Fear shoots up as sniper strikes again

‘‘He’s in critical condition in the intensive care unit…and it is life-threatening but I can’t say anymore,’’ Pam Lepley, a spokeswoman for the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond said.

‘‘We don’t…know if it’s tied in or related to the sniper in northern Virginia and Maryland. But we’re going to treat it as if it is until we know that it’s not,’’ said Col. Stuart Cook of the Sheriff’s Department in Hanover County where the shooting took place.

The shooting bears the hallmarks of the Washington sniper — shot at random and felled by a single shot while engaged in a mundane, everyday activity off a highway.

The man was shot in a parking lot outside a Ponderosa Steakhouse restaurant in Ashland, Virginia, about 16 miles North of Richmond, Virginia, southwest of Washington.

Ashland Police Chief Frederic Pleasants said the victim and his wife, who were passing through the region and had stopped for a meal and gasoline, were leaving the restaurant when the shot rang out at about 8 pm, apparently from a wooded area behind the restaurant.

He said the wooded area was about 100 feet away from where the victim was shot while he was walking with his wife.

‘‘She heard a sound, but didn’t relate it to a gun shot. Her husband took about three steps and then began to collapse in the parking lot,’’ Pleasants said.

‘‘“The best evidence we have right now from the few witnesses we have — they believe the shot came from a wooded tree line’’ behind the restaurant and other adjacent businesses, Pleasants said.

He said investigators and police dogs were searching the wooded area for clues. No bullet has been recovered and the CNN said the bullet was still in the victim. The hospital spokeswoman declined to confirm the report. Authorities were checking cars and trucks on roads all the way to Washington. ‘‘Prudence dictates that we responded this way, and we implemented this highway shutdown plan because of the fact that this is a very unusual incident for this community — someone being shot for no apparent reason and from some type of a stealth position,’’ he said. ‘‘But I will emphasise once again — we have been able to uncover no credible evidence or description of a suspect or a suspect vehicle.’’

Authorities said they were monitoring vehicles on highways looking for anything suspicious. Lt. Doug Goodman of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said a regional law enforcement sniper task force from the Washington area had rushed to Ashland.

All the previous shootings have been linked to the sniper. None of the previous shootings took place on a weekend. (Reuters)