Pentagon Joins Search for SniperOctober 15, 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pentagon has joined the search for the Beltway Sniper.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld agreed Tuesday evening to the FBI's request to use military surveillance aircraft in the hunt for the killer, a Defense Department official said. The help will be provided in a way meant to comply with the Posse Comitatus Act -- a 19th century law that bans the military from domestic law enforcement.
The Beltway Sniper has killed nine people and wounded two others in a series of apparently random killings since Oct. 2.
Under one plan, military pilots would fly reconnaissance flights accompanied by federal agents, who would relay data to authorities on the ground, a senior defense official said on condition of anonymity. This would improve communication among investigators, who come from half a dozen separate agencies.
The aircraft would look for the light-colored van authorities say was seen at one or more of the shooting sites. The Pentagon might also lend investigators a system of sensors that could detect flashes of gunfire on the ground, the official said.
The surveillance equipment in question would include Predator drones, the unmanned surveillance aircraft that have been used in Afghanistan for reconnaissance and, in some cases, combat missions.
Also, it would include sensitive audio equipment for reconnaissance and, officials say, the possible use of a C-130 transport plane, although it wasnít known how the massive aircraft would be used.
Defense officials told Fox News Channel that a special Army reconnaissance aircraft called an RC-7, based at Fort Bliss, Texas, would be sent to Washington. The aircraft is a modified DeHavilland DHC-7, adjusted to carry advance optics and communications gear for collecting intelligence on the ground, and it also carries advanced communications equipment to share with ground-based units. Currently, it's operated by six-man crews from the 204th Military Intelligence Battalion out of Fort Bliss, Texas. They are often used in counter narcotics operations in Latin America.
Military helicopters such as the renowned Black Hawk would be also be flown, with infrared equipment, sources told Fox News Channel.
Because laws are very strict about the military getting involved in domestic police work, no U.S. soldiers would be active in the search. The soldiers might be used to operate the equipment, but officials are clear that whatever is decided upon would not violate the law that prohibits the military from engaging in law enforcement.
Itís not clear yet whether surveillance from a Predator drone could be used in court, should the sniper be caught.
Another official, who also discussed the matter on condition of anonymity, said that at the request of investigators, the Army has started searching its records for people trained as snipers for any former or current service member who might be involved in the shootings.
Federal investigators refused Tuesday to rule out the possibility that organized terrorist groups are behind the shootings.
"The communities are terrorized," Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said.
He said federal investigators don't know whether the sniper might be a domestic or international terrorist or is a working alone.
Asked whether there were links to Al Qaeda or other foreign terrorists, Ridge said, "I don't think we can foreclose that. Certainly, nobody in the FBI or the White House has foreclosed that."
Fox News Channel's Bret Baier and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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