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The DC Sniper Murders: When Terror Arrived in the Capital

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  • Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
  • Experience the gripping true story of the DC sniper attacks. Discover how random shootings terrorized the Washington D.C. area, claiming innocent lives and sparking widespread fear. Watch now for chilling details!
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 532

  • @cbdy1358
    @cbdy1358 Місяць тому +630

    This needs to be a casual criminalist episode. There’s so much to this story it’s crazy

    • @courtneybermack
      @courtneybermack Місяць тому +11

      I remember the relationship between the men being a real Thing but I don't remember the details.

    • @WizzleJizzy
      @WizzleJizzy Місяць тому +8

      Simon is too scared.

    • @SuperKendoman
      @SuperKendoman Місяць тому +11

      He should, even Count Dankula has done a longer episode than this 😂

    • @acehayato
      @acehayato Місяць тому +4

      The youre wrong about podcast had a great series on the dc snipers

    • @calebbean1384
      @calebbean1384 Місяць тому +13

      He's double dipped before. Jonestown managed to show up on both channels

  • @michaelbatson1879
    @michaelbatson1879 Місяць тому +265

    The one you need to remember about this that heighten paranoia: this took place only months after the 9/11 attacks.

    • @CaptainFSU
      @CaptainFSU Місяць тому +31

      And the anthrax

    • @pantherdddjvdgx
      @pantherdddjvdgx Місяць тому +9

      And Muhammad no less

    • @topogigio7031
      @topogigio7031 Місяць тому

      Republicans revel in pain and chaos

    • @Stichting_NoFap
      @Stichting_NoFap Місяць тому +1

      @@pantherdddjvdgx He was also a member of the nation of islam.

    • @jprehberger
      @jprehberger Місяць тому +16

      I agree. I lived in northern Virginia at the time and the general consensus was that this was terrorist activity.

  • @billlauretti7963
    @billlauretti7963 Місяць тому +49

    I was living in Wheaton, Maryland at the time, and 7 of the shootings took place within 5 miles of my house. It was a terrifying experience, leading us to pump gas by putting a tennis ball in the handle (if it couldn't be locked on) so you could sit in the car with your head ducked down while the pump was running. Everyone was doing a "serpentine" walk in every parking lot. I was stopped at a traffic light one time behind a white box truck, and it was surrounded by police who rolled up the back door with guns drawn--and there I was right in the line of fire if there was a shooter inside! The day of the last shooting (the bus driver) I woke up to the sound of a police helicopter hovering overhead, since it took place just down the road. This was a time of great anxiety in the DC area, barely one year after the 9/11 attacks, and months after the anthrax in the mail scare (which would make another good topic for a video).

    • @terpman
      @terpman Місяць тому +2

      My father had a white box truck for his business and I was shocked it never got pulled over and searched. We were in Burtonsville at the time.

    • @Zeta9966
      @Zeta9966 23 дні тому +4

      I lived in Manassas at the time. The pump Dean Meyers got shot at (pump 4) is the one I always used. Crazy that had different decisions been made that day, it could have been me…

  • @amaltoadie
    @amaltoadie Місяць тому +197

    I was in elementary school in the DC area when this was happening. It was like a fever dream. We weren't allowed to be outside alone, and we were instructed to walk in zigzags if we needed to go between buildings.

    • @lukematney7062
      @lukematney7062 Місяць тому +6

      I was in elementary school nearby too. I was in Fredericksburg and my mom and I drove by the Michael's in Fredericksburg the day after the shooting and then again not long after the gas station shooting nearby. I remember the windows at school were all blacked out, the doors all locked, and we weren't allowed outside. I remember seeing a treeline outside the school and wondering if the snipers were out there watching us.

    • @Pr0toPoTaT0
      @Pr0toPoTaT0 Місяць тому +5

      Yeah I was in elementary school in southern Maryland but we were still forced to watch the news. Remember, this was a year after 911. I think the whole country was still affected. I still wonder why they forced us to watch the news whenever something bad was happening. 911. Dc sniper. Michael Jackson's death.

    • @Mr.Durant
      @Mr.Durant Місяць тому +1

      Same, I'm 31 now

    • @Mr.Durant
      @Mr.Durant Місяць тому +1

      From Baltimore

    • @johnnyr2646
      @johnnyr2646 Місяць тому +2

      Sterling Archer yelling"SERPENTINE!"

  • @josephgraham1540
    @josephgraham1540 Місяць тому +124

    People forget how crazy those few years were, especially the younger generations I don’t think realize it, I just started middle school when 9-11 happened, then we had the anthrax letters, DC sniper, the shoe and underwear bombers, it really felt like anything could happen at anytime

    • @mattdad8429
      @mattdad8429 Місяць тому +24

      Columbine in '99, Oklahoma City bombings a couple years before that; the unabomber; Honestly, the late 90s to early-2000s was like a nightmare every other week. Mid-to-late 90s was when these ultra-bizarre catastrophe's really started hummin'. Things have been a mess ever since.

