Skyline Drive shooting

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Very few details out on this so far. Even if the guy turns out to be Charles Manson, I'm sure the Brady Bunch will be jumping up and down screaming about this being the fault of the new Concealed Carry rules. Remember, if Charles Manson and you are both carrying a handgun, to them you are both criminals.

TFred

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2009/03/state-police-man-killed-at-skyline-drive.html

State police: Man killed at Skyline Drive

By J.R. Williams

jrwilliams@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- A man was killed Sunday at the entrance to Shenandoah National Park after he drew a weapon and fired at authorities, a Virginia State Police official said.

At 11 a.m., the National Parks Service asked the Warren County Sheriff's Office and state police to stop a vehicle. When authorities pulled the vehicle over at Skyline Drive and U.S. 340, the driver of the vehicle drew a weapon and began to fire, State Police Sgt. F.L. Tyler said.

Authorities returned fire and killed the driver, Tyler said.

Tyler would not identify the driver or a passenger in the car, who received only minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.

It was unclear Sunday afternoon which law enforcement agency fired the shot that killed the man, why the parks service asked authorities to stop the car or if anyone else was hurt.

Eight hours after the shooting, nearly two dozen police cars blocked entrance to the park, and authorities were still working the scene past nightfall. State troopers were directing tourists to Luray for access to Skyline Drive.

The incident is under investigation by State Police, the National Parks Service and the FBI.

FBI spokeswoman Dee Rybiski refused further comment. Warren County Sheriff Daniel T. McEathron referred questions to State Police. He would not say how many deputies were involved.

Susie Starita, 43, said her 14-year-old son was playing outside their River Drive home close to the park when he heard gunshots. At first she didn't believe him.

But Starita soon watched helicopters land in the parking lot of a nearby football field.

An ambulance rushed to one, she said, and after about 10 minutes the helicopter was back in the air. A second helicopter also landed, she said.

"We all watched it. I wasn't about to go over there," she said.

Starita said the incident put her on edge because children in her neighborhood frequently play outside.

"It made me very nervous," she said. "The kids were playing. What makes me more nervous is what he did. I don't want people like this hanging around my house."

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Conveniently no indication of where the man was from or why he was ordered to stop.

1) You don't instigate a firefight with a sidearm.
2) You don't instigate a firefight when outmanned 10:1.

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Susie Starita, 43, said her 14-year-old son was playing outside their River Drive home close to the park when he heard gunshots. At first she didn't believe him.

[...]

"It made me very nervous," she said. "The kids were playing. What makes me more nervous is what he did. I don't want people like this hanging around my house."

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It will be interesting if we hear any more reports of this particular quote.

I'm glad they quoted her phrase "what he did" rather than something like "he had a gun". It would be hard for the media or the Brady Bunch to spin that without complete alteration of the quote.

TFred

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So, no need to carry in a NPARK? Big shootout at SKYLINE DRIVE yesterday. I missed going that way by the seat of my pants and went in the South entrance instead. Cones across the road so I turned around and came up Route 340 instead. There were still big goings on at 6 PM when we went by. Perp dead, no REAL details are being brought fourth. I did hear today, the perp was dressed like the Joker in the famed Batman stories, but no proof of that at this time. Guess I was just lucky. :shock: It rated about 1 1/2" in the local Winchester paper.

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One unconfirmed report, states that he was a homicide suspect. There doesn't appear to be any additional news reports to confirm this.

http://wcrnews.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/

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Well maybe, but just how would Park Rangers know this? Poster? Hard to say.

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What do you know, criminals do sometimes wander into National Parks! :shock:

TFred

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Tusker wrote:

Well maybe, but just how would Park Rangers know this? Poster? Hard to say.

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The "unconfirmed report" came from a police officer on the scene.

A BOL (Be on the Lookout) alert had been issued for the vehicle and a police officer on the scene said the driver was a suspect in a homicide. That could not be confirmed.

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TFred

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Holly crap... park police... State police... FBI... Helicopters.... a shootout with a man with a gun... Hey... Has anyone seen Tomahawk today?:what:

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Hawkflyer wrote:

Holly crap... park police... State police... FBI... Helicopters.... a shootout with a man with a gun... Hey... Has anyone seen Tomahawk today?:what:

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Now all we need is some hotdogs and charcoal :^).

