I, Sniper (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - He told me he loved me - full transcript

-Police on alert
after a deadly rampage.

Five victims slain randomly,
all within 15 hours.

-What am I gonna tell her...
Jocelin?

How did I'm gonna tell her this?

Her mom is not coming back.

-Hello, this is a call from...

-Lee Malvo

- an inmate at the Virginia
Department of Corrections,

Red Onion State Prison.

-41-year-old man, John Muhammad,
and a Jamaican-born teenager...

Sniper team that terrorized the
Washington metropolitan area.



-19-11 I have one down.
There's blood all over...

-...three weeks,
the most intense manhunt

in American history...

-The serial killer hunting down
random citizens.

-We have fear levels hear that
I think are higher

than they were
after September 11th.

-Let me go past!

-President Bush is talking about
fighting Iraq,

and we have a war zone right
here in this own country.

-Oh! Oh!

Oh, man! Oh man!

-Tonight, the manhunt still
underway, yet police admit

they still don't know
what kind of person

they are looking for.



There are so few clues.

-The person or the people
that are doing this,

rethink what you're doing,

turn yourself in
to law enforcement.

-The person won't stop
on his own.

He likes the shooting.

This...
This is emotional heroin.

And this person won't stop
until he's caught or killed.

-Uh, good morning.

We're happy to report
a very quiet overnight,

no incidents related
to our situation.

Very clearly, we are
at a level of anxiety

with our morning rush hour
getting ready to start.

I want, again, report a regular,

normal opening of school.

We expect a regular school day.

-I came early for a meeting,
and I was coming down the steps.

I heard a very loud bang.

When I opened the door,
I expected to see a student

right on the other side.

I thought maybe somebody
had kicked the door.

However, I saw a student like
10 feet away

and yelling in pain.

By the time I approached him,
he was going down,

and he indicated
that he had been shot.

He was clutching his stomach,
and he was afraid.

-Uh-huh.

-Is he conscious, breathing?

-The one thing we knew...
That a high-powered rifle

was used
in all of the other injuries.

So, we were preparing ourselves
for what's called

a blast injury.

-Well, the mood was intense

in all of the shootings,
in all of the deaths.

It was really a anxious time.

No one ever thought
that a child would be involved.

-What happens is,
when the bullet goes in

to any kind of an organ,
it generates a lot of energy,

so it's like a cone
that goes out.

So, the bullet might be
going straight,

but that energy
that the bullet creates

hits all the organs

like you were thinking about
a cone itself.

The spleen was shattered.

Part of the tail of his pancreas
was injured.

The lobe of the liver...
That was also shattered.

He had a hole in his stomach,
and there was a lot of bleeding.

Just that in and of itself
was enough

to make me really concerned

about how critical
his potential survival was.

I was not convinced
that he was gonna survive.

-This just in
to the WTOP newsroom...

-There has been a shooting
at a school this morning.

A child has been shot

in front of the
Benjamin Tasker Middle School.

This is in Bowie.

There is no word on the
circumstances of this shooting

or the condition of the child.

-Understandably, the tensions
are very, very high in Bowie

where a 13-year-old boy
has been shot.

He's critically injured.

-The shooting comes on the heels
of a series of deadly shootings

that started
in Montgomery County,

then extended into D.C.
and Northern Virginia.

-The situation at Tasker
right now is a little fluid.

We're trying to get kids
back home

to their parents
from this one school only.

All other schools,

we are securing students
in those buildings.

-I don't know what's gonna
happen tomorrow,

but I know what's
going on right now.

He's with me.

That's what's important.

-I'm just happy that my dad
came to get me.

-We've now crossed over,
where a student,

an innocent student,

doing what every student does
throughout this area...

Going to school every day...
Is shot.

When you now involve
innocent children,

in a wave of crime,
homicide shootings,

you've crossed a line
in this country.

I think it was a cold
and calculated message to say,

"Now we're here to demonstrate

that your children are not safe.

You haven't been able
to stop us,

and now we are now going after
children."

-I feel like this is a...
A war zone that I'm living in.

You know, President Bush
is talking about fighting Iraq,

going in and fighting Iraq,

and we have a war right here
in this own county.

-All right, guys.

-Now this kid's been shot,
it becomes personal.

It becomes us against them,
and we're losing.

Whoever it is, is pretty good.