    • @esteemedmortal5917
      @esteemedmortal5917 Місяць тому +4

      Seemed like every year of high school started off with something awful 😢

    • @esteemedmortal5917
      @esteemedmortal5917 Місяць тому +22

      @@mattdad8429and people wonder why millennials cherish being a child at heart and enjoying silly things.

    • @goosenotmaverick1156
      @goosenotmaverick1156 Місяць тому +1

      ​@@esteemedmortal5917 too true. That's got to have a lot to do with it. Childhood was a wild time and we (my friends and I) thought the world was absolutely ending, bad stuff happening faster than our little brains could keep up with.

    • @topogigio7031
      @topogigio7031 Місяць тому

      Gen Z griping about how Meema said They instead of Fae meanwhile Millennials are continuously flashing back to bodies splattering on concrete.

  • @timothymcnerney3352
    @timothymcnerney3352 Місяць тому +37

    This should be a casual criminalist episode, my father was a lead investigator on this case and the whole story is wild

    • @sigurdurmarolafsson4183
      @sigurdurmarolafsson4183 Місяць тому +3

      I can imagine his frustration and his feeling of helplessness while trying to get a break in the case.❤❤❤❤

    • @joshuab3715
      @joshuab3715 Місяць тому

      Check out the podcast “Moster: DC sniper”

    • @Kromsmitesyou
      @Kromsmitesyou Місяць тому +1

      My mom was the judge that sentenced malvo 🫡

    • @timothymcnerney3352
      @timothymcnerney3352 28 днів тому +2

      @@joshuab3715 yup, that’s my dad also on there 😂…mark of a killer on prime (final episode of season 3 I think?) does a great job covering it with the detectives and agents involved

    • @GetRightGB
      @GetRightGB 23 дні тому

      ​@@timothymcnerney3352 Would he do an interview with a writer? Liam runs his discord, and he writes for cas crim

  • @jackturner214
    @jackturner214 Місяць тому +42

    I remember I was in my first semester of grad school during the Beltway Sniper spree, and I have distinct memories of sitting at my desk in my apartment, working on a paper with the news on for background noise when they caught the perpetrators. I wasn't anywhere near DC, but it was still an captivating experience for everyone. Something I can still remember all this time later.

  • @vaibanez17
    @vaibanez17 27 днів тому +8

    The next year after the DC Sniper, there was another sniper case of random shooting murders out of West Virginia. That one went unsolved for a while due to police ineptitude. A person literally told cops who it was, and cops ignored them. That person had to go on a cable access show called WV's Most Wanted to tell the information before embarrassed police followed up.

  • @Frosty_tha_Snowman
    @Frosty_tha_Snowman Місяць тому +39

    What people are capable of is terrifying

    • @topogigio7031
      @topogigio7031 Місяць тому

      I mean look at the American GOP. They aren't even hiding it anymore

  • @stephenhood2948
    @stephenhood2948 Місяць тому +38

    I grew up in Southern MD, just south of DC. I remember them telling everyone to zigzag when walking in parking lots. What a crazy world we live in.

    • @DaHighTechCave
      @DaHighTechCave Місяць тому +1

      Bro I was in middle school and I remember them telling me that 😂

    • @theywantusdead373
      @theywantusdead373 Місяць тому

      World? This doesn't happen where I live

    • @shifty1927
      @shifty1927 Місяць тому

      Yup I was a freshman in SOMD at the time.

    • @michellebaker6302
      @michellebaker6302 Місяць тому +3

      I realized it was serious when a grown man where I am from (in Northern VA) literally zigzagged across the parking lot AND THEN he dove onto the ground next to his car. Reached up, unlocked it (back before remotes were universal) and climbed in from the ground. I was like, "If an actual adult felt that was necessary, we're screwed."

    • @stephenhood2948
      @stephenhood2948 Місяць тому +1

      @@michellebaker6302 Wow I never saw anyone react like that. I just had a creepy feeling anywhere I walked. Crazy

  • @jonathanrivlin6248
    @jonathanrivlin6248 День тому +2

    Thank you for telling this story.
    I was in College Park. MD at the time. It was terrifying. Walking zig zag, ducking for cover when pumping gas, the randomness, the speculation from the news, the awfulness of it, and coupled with the Sept 11th attacks, anthrax letters in the mail, the plane's tail wing sheering off on takeoff (out of NYC) and killing so many people - it was an awful time. In this life we can take nothing for granted and must be grateful for each day.

  • @TheCometCE
    @TheCometCE Місяць тому +11

    Definitely one I'd love to see expanded on for a Casual Criminalist episode, on top of the murders themselves being so brazen, I remember this being so fresh off 9/11 that everyone was paranoid out of their mind already

  • @grimeto7323
    @grimeto7323 Місяць тому +25

    The money were just an excuse. The power the killers felt while stalking their victims and the fear they spread intoxicated them. Incurable psychopaths.

