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Presents pictures and descriptions of people who were prominent in the news in 2002. Consideration of Tommy Franks, the officer in charge at the U.S. Central Command in Afghanistan; Leadership of police chief Charles Moose in the investigation of the Washington D.C. sniper attacks; Role of Hans Blix, the chief inspector who leads the United Nations weapons inspection team in Iraq; Others.

Looks at how authorities tracked down and arrested alleged snipers John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. The killing spree in suburban Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia; The history and pathologies of Muhammad and Malvo; How they transformed their car into a killing chamber; Attempts by criminologists to explain the crime in light of past serial killers; Frustrations of Police Chief Charles Moose; Phone calls made by the snipers; Muhammad's .223-caliber Bushmaster assault rifle; Uncertainty of motive.

Focuses on the hunt for the sniper in the Maryland area who shot ten people seemingly at random. Efforts of police, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, prosecutors and forensics experts to capture the killer; Scarcity of evidence in the investigation; Attempts to trap the shooter on the highway; Fears of residents; Theories; Chronological account of the murders; The victims; Search for patterns and clues; Views of personality profilers; Role of Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose.

Reports on efforts by police in the Washington D.C. area to catch a serial sniper. Description of the first shot fired by the sniper at a Michaels craft store in Aspen Hill, Maryland; Randomness of the crimes; Number of officials who work on the case, including from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms units; Use of software by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to create animated displays that reconstruct the crime scenes; Community reactions; Description of the crimes; Geographic profiling. INSETS: HUMAN TARGETS;SUSPECT VEHICLE.

Focuses on the role of the Montgomery County Department of Technology Services in ending the area sniper case in Washington, D.C. in October 3, 2002. Advantage of good police work and information technology; Flaws in the technology infrastructure used by police officers in their search for the snipers; Involvement of the Montgomery County emergency communications center in the case. INSETS: Planning ahead;Good government.

Presents an article about the media coverage of the pursuit of suspects in the Washington, D.C. sniper shootings in October 2002. Reaction of Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief Charles Moose to press releases related to the incidents; Relationship between cops and reporters; Impact of press releases on police investigations.

Presents an overview of the police investigation into the sniper who wounded two and killed eight persons in the Washington, D.C. area. Type of bullet and rifle thought to have been used in the attacks; Use of bullet casings to identify the weapon; Chronological account of the attacks; Method of geographic profiling to narrow down the criminal's base of operations; How the rifle works; Possible use of a scope.

Discusses John Allen Muhammad and Lee Malvo, the alleged snipers in the Washington, D.C. area. Biographical information; Efforts of investigators to understand how Muhammad became a mass murderer; How Muhammad called a priest to pass on information; Murder committed by the pair in Montgomery, Alabama; Sense of fear that Muhammad struck into the suburbs of Washington; Randomness of the shootings; Efforts of the pair to contact police; Clues at the crime scenes; Arrest and capture.

Discusses the recent shootings along Ohio Interstate 270 in a semirural community of cornfields and strip malls. Connections between fourteen recent shootings in the area starting in May; The death of Gail Knisley, a passenger in a car; One incident in which a nearby school was hit causing children to be fearful; Activities of law enforcement agencies which include local police, ATF specialists and the FBI.

Reports on the impact of three fatal sniper shootings in West Virginia. Background on the killings in Kanawha county which began on August 10, 2003; Victims of the sniper who were shot at convenience stores and a gas station; Indication that the shootings came from the same rifle; Investigation by a law enforcement task force that includes the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation; Speculation that the murders are drug-related.

Argues that racial profiling against whites was used in the Washington, D.C. sniper hunt. Statistics that compare likelihood of a white serial killer to a black serial killer; Bias of journalists; Reasons that law enforcement was impeded.

Examines John Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, the alleged snipers who killed several people in the Washington, D.C. area. Their relationship; Speculation over the mental state of Malvo; Motive for shootings; Reasons for attacking Washington, D.C. area; Their calls to investigators.

Discusses the communications between the alleged criminal snipers, John Muhammad and John Malvo, and the police of Montgomery County, Maryland. Significance of the tarot cards left by the sniper; Consideration of telephone contacts made by the sniper; Link between Malvo and Muhammad.

Looks at different weaknesses in massive police investigations. The arrest of alleged snipers John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo; Vast array of departments as the basic weakness in U.S. law enforcement; The weakness of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Rapid Start computer system; Inadequate staffing of the public tip phone line; Strengths and weaknesses of law enforcement databases; The use of the press.

Reports on the role of ballistic evidence in investigating the criminal sniper who has terrorized the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Technique for comparing bullets in order to link separate crimes; Role of the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, which stores the markings on bullets and shell casings as electronic signatures; Controversy over whether there should be a national gun registry.

Discusses the role of geographic profiling in the investigation of the sniper who has terrorized the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Development of geoprofiling by former Canadian police officer Kim Rossmo; Success of the investigative technology in other cases.

Reports on the investigation of and search for a sniper who killed seven people in Montgomery County, Maryland. Evidence that the shooter used varmint cartridges and .223 rounds to shoot victims; Clues from the bullets; Suspicion that the killer fired from a vehicle; Possibility of witnesses; Apparent random selection of victims.

Presents the opinion of the author about what it is like to live in Montgomery County, Maryland, while a serial sniper is on the loose. Police presence; Description of the victims of the sniper; Profile of Montgomery County; Crime rates; Comparison of the fear from the snipers with the fear from September 11, 2001; Fear for children; Effect on retail establishments.

Reports on the patching of antiquated 490 megahertz radios with new radio systems to enhance communication among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of the criminal snipers in 2002 in Montgomery County, Maryland. Way in which connection to the emergency communications center was undertaken; Importance of radio systems to law enforcement.

Reports that a sniper shot and killed a woman, Linda Franklin, as she loaded purchases into her car with her husband in a covered parking lot in Maryland. Number of people that the sniper has shot; Inconsistencies in witness accounts; Allegation that one witness intentionally mislead investigators; Number of police and federal agents who hunt the sniper; Provision of fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft by the Pentagon; Use of sensitive surveillance equipment by the U.S. army.