Of course, we're all
really hoping

and praying
that this kid makes it

because now the whole game
has changed.

-Today, it went down
to the children.

Someone is so mean-spirited

that they shot a child.

Now, all of our victims
have been innocent,

have been defenseless.

But now we're stepping
over the line

because our children
don't deserve this.

So, parents, please,
do your job tonight...

Engage your children,
be there for them.

We're gonna need it.

We're gonna need you
to support them.

I guess it's getting to be
really, really personal now.

So, if there's any doubt
out there

what law enforcement
is gonna be engaged in,

what we're gonna be doing,
then you can remove all doubt.

When you're on TV at a press
conference as the police chief

and you cry,
that's really, for many people,

I guess it's unacceptable.

You know, I didn't have any plan
to do that.

That wasn't kind of
one of those, uh,

"Let's have a meeting,
and we'll talk about it,

and then when you get to
this moment,

uh, you know, cry."

But I will always be thankful
for a number of people

in Montgomery County
and other places.

They sent a message that
they appreciated the fact

that they've got somebody
that cares.

-The 13-year-old reportedly

is suffering
from heavy blood loss,

with wounds to his chest and...

-Taken to Children's Hospital,
where he underwent surgery.

He was last reported
in critical condition.

We're gonna now take you
to Children's Hospital

for an update.

-And just confirm that
we have been taking care

of a young man who sustained
a significant gunshot wound.

It entered his abdomen,
went through his chest.

-Is he breathing on his own?

-No, he's not breathing
on his own.

He's on a ventilator.

We are actually,
uh, breathing for him,

and we anticipate
over the next eight hours

that we'll see how he responds.

-A child has been shot
in front of

the Benjamin Tasker
Middle School.

-Hey, hey!
How are you, man?

Hey!
- How you doing?

-The basketball player.
How you been?

- I've been well.
- Can you still shoot that hoop?

- Yes, sir.
- Huh? I got a picture of you

up there with that ball
just going up there, huh?

Hey, you look fantastic.
- He's a lot taller.

- Yes, sir.
- Let me see your wound here.

- Absolutely, absolutely.
- Oh, look at that!

You must've had
some great surgeons.

That's all I can tell you.

Look at this.

-My name is Iran Brown,

and I was 13 years old
when I was shot.

-This is the WTOP radio network,
WTOP Washington, WTOP...

-That morning I was driven
to school by my Aunt Tanya.

I was suspended from the bus
because I was eating a Twizzler.

And immediately after I got
out of the car, I was shot.

It was a burning sensation,

and I remember
looking in the mirror.

I was becoming real pale.

-Is he... is he conscious
and breathing?

-I was just losing
a lot of blood.

My body was obviously in shock.

My adrenaline was pumping.

It was... it was difficult.

It was difficult.

-Okay, so you picked him up...

Okay.

-I just wanted to survive.

I remember explaining
to my aunt, that, uh...

That I loved her and that...
Just that I appreciate her,

and I was almost
preparing myself to possibly,

you know, pass away.

I remember being placed
on the gurney.

Everybody was all rushing
to my aid.

And shortly after, I passed out.

-Well, we did take out
his spleen,

a portion of his stomach,
a portion of his pancreas.

The main thing
was to stop the bleeding

that was coming
from those organs.

I think he has weathered
a significant injury,

and as of this point,
we're satisfied

with how he has
gotten through surgery.

- It's so good to see you.
- Thanks for coming.

- My pleasure, guys.
- Yeah.

- You guys are my heroes.
- Are you kidding me?

- When did you get this tall?

-I mean, I remember
this little guy

laying there on the bed,
don't you?

-When I first came around,

the first thing I saw
was my mother.

That was a wonderful feeling.

She was very emotional.

I believe my experience
definitely had a lot to do

with what I do for a living.

I work in the medical field,
and I just truly believe

serving others
is the rent that we should pay.

I give thanks every day.

It's a blessing.

I just have to live with the
fact that I'll never be 100%.

-Bowie is overrun by federal
and local officers.

The ATF, the FBI,
and the Secret Service

are all assisting.

Investigators are scouring
for any evidence,

like a bullet casing,

that a sniper might've
left behind.

- It was my first dog.

His name was, uh, Beacon.

His role that day, my role,

was to search for evidence
of shell casings.