    • @TheeGlocktopus
      @TheeGlocktopus 5 днів тому +1

      The whole thing was calculated to take out Malvo's ex wife while keeping suspicions away from him. She was supposed to be one of the "Random" targets.

  • @Typical.Anomaly
    @Typical.Anomaly Місяць тому +80

    In 2004, I had to live in my car (1988 Pontiac 6000) for a few months. I took out the back seat, and put in a piece of plywood and carpet, so when I'd sleep, my legs extended into the trunk. I had an extra car battery (which I charged at my parents' house) that I used to run a small CRT TV and a SNES.
    Ngl, the mod to the car was inspired by the maniac spoken of in this video. I promise I'm not a sniper, though.

    • @mattdad8429
      @mattdad8429 Місяць тому +12

      See? Good things can come from these situations! Bro was living his best life playing Super Mario World in a damn Pontiac. That's called freedom, baby.

    • @khironkinney1667
      @khironkinney1667 Місяць тому +9

      You took the innovation of what others have done and used it to better your life in the circumstances you had at the time. What you did in your limited ability enhanced your life, and it did not detract from any others. We all got to do what we got to do you did all right and I hope you're doing better

    • @keithmoore5306
      @keithmoore5306 Місяць тому

      the way things are going you might want to learn to be one!!!

    • @jrmckim
      @jrmckim Місяць тому

      ​@@keithmoore5306 skeletor: wat?

    • @YeshuaStrongbow
      @YeshuaStrongbow Місяць тому +2

      SNES…you are a Legend

  • @GoldenLegionHoney
    @GoldenLegionHoney Місяць тому +7

    I lived in Manassas, VA at the time. The gas station it happened in was right down the street from my house. I remember after it re-opened NOONE got gas there. So I did. People were hiding in their cars while getting gas or in the stores. I figured they would be really stupid to come back here. So i got gas and stood next to my car. people thought i was crazy im sure.

  • @TheDarkDogmaticDragonArisen
    @TheDarkDogmaticDragonArisen Місяць тому +20

    Simon and the team putting out videos almost as fast as I can watch them, and I love you all for it - great work, folks! 💯

  • @Xiporah
    @Xiporah Місяць тому +19

    I live less than 20 minutes from the first shooting. Life in the DC suburbs was scary that week.

    • @djrukahs8926
      @djrukahs8926 Місяць тому

      Felt longer than a week for sure...

  • @michellebaker6302
    @michellebaker6302 Місяць тому +7

    Don’t forget: we in Northern Virginia had 9/11, anthrax, AND this in like 13 months. We were not okay.

  • @ryanandre3623
    @ryanandre3623 Місяць тому +74

    Why isn't this on the casual criminalist? This was way to short there's so much more to this story

    • @cheapciggies
      @cheapciggies Місяць тому +1

      Probably because it's free. The mainstream media have a lot more resources to hand and no doubt an extensive library of media dedicated to this case all online for you to watch

    • @thomaswilson8022
      @thomaswilson8022 Місяць тому

      ua-cam.com/video/oc-3cUD5u_o/v-deo.htmlsi=sx3Xoc_THTBpAb1B

    • @markhalver3391
      @markhalver3391 Місяць тому +7

      @@cheapciggies Insanity...Were you on high end drugs when ya spammed this 50 or so times as an answer to anyone who wanted a longer script?

    • @cheapciggies
      @cheapciggies Місяць тому

      @@markhalver3391 no it was a quick scroll through and paste to the moaning whining folk. What do they want for nothing, a refund? 😂😂😂 Pull your socks up folks and quit whinging. I hope this is clearer for you now Mark. Cheers now.

    • @topogigio7031
      @topogigio7031 Місяць тому +3

      ​@@cheapciggiesyou can share the same ditch as Trump

  • @markhalver3391
    @markhalver3391 Місяць тому +17

    I've been asking for this to be a Casual Criminalist for awhile. I'll take this, but you need a longer script, there is so much more here to tell

    • @cheapciggies
      @cheapciggies Місяць тому

      Probably because it's free. The mainstream media have a lot more resources to hand and no doubt an extensive library of media dedicated to this case all online for you to watch

    • @markhalver3391
      @markhalver3391 Місяць тому +5

      @@cheapciggies Again, are you new to the internet? "The mainstream media has a lot more resources..." What does this even mean, are you suggesting I watch old news articles from early 2000 instead of suggesting a full script? And how do you figure that the mainstream media is not free, but this is.
      Honestly the strangest most pointless message I've seen and you've spammed it everywhere.

    • @cheapciggies
      @cheapciggies Місяць тому

      @@markhalver3391 Not you again, you are a pest. Is there some kind of disconnect with you being able to join ideas together in a coherent fashion. It's called thinking. Look here's the deal, Simon is not here to pander to your whims. What I've written which has somehow ripped your knitting means what is says...... Simon is not Lord of the DC Sniper case. Get over it, bunch of old women honestly. I will make a point of reading through the comments on this channel now and gauge the amount of soggy biscuits on it. Now go away again. That's twice I've told you now. Shoo

  • @ProductBae
    @ProductBae Місяць тому +13

    I was in high school when this happened in DC. It was a terrifying time and it really impacted all of our lives. Lockdowns bc of van sightings and more. It was a lot. Rip to those we lost.