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more details


Published: March 11, 2009
A Fort Eustis soldier was shot to death Sunday on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park, hours after another soldier at the Newport News Army base was attacked, authorities said today.
The Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Park Service are investigating the chain of events that began around 6 a.m. Sunday, when Fort Eustis Fire and Emergency Services workers reported that Spc. Mitchell Stone was injured. Stone, who sustained wounds to his neck, was taken to a hospital. He remains in stable condition, a Fort Eustis spokeswoman said.
The suspected assailant, Spc. Christopher Lanum, 25, fled the scene, Fort Eustis officials said. Lanum and Stone were assigned to U.S. Army Medical Department Activity at Fort Eustis, officials at the base said.
At 11:35 a.m., National Park Service rangers and a state police trooper in the Shenandoah National Park attempted to stop a minivan driven by Lanum, who was wanted by Fort Eustis officials. A pursuit ensued southbound and then northbound on Skyline Drive until the van stopped about a tenth of a mile south of the exit for U.S. 340 in Warren County.
As the trooper and other law enforcement officers approached the van, they saw that Lanum had a firearm, authorities said.
Shots were fired and Lanum was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. A passenger inside the minivan was injured during the shooting, but that person's injuries are not considered life-threatening. Authorities would not elaborate on the circumstances of the shooting.

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http://www.wtkr.com/news/dp-local_shootingfollo2_0313mar13,0,4057629.story

Soldier shot by police idolized 'The Joker'
By Hugh Lessig 247-7821
March 13, 2009

NORFOLK - A Fort Eustis soldier who was killed Sunday in a shootout with police was described as idolizing The Joker from "The Dark Knight," and he painted his face during a failed getaway attempt that took him across the state.

That description of Army Spc. Christopher Lanum was included in court papers filed in the arrest of his girlfriend. She is charged with aiding Lanum after he allegedly stabbed a fellow soldier at the Newport News post early Sunday morning.

Investigators also said Lanum was dressed in black pants and a green vest before the stabbing, and that the computer in his room showed that someone was searching for information on "sleeping gas."

His girlfriend, Patsy Ann Marie Montowski, appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday afternoon and was ordered held pending a detention hearing next Tuesday. The complaint charges her with accessory after the fact to an assault.

Montowski provided the getaway vehicle and accompanied her boyfriend in a cross-state drive that ended near Front Royal, court papers said. She was wounded in the same confrontation that resulted in Lanum's death.

The victim, Spc. Mitchell Stone, was hospitalized with wounds to the thigh and throat.

According to court records, the two soldiers lived in adjoining rooms on the post, sharing a common kitchen area and bathroom.

Shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday, Fort Eustis medical personnel responded to a report of a stabbing in that area. They found Stone conscious in a blood-spattered room.

Stone said Lanum had attacked him with a knife and a stun gun. Military police found a knife, a gun, a stun gun covered in blood, and a purse belonging to Montowski, along with her driver's license. They began searching for her minivan – a 1999 blue Ford Windstar.

About 11 a.m. Sunday, a U.S. Park ranger spotted the minivan on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. A chase ensued, and police eventually used tire spikes to disable the vehicle, which crashed.

As police approached, the court records say, they saw Lanum holding a shotgun, his finger on the trigger. Lanum ignored orders to drop the weapon and a trooper fired through the window.

Lanum was struck several times and killed. Montowski was wounded and required hospital treatment.

Montowski later told investigators that she could not give a reason for the fight.

However, she said her boyfriend idolized the Joker — the fictional criminal from the Batman film. Separately, investigators also noticed masks and pictures or paintings of the Joker in Lanum's room, as well as face paint on the hutch and dresser.

She told investigators that her boyfriend "said everything the Joker did he did for a reason, like killing people, and that he agreed with the philosophy of doing things for a reason."

Hours before the stabbing, Montowski said her boyfriend was "'preparing for war,' as he often did" — a ritual that involved cleaning his knives.

Later, she went out for cigarettes and Lanum would not let her back in the room. Stone allowed her to walk through his room to get to the common area, then to her boyfriend's room.

The fight between the two soldiers happened shortly afterward. Stone told police he went into the common area for a drink of water, and Lanum attacked him. Also, he said Montowski attacked him with the stun gun.

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The Times-Dispatch is reporting he was wearing make-up.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/EUST13_20090312-222816/230537/

If this turns out to be related to him dressing up and wearing make-up, he should have just stopped in Richmond on Sunday. They have several "drag" shows on Sunday and he would have felt right at home.