They asked me to go in
and search this woodline.

If we look to my right,
the woodline, uh,

starts just past
those two trees right there.

So, what I did was I kind of
tried to imagine

if I was trying to shoot
somebody, where would I be?

I just needed to come out
with a search pattern.

So, I knew I didn't need to go
behind the school

because obviously the bullets
don't turn corners.

Come on. Let's go.
Seek.

A shell casing does not put out
a lot of odor,

so that's a very tough search
for any dog to do.

One of the SWAT officers said,
"It's gonna be very unlikely

that we're gonna
find anything."

Honestly, I didn't even notice
the change in behavior

until he said, "Hey,
pay attention to your dog."

And when I looked,
he was sniffing a branch

that was on the ground.

The most tell-tale sign was that
big drool that was coming down.

And hours later, they found
the shell casing in the area

that the dog alerted.

And that evening, one of
the agents called and said,

"Hey, they found a...
Some type of note."

It was a tarot card,

and it had a very dark-sounding
statement on it.

-On the back of the card,
there was a handwritten note

that said, "Call me God.

Do not release to the press."

It didn't give a whole lot
of information.

But it did mean that the shooter
was beginning to speak to us.

Even though we didn't know
who we were talking to,

we believed that
we were talking to the shooter.

-The "Mister Police"...
Why does he...

Why does he use that language?

Is this someone who's been
put down by the police?

Is there a grievance
by the police?

Uh, why does he use that term
"Call Me God"?

"Please don't release
to the press"...

That could have suggested
the author,

the schemer behind the document,
was an older male.

-Do we need to now, you know,

do something
to trigger a shooting?

No.
So, we're gonna respect

the fact that says
"Do not release to the press,"

and we're not gonna
talk about it,

and we're not gonna
tell the press.

-We continue to follow
developments

in Montgomery County...
A terrible murder rampage.

-However, unfortunately,
the next morning

somehow
one of the local channels

got information
about what the card said.

-It could be a critical clue
in the sniper shootings.

The gunman reportedly has left
a message for police.

-Morning, Katie. Well, more
about that calling card.

It was left at the scene
of the most recent shooting.

It was a card
from a fortune-telling deck.

-A Tarot card like this one

that law-enforcement sources
say shows the figure of death.

-I just said,
"Now, wait a minute.

Is this card really part
of this thing," you know?

I mean, come on.
This is like...

it's really got to be
a horror flick

if they dropping cards
and stuff.

It's like "Silence of the Lambs"
or something.

-To leave a Tarot card
at the scene

the way the Son of Sam did
in the New York cases

and the Zodiac Killer did
in California...

-Tarot cards
are packed with symbolism.

A message on the card reads
"Dear policeman, I am God."

- on this report
of the tarot card

found near
the Prince George's County site?

-It is inappropriate to comment
about this... card.

There's not been anything
authorized for release by me.

-Obviously, this leak had come
from law enforcement.

And why someone would
basically sell their soul

and give that kind
of information out

that might jeopardize
the investigation,

or, worse, cause someone else
to get shot

because you did what the shooter
said not to do,

and the Chief was, ballistic,
to coin a phrase.

-Our citizens have asked

the Montgomery County
Police Department

and all available
federal resources

to work this case.

I have not received any message

that the citizens
of Montgomery County

want Channel 9
or "The Washington Post"

or any other media outlet
to solve this case.

If they do, then let me know.

We will go and do
other police work,

and we will turn this case
over to the media.

-Well, this was indeed
an extraordinary news conference

in Montgomery County
this morning, just minutes ago.

-We all have responsibilities,
and we all have jobs to do.

Our job is not to sit there
and just report the information

that's handed out
at those briefings.

-So, I think that there is an
investigative-reporter concept,

and they're trying to get ahead
of their competitors,

or, you know... or maybe they...

They actually want
to solve the case themselves

because that probably
helps their career.

-Law-enforcement sources
say the card has been taken

to an FBI lab for testing,

looking for the card's origin
and analysis of the message.

-And they're not giving us
a psychological profile?

- No, No.
- They have one. They have...

and we've talked to
lots of profilers

who are not necessarily
working on this case.

-You want a profile?

Here's a guy who's gonna
turn out, I believe,

to be a white, middle-aged male.

-Statistically,
it's gonna be a white male

-White male.
Young white male.