    • @kimberlyfelten6368
      @kimberlyfelten6368 Місяць тому +3

      Me too, I was in Rockville, up the street from one of the gas stations that was hit. I can't watch this yet, but I'm glad I read through the comments to see I'm not alone lol. I didn't realize I still it still had impact on me, but it was truly terrifying looking back.

    • @ProductBae
      @ProductBae Місяць тому

      @@kimberlyfelten6368 yesssss same!!! I haven’t watched either. Thanks for sharing that. In time tho I will

  • @JacobMcandles
    @JacobMcandles Місяць тому +14

    I remember this event WELL… you see at first the media was blaming an older white male and younger white male, in a white van….
    Well my father and I are both white & just so happen to ride around in a white Ford van..😳
    I still recall how we would pull up somewhere & folks get real quiet and on edge…

    • @BuffaloSpiritGuide
      @BuffaloSpiritGuide Місяць тому

      Don't mind all the Swastikas or NRA stickers on the van orthe fact we are the people that carry automatic rifles in public, the legal way of course.
      (Only kidding lol)

    • @JacobMcandles
      @JacobMcandles Місяць тому

      @@BuffaloSpiritGuide actually we had no such decals, we aren’t car decal people

    • @XimTraax
      @XimTraax 27 днів тому

      @@JacobMcandlespretty sure that’s a bot we only carry semi automatic rifles anyway smh

  • @84marcow
    @84marcow Місяць тому +8

    I remember the 3 hour drive into WV to do our grocery shopping because my parents were not going to risk going out in Fredericksburg.

  • @brandonf.8360
    @brandonf.8360 Місяць тому +10

    Although I'm from Baltimore, we definitely were checking for any suspicious white vans.

    • @josephgraham1540
      @josephgraham1540 Місяць тому

      Same I’m from WV but they could have just decided to drive a couple hours and hit another area

  • @ubiquitousliquorice
    @ubiquitousliquorice Місяць тому +3

    This NEEDS to be a Casual Criminalist episode. There's so much about this story.
    If anyone wants to know the full detailed history, watch the 6-part miniseries "I, Sniper". Possible the best crime documentary I've ever seen.

  • @kacheek9101
    @kacheek9101 Місяць тому +2

    Crazy you put this out today. Just last week I was telling a couple of my younger coworkers about this. I was in DC at the time and the fear was incredible. Definitely one of the things that has stuck with me even after all the years

  • @Harbinger1776
    @Harbinger1776 Місяць тому +6

    I was expecting Simon to do a deep dive on this case on the Casual Criminalist.

  • @matthew.datcher
    @matthew.datcher Місяць тому +1

    I remember this well. I was applying for jobs in DC during the aftermath of the snipers. Thankfully, the snipers were caught before I started working in the region. My family thought I was crazy for taking a job here after all of that. But, back then I didn't live in the region. And, before I finally moved down here, I always filled up my gas tank on the home side of my commute.
    It's also interesting to hear Simon's accent on the place names I know so well.

  • @bubbathedm
    @bubbathedm Місяць тому +4

    The post 9/11 era from 2001 to 2005 or so was fucking wild.

    • @tylercouture216
      @tylercouture216 Місяць тому +1

      Very

    • @bubbathedm
      @bubbathedm Місяць тому

      @@tylercouture216 Simon should do the anthrax scare next

  • @ljre3397
    @ljre3397 Місяць тому +4

    I remember this story. It really had the whole country worrying it could’ve been anywhere.

  • @traildoggy
    @traildoggy Місяць тому +3

    I was visiting back home at the time. It was crazy, everyone was focusing on white vans all over the city. People looked nervous just filling up gas and walking around town.
    One woman was shot at a bench outside the post office just a few minutes away from my mother's apartment. I remember seeing the bench afterwards, but it has since been removed from the sidewalk.

  • @bradbrandon2506
    @bradbrandon2506 Місяць тому +1

    I've got to say this. I've loved how, right from when you first started doing reports on atrocities, that you don't flinch to honor the victims. Too many that do this put a lot of emphasis on the person that committed the act, murder p**n, if you will. Instead, you see it as a tragedy: an act that should never happen, and, with your voices, give the power back to the victims.

  • @howyoudurrinhunneh
    @howyoudurrinhunneh Місяць тому +3

    I was working nights and remember staying up all day watching the constant coverage

  • @smac1706
    @smac1706 Місяць тому +1

    Finally. I've been patiently waiting for you to make a video about this! 💯

  • @MichaelArlt
    @MichaelArlt Місяць тому +6

    Interesting to see the rifle had a sight and not a scope, if it was the original rifle shown.

