John Allen Muhammad
USA- John Allen Muhammad: The Washington Sniper
- Early Life and Military Service
- The Sniper Attacks
- Arrest and Conviction
- The Modus Operandi
John Allen Muhammad: The Washington Sniper
John Allen Muhammad, also known as the "Washington Sniper," was an American serial killer. In 2002, along with his younger accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, he killed ten people and severely injured three others with a sniper rifle in the vicinity of Washington.
Early Life and Military Service
John Allen Williams was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was of African-American descent and served in the National Guard and the United States Army. He participated in the Gulf War. Later, he converted to Islam and became a member of the radical organization known as the Nation of Islam. In October 2001, he changed his surname to Muhammad.
The Sniper Attacks
During the month of October 2002, Muhammad and Malvo spent three weeks shooting random pedestrians from a vehicle using a high-powered rifle with an optical scope. Several people were killed in Montgomery County, Maryland, including James Martin, James Buchanan, Premkumar Walekar, Sarah Ramos, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, and Pascal Charlot. A woman was also injured in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and a 13-year-old boy was wounded near a school in Prince George's County, Maryland. On October 9, Den Harold Myers was killed in Manassas, Virginia, and on October 11, Kenneth Bridges, a father of six, was murdered at a gas station near Fredericksburg. Linda Franklin, an FBI employee, was killed on October 14, and a man was injured near a restaurant in Virginia on October 19. Conrad Johnson, aged 35, was critically injured on October 22 and later died in the hospital.
Arrest and Conviction
On October 24, Muhammad and Malvo were found sleeping in their Chevrolet car and arrested. During the trial, Malvo revealed that Muhammad had planned to kill at least six white individuals every day for a month and also planned to carry out bombings using explosive devices filled with screws and bolts in school buses, schools, children's hospitals, and clinics. Muhammad and Malvo were both sentenced to death by the Virginia state court. On November 10, 2009, Muhammad was executed by lethal injection.
The Modus Operandi
Muhammad used a specially equipped van and a Bushmaster XM-15 automatic rifle with a caliber of 5.66 mm (.223 Remington) and a red-dot sight for the murders. Typically, he would target his victims with a single shot, ensuring high precision and lethality.