It... it's somebody who's
probably working alone.

-He's gone through a nasty
separation or divorce.

-Significant substance abuse...

Drug, alcohol, something
like that involved.

-He's had training in firearms,
maybe the military.

-These are people
who would relish

seeing the press attention
that they're getting.

-We still do not know
who this is who's doing it.

I don't think anybody can leap
to any conclusions

or reach any conclusions
about who this is,

and don't interpret that
to mean that we're open to

the possibility that it is
something connected

to terrorism.

We simply don't know.

-This case didn't make sense.

The only thing I saw was just
random shootings,

a shooting spree,

that was to terrorize
our part of the world.

My boss said, "Toni, I want you
to stand up a tip line."

And I looked at him.

I said, "You gotta be kidding.

Do you know what kind
of resources

that's gonna bleed
out of our office?

Are you kidding me?"

And he said,
"You've got 24 hours."

We didn't have
the infrastructure.

We had to put in plugs.
We were putting in outlets.

We were putting in computers.
We were setting up phones.

We were setting up lines.

And we barely got it completed
by 6:00

the morning we were
supposed to turn it on.

And we had a big-screen TV
on the front of the room,

and I'll never forget it.

The 1-888 number
went up on the screen...

-I want to throw out
this tip-line number.

If you know anything,

if you think
you know anything...

888-324-9800.

- and within seconds,

there was so much noise
of phones ringing

that I was stunned.

One of my technical supervisors
came up behind me

and said, "We're already
15 minutes backlogged."

We ended up having 88 lines
going at a time, 24/7.

-We were tasked with trying
to get a handle

of the thousands of tips
that were coming in.

For example,
someone would call...

"Well, I think
my husband did it.

My ex-husband did it.

He's a white "supremist,"
he owns a rifle,

and he drives a white van."

And we'd have these calls
by the hundreds.

And we'd run the record check,
and if things matched,

they went
to the top of the pile,

and they were gonna get
a visit by an investigator.

We were trying to find that
proverbial needle in a haystack

in a field full of haystacks,

and for that matter, it was
three states of haystacks.

[ Telephone ringing ]

-I'm the snipers.

-Excuse me?

-Someone put up a sign...
"No more crazy calls."

And it's like, I kind of got
really upset,

and I said, "Come on.

Who do you think's doing this
besides a crazy person?"

You know, why would we not want
to take crazy calls?

I didn't want us
to miss anything

because if we missed anything,
or if we weren't fast enough,

someone else was gonna die.

-I was a fresh officer,
just out of the academy.

The call went out on the radio
that there'd been a shooting.

They asked me to come
to the Bob Evans parking lot

and to block it off

and to speak to the individuals

who were trying to
exit the scene.

I started speaking to
the drivers and passengers...

If anybody had heard
or seen anything.

And the overall response was no,
just from everybody.

There was a blue Chevy Caprice.

Inside was a black male.

It appeared that the vehicle
was only occupied by the driver.

I interviewed him,
asked him what had happened

and, you know, why he was here.

He stated that he was
on his way home from vacation,

and as he pulled into this area,

he was directed into
this parking lot by the police

and that he was just
trying to get out.

He was very calm, very normal,
and very courteous.

The vehicle did smell.

It was just a mess.

I do remember seeing a sock
stuck in the trunk lid.

-We were looking for a white van
with ladder racks,

driven by a white male
who'd already left the scene.

Didn't write down
any of his information.

I asked him to drive safely
and to move on.

You just feel like
you let the families down.

We had 'em, and, uh,
my mistake...

I felt like I let 'em go.

Plain and simple.

-A deadly shooting tonight
at a Sunoco gas station

on Sudley Road in Manassas.

-We're told that one man
is dead.

He was at the pump
at the gas station, shot dead.

-The story is unfolding
as we speak.

Whether it is connected to
the string of eight shootings,

six fatal that we've seen
over a week,

it is still unclear.

-Eight dead now, two injured,

the suspect still on the loose.

-There is growing anxiety
about when he'll strike again.

-They have the most definite,
promising,

concrete leads
that they've had at any point

in this
two-week-old investigation.

An eyewitness who last night
caught a glimpse of the killer

and the gun
that he may be using.

-I knew John.

I knew what he was capable of.

Subs extracted and de-HI'd by Peppe @ 2021