    • @dilldowschwagginz2674
      @dilldowschwagginz2674 Місяць тому

      I would imagine the rifle used had some glass mounted on it... Probably not a good scope but some magnified glass nonetheless. I see the pic shows a simple AR with an EOTech style red dot optic but as we've learned from recent revelations - they aren't above showing the public misleading pictures.

    • @MichaelArlt
      @MichaelArlt Місяць тому

      @@dilldowschwagginz2674 I did imagine the same. Not an ACOG but some 2 times maybe. Im not a gun enthusiast, nor i own a gun, but i know the challenge of aiming. Im not patronizing what they did, its horrible, though the shots seemed to be very accurate. On the second point i also agree with you, do not always trust what you get to see ;)

  • @cutencurly9019
    @cutencurly9019 22 дні тому

    I was in high school in Rockville, and I remember getting locked down that first day and just sitting in a classroom in the dark with a bunch of other students. Lock down started in between classes so we were just pushed into random classrooms by the teachers to get us out of the hallway so I wasn’t even in the right room.
    I still have to leave the room when school shootings get announced on the news because it brings back that anxiety and uncertainty.
    I can’t even watch this right now, just needed to go in the comments and see I’m not the only one who has issues from growing up in the middle of this wild time in the DC area.

  • @vudoga6082
    @vudoga6082 Місяць тому +2

    I remember this vividly, I was in high school and didn't live too far from Ashland, VA. School lockdowns, the overall sense of unease, it was wild. I remember one of the suspected types of vehicles was a white work van. As ubiquitous as those are, that was a stressful 3 weeks seeing them everywhere.

  • @ghostsquirrel8739
    @ghostsquirrel8739 Місяць тому +5

    The killers owned a 1990 Caprice. Not the 1972 Caprice in the thumbnail.

  • @Psycheitout
    @Psycheitout Місяць тому +1

    The media coverage for this story was insane! When this video first popped up in my feed I was shocked that it was only 12 minutes, but honestly yeah that's all there really is to the story. It just felt like there was more to it, cuz that's all everyone in America was hearing about for a solid month.

    • @MandaMalice
      @MandaMalice Місяць тому +1

      My thoughts too! It was such big news everywhere in the US.

  • @EveryGameGuru
    @EveryGameGuru Місяць тому +6

    I remember this. They told us to walk in "zig zag" patterns 😆

  • @CasualKillZz
    @CasualKillZz 28 днів тому +1

    My mom was in the Michael’s parking lot 20 minutes before Caroline Seawell was shot. I still think about what my life would be like without her, absolutely terrifies me.

  • @neighborhoodcatlady6094
    @neighborhoodcatlady6094 Місяць тому +2

    I live in N Virginia. Remember when this happened and thinking that that sniper screwed up when they attacked someone in Virginia. Like it or not, Virginia was serious about the death penalty at the time. That isn’t the case in Maryland or DC.

  • @jayday1480
    @jayday1480 Місяць тому +3

    I lived in NOVA during this. Everyone's world was flipped upside down. No one had anyway of understanding why it was happening

  • @alexanderhikel2350
    @alexanderhikel2350 Місяць тому +6

    You should do the Mandalay Bay shooting , that was absolutely devastating

    • @hapter437
      @hapter437 Місяць тому

      the what now? the fbi closed the case for no reason. there is more evidence suggesting steven paddock wasnt the shooter than there is supporting it. it happened, it was a tragedy, but with the lack of evidence in the entire case plus the fbi closing the whole thing makes it impossible to cover

  • @utilitarian
    @utilitarian Місяць тому +2

    I remember this being all over the news here in the UK and remember how surreal it felt, and absolutely terrifying. RIP to those who were going about their day, just to be slaughtered at random :(

  • @thomasjordan5578
    @thomasjordan5578 Місяць тому +2

    Fun fact ; the car purchased and modified for stealth sniping was aquired at SURE SHOT used cars Trenton NJ.
    SURE SHOTs is still in business there.

  • @alrox1
    @alrox1 28 днів тому +1

    Crazy times! I remember the gas stations started putting tarps up on the sections facing the road so there wasn't a line of sight on people pumping gas. There were also volunteers who would pump the gas for you. My mom made us keep our curtains closed at home at all times so the snipers couldn't see us (our area didn't have any attacks). I also remember the jubilation when they caught them. I celebrated by going out to CompUSA since it was "safe" to shop again.

  • @KarynHill
    @KarynHill Місяць тому +3

    The Home Depot one took place within minutes of me having left that parking lot. I kept the receipt, which had the time I checked out, for a long time. I still have and use the extra long extension cord I bought that day, and think of it each time I use the cord. We're all a coincidence away from complete disaster, so make the most out of every moment.

  • @brucemichaelwentworth3857
    @brucemichaelwentworth3857 Місяць тому +1

    I too lived in the DC metro area during the sniper shootings. I worked for a local household moving company, and with reports of a white box van being involved we were stopped many times, also only happening a year after 9/11 most of my friends at that time figured that it was ongoing terror attacks related to 9/11. Crazy crazy times. We also ended up doing a household move for Charles moose, the Montgomery county officer in charge of the investigation and eventual arrest. That was surreal!

