An October under the gun.
October 23, 2007In October 2002 the region where I live (Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia) was held hostage by two guys with a gun. I was reading this article from my local paper about the sniper shootings and all those old memories of that time period rushed back.
I remember the day the shootings started and the call I got from a cop buddy of mine who was warning all his friends and family to stay inside. That day made having a window office not cool. I pulled down the shades and made sure my head was behind my computer monitor.
As the siege wore on I remember that going to fill up your gas tank was a dangerous job. People crouched behind their cars as theirs tanks filled up. Some even donned bullet-proof vests while running their errands.
I remember driving by the MoCo police headquarters on the way to work and seeing the parking lot full of reporter vans from all over. A police sniper was even stationed on the roof of our building when Chief Moose would do press events pleading for the snipers to stop.
I remember giving all the drivers of white vans the stink eye because of the witness reports that this was what the snipers where driving (later proved false). While I sat in traffic I wondered what the hell I would do if the snipers attacked the hundreds of sitting duck motorists crawling along the highway.
I remember my flag football league shutting down because the city rec department didn’t want to be responsible for some old fat guy getting shot while re-living his glory days. Worst part about this was that I had assembled the best team in the league and I was sure we would have won it all.
I remember the relief we all felt when the snipers where finally caught at a rest stop right up the road from where I live. I also got that icy chill down my spine wondering if Frederick would have been next on their hit list if some heads-up trucker hadn’t called the cops.
I hope we never have another October like that again. They should all be filled with football, spooks, pig races and pumpkin patches.
October 23, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I was working at the Frederick Target at the time, and I remember employees smoking inside the empty trailers so they wouldn’t have to go outside.
I thought I heard that after they were caught, they pulled financial records showing that they actually ate at the Golden Corral here in Frederick while it was all going on…that could just be rumors though.