  • @afrikasmith1049
    @afrikasmith1049 Місяць тому +3

    I remember learning about this as a teenager watching American Gangster.

  • @Qb3nsis
    @Qb3nsis Місяць тому +1

    I'd very much like to see a long-form episode of this in the Whistler-verse. It was a chilling time.

  • @bclr6843
    @bclr6843 Місяць тому +1

    I was living there at the time. It was crazy. My dad wouldn’t let us leave home for any reason. We weren’t allowed to even ride with him to the gas station. To be fair to my dad they shot someone at a Home Depot we lived right behind

  • @jazdragen
    @jazdragen Місяць тому +2

    I remember everyone being terrified of having to stop at gas stations to pump gas. Everyone was pumping ducked down behind the profile of their cars. Never seen an entire metropolis caught in such pervasive tension until the Covid era

  • @clubjed6276
    @clubjed6276 Місяць тому +12

    Do eric frein!? From pa. He shot 2 state troopers and hid from the cops for at least a month in the Pennsylvania wilderness.

    • @stephenhood2948
      @stephenhood2948 Місяць тому +5

      Him and the cop in LA that hid in the woods, Christopher Dorner, both are very crazy stories.

  • @mrterp04
    @mrterp04 Місяць тому +1

    I was in college near where this happened (University of Maryland), it was wild being told to cross the street “in a zigzag fashion”, having Charles Moose on tv every evening, and gas stations putting up tarps around their pumps to shield customers from view.

  • @terpman
    @terpman Місяць тому

    I was in high school in Montgomery County at the time. My girlfriend's mom's coworker was one of the people fatally shot, as was my friend's uncle. Many hours were spent listening to the news and watching Chief Moose's press conferences. At school, they literally told us to run from the bus to our house in a zig-zag if we didn't have someone to pick us up. My father had a white box truck for his business and I remember stopping at a gas station with him to fill it up one day. People quickly moved away from us and I could sense the suspicion. It was definitely a surreal time.

  • @Pr0toPoTaT0
    @Pr0toPoTaT0 Місяць тому +2

    I live in Maryland and to this day its still a fear in some middle aged people. There's no way to really describe the peace this man took from people. Over two decades later.

    • @jacquelyn1784
      @jacquelyn1784 Місяць тому

      Who can blame us, look at howbad it's gotten since. You can't even go to a parade or the library without thinking about the possibility of some ahole coming to ruin it

  • @ian4846
    @ian4846 Місяць тому +1

    6:49 I live half a mile from here. The parking lot they fired from is this strange parking lot that’s always empty and has stayed undeveloped forever. I think it’s partially due to the legacy of what happened there. I was born in ‘03 so I wasn’t alive when this happened but it left a lasting mark on the community

  • @Tirani2
    @Tirani2 Місяць тому

    I do not have adequate words to describe what a terrifying that time was in the DC Metro area. I worked down the street from one of the gas stations where there was a shooting. Friends lived near locations that were targeted. You couldn't turn anywhere without feeling like you were safe.

  • @josh218721
    @josh218721 11 днів тому

    I live in Maryland and this happened while I was in High School. Football (American football, Simon) practices had to be performed inside and games had heavy police presence. Approximately 25 armed cops each game were present as opposed to the usual 1 unarmed resource officer for each game. It was a wild time.

  • @michaelpipkin9942
    @michaelpipkin9942 Місяць тому +8

    I remember all the black cooks at my restaurant were incredibly sad it wasn't a white guy.

    • @Shoelessjoe78
      @Shoelessjoe78 Місяць тому +1

      Yeah that theory has been playing out for far too long. But racism runs both ways.

    • @cantsay2205
      @cantsay2205 Місяць тому

      It's tragic that's how people think. They don't hate that it happened, they just hate that they can't make a narrative about it.

    • @Stichting_NoFap
      @Stichting_NoFap Місяць тому

      That's very sad of them.

    • @ecocodex4431
      @ecocodex4431 Місяць тому +1

      I HIGHLY doubt this. The only time I see this kind of sentiment is when far-right extremists are crying because a mass murderer isn't muslim or trans.

    • @michaelpipkin9942
      @michaelpipkin9942 29 днів тому

      @@ecocodex4431 This is nothin. Is it really that unbelievable?? Hahaha. I've heard some wild shit from the kitchen.

  • @Necronius94
    @Necronius94 Місяць тому

    I remember this rather well. My family had moved to Montgomery county the summer before, and I was in elementary school. The teachers almost panicked because we’d had a code blue drill a month before, and nobody knew why until everyone went home. A few kids just didn’t come in the next day since their parents were too nervous to let them go back.

  • @ValkyrieofNOLA
    @ValkyrieofNOLA 7 днів тому

    I was in college when this happened. I remember how terrifying the thought of a sniper shooting random people across multiple states without any apparent reason or pattern to the killings was paralyzing. I can’t imagine how the people living in that area felt. I would have locked myself in my house and never leave until the sniper was caught.

  • @jennyng2994
    @jennyng2994 Місяць тому

    I was in school during that time when 6 of the shootings happened within a 2.5 mile radius. The school asked parents to pick up their children at the front doors so that we didn’t have to be outside for long periods. It’s interesting how I remembered the chaos, but not understanding why it was happening. I sincerely feel bad for the victims and their families of this senseless tragedy

  • @stephen3164
    @stephen3164 Місяць тому

    Lived in MD during this time. They actually found the killers not far from my area. People were instructed to hide behind columns when filling up at gas stations, and walking zig zag when crossing parking lots. For over 3 weeks, we lived in fear. A white van was seen at every shooting - so every white van was sus. In the end, the killers turned out to be using a blue car. The white van thing was bc there’s just so many white vans around all the time.

  • @luv2sail66
    @luv2sail66 Місяць тому

    I remember this like it was yesterday. At one point the media emphasized the threat may be greater in areas close to major highways. I was practicing medicine in an office less than a mile from the intersection of 2 major highways. My staff and I hurried from our cars to the building ducking behind other vehicles when we could. We closed the blinds in all rooms facing the exterior of the building. One day as I arrived I saw a white van parked at a bank building next to my office building. I stupidly decided to take a look then thought better of it. I called the authorities but nothing obviously came of it. It was a scary time and we all were relieved when the culprits were apprehended.

  • @RBrooksC
    @RBrooksC 12 днів тому

    I live in the Baltimore area. My wife's grandmother lived in the DC Suburbs. We would travel down that way during the time of this situation. The place they were caught was near where I lived in Frederick, Maryland.

  • @Sammymc
    @Sammymc Місяць тому +1

    I remember how terrifying this was. I was a teenager. And nowhere felt safe. Places you went everyday suddenly felt like traps. Every time I had to fill up my car I was shaking in fear.

  • @hermitcrabs
    @hermitcrabs Місяць тому

    Makes me feel old remembering this on the news like it was a few years ago... it was already over 20 man how time flies.

  • @Oldschooldan1
    @Oldschooldan1 Місяць тому +1

    I remember traveling from New Jersey to Virginia right after the shooting in Ashland. I had my newborn daughter with me and whenever I had to stop for gas or to change her diaper, you could see the tension in everyone's face. We were all looking over our shoulders.

  • @missshooks
    @missshooks Місяць тому +2

    I still remember being a kid when this happened.

  • @RealSaintB
    @RealSaintB 16 днів тому

    I remember how the task force was looking for a specific profile in their suspect and the two actual shooters were so far from that profile that they weren't even on the radar until that last killing.

  • @RuntzAHK
    @RuntzAHK Місяць тому +3

    From manassas Virginia here I remember this shit vividly during elementary school bro they basically just told us if we had to be out in public “ run in a zig zag “ 🤣 not gon lie it was some crazy times my grandma was paranoid like no other

  • @Jayjay-qe6um
    @Jayjay-qe6um Місяць тому +2

    A memorial to the victims of the D.C. area sniper attacks is located at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. An additional memorial was constructed in 2014 in the government plaza of Rockville, Maryland.

  • @Hunting4knowledge
    @Hunting4knowledge Місяць тому +1

    I remember when this happened. I lived right next to 7 corners shopping center that was shot up. I remembered being instructed to walk home from schools in a zig zag pattern as police cleared the woods surrounding our school. America.

  • @user-uq7io2os3r
    @user-uq7io2os3r Місяць тому

    Yet another interesting video of the interesting past👍 many thx to whole Simon team

  • @tfleu725
    @tfleu725 10 днів тому

    I love how the “white box truck” you pictured is like over a decade newer than the crime… 😂

  • @duncancurtis5108
    @duncancurtis5108 Місяць тому +3

    It echoed Charles Starkweather Austin Texas 1966.

    • @stephenhood2948
      @stephenhood2948 Місяць тому

      Charles Whitman?? Charles Starkweather was a spree killer who murdered a bunch of people in and around Nebraska and Wyoming in 1958.

    • @stephenmcalister7228
      @stephenmcalister7228 Місяць тому +1

      Starkweather was Nebraska and Wyoming 1958. Executed 1959.

    • @duncancurtis5108
      @duncancurtis5108 Місяць тому +3

      @@stephenmcalister7228 I stand corrected I meant Charles Whitman.

  • @petermielke5026
    @petermielke5026 Місяць тому

    I live near where all this happened! My Grandpa also lived right down the road from four of the shootings. I was living in VA in NOVA when it happened. Though I was only six when it happened. If you go down the road from the former Shoppers (it's a Lidl now), there's a monument to the fallen at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. I remember walking through Brookside when I didn't quite realize the significance of the monument. Then I watched this video and went "😳😳 Omg this happened right here!" I was like "Omg I know these places!" It definitely gives me a new perspective on the shootings. Hit close to home when I realized it.

  • @kfeltenberger
    @kfeltenberger Місяць тому +1

    I lived an hour north of Baltimore when this took place. I remember several friends who frequently traveled for business made it a point to avoid the DC metro area after this started until the killers were caught. Even up here we slipped into a hyper-vigilant awareness level.

  • @leholen381
    @leholen381 Місяць тому +1

    I was 10 years old when this was happening. I remember my mom being worried about it because she had 3 young kids and my dad was out to sea for 6 months. She was nervous every time she had to stop for gas.

  • @joannethomson4568
    @joannethomson4568 Місяць тому +1

    I lived in montgomery county then...so many things changed...saw people running down the street with their groceries...my son was an infant ...if i had to stand still, i used to try to stand in such a way that i wouldnt squish him if i were shot...

  • @shifty1927
    @shifty1927 Місяць тому +1

    Dang Simon how many channels you got? But I'm from Southern Maryland and it was my freshman year in high-school. Remember getting in trouble for running and ducking while outside heading to class cause I seen a box truck in the school parking lot. (They thought it was a box truck at first.)

  • @EmilyJelassi
    @EmilyJelassi Місяць тому +2

    I remember this!! I was in high school during all of this .... scary

  • @brantonzhang
    @brantonzhang Місяць тому

    This was a crazy story. My uncle was almost shot by the snipers at the same Home Depot where the woman was killed in Falls Church, Virginia. My uncle was living in DC at that time and just bought a new house. Everything was under renovations at that time so everything was breaking. That night one of the pipes broke and he had to drive out to Home Depot real quick to repair it so he was running in and out of the store. He left 5 mins before the woman in the parking lot was shot that night. He still has the receipt to prove it, I’ll try to post it somewhere.

  • @sbcee2220
    @sbcee2220 Місяць тому +1

    I was wondering when you would get to this, though I'd guessed it would be on CC. Regardless, cool so far. Ty, Simon!

  • @JJERSE
    @JJERSE Місяць тому +4

    “4 people were shot dead with a fifth fatally” ??? So 5 shot dead.

    • @vrts
      @vrts Місяць тому

      I replayed that a few times. Didn't make any sense.

  • @lisapop5219
    @lisapop5219 Місяць тому +1

    I definitely remember this. I was living in California, and it was huge news, mainly because it was post 9/11, anthrax attacks, etc.

  • @blaznskais2048
    @blaznskais2048 Місяць тому +2

    I was about 6 when this happened and have very vague memories of it on the news. More so about the trial. But I was so young my parents didn’t really discuss it with me.

  • @jaybower1320
    @jaybower1320 Місяць тому

    I was in middle school, living in Alexandria, when these attacks happened. I remember the highway checkpoints and the school lock-downs. The white astro-van they searched for.. wild couple weeks

  • @AnnaAnna-uc2ff
    @AnnaAnna-uc2ff 17 днів тому

    THanks.

  • @DeaconBlu
    @DeaconBlu Місяць тому +1

    I remember these shootings vividly.
    I had family living in the area at the time.
    What these 2 people did was beyond insane.
    This was a real wake up call in my life.
    Thankfully nobody has echoed the tactic and done something similar.
    Tbh, it wouldn’t be hard to do.
    Sadly…

  • @prettypuff1
    @prettypuff1 Місяць тому

    I was a freshman at Howard university when this happened… I lived on 4th street NW.
    Those of us who lived in the rougher areas weren’t concerned about him coming out there

  • @katherinecollins4685
    @katherinecollins4685 12 днів тому

    Very informative

  • @898792
    @898792 Місяць тому

    I grew up in northern virginia, and I can tell you that the paranoia at the time was immense. My grandparents lived in leisure world and I had been to that grocery store with them. People were glued to their TVs waiting for any updates or for another shooting to occur.

  • @LEbackstage
    @LEbackstage Місяць тому +1

    I was 12 y/o and live in Germany but even I remember the father son sniper duo. It was all over the news here, too.

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 Місяць тому +2

    3:57 "BOLO for a white box truck!!"
    Every. Single. Time.
    It was ridiculous.
    😡

  • @b1646717
    @b1646717 Місяць тому +2

    I remember when this. The 24-hour news cycle hype was real. Even in NM, it was all over the news and radio.

  • @Calebgoblin
    @Calebgoblin Місяць тому

    That was horrific, I wonder if it inspired the Jack Reacher shooting spree plot.
    Also imagine having literally served in the military and then narrating a script that called an unmagnified holographic sight a "long distance rifle scope"

  • @EJ_WA
    @EJ_WA Місяць тому +3

    I know the guy that built the rifle that was used. He worked at BullsEye in Tacoma WA where the rifle was stolen from.

    • @eaglefat9398
      @eaglefat9398 Місяць тому

      Wasn't it a .243? Which is a much better sniper round.

    • @EJ_WA
      @EJ_WA Місяць тому

      @@eaglefat9398 no it was a customized bushmaster xm-15 firing 5.56