In the early 2000s, a sequence of planned shootings known as The Beltway Sniper Case occurred in Washington, D.C. Ten people were killed, and several were injured during the three weeks that John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the city (FBI, n.d.). Ballistic evidence was eventually helpful since it allowed the authorities to identify not only the weapons but the suspects as well.
First, it is essential to demonstrate the background of the case. The shootings began on October 2, 2002, when five individuals were shot and killed in Maryland (FBI, n.d.). Over the next three weeks, the shooters continued their reign of terror, killing five more people and injuring three others in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. (FBI, n.d.). The investigation into the shootings was one of the most intense in the history of law enforcement (FBI, n.d.). The authorities used a variety of techniques, including surveillance, witness interviews, and forensic analysis, to try to identify the suspects (FBI, n.d.). However, these were not the only useful elements of the case.
One of the key pieces of evidence in the case was ballistic evidence. In order to identify whether a certain weapon was used to fire the bullets and cartridge casings, ballistics analysis includes looking at the marks left on these objects (Bell, 2020). In the Beltway Sniper Case, this analysis was crucial in linking the shootings together and identifying the suspects. The authorities were able to recover a significant amount of ballistic evidence from the scenes. They were additionally able to recover the weapon used in the shootings, a Bushmaster XM15 rifle, which was found in the terrorist’s car when they were arrested (Bell, 2020). Using this evidence, the authorities were able to link the shootings together and identify the two suspects (Bell, 2020). The bullets collected from the victims were shot from the Bushmaster rifle, according to ballistic evidence, which proved that the same firearm was used in each of the attacks.
Hence, ballistic evidence ultimately proved useful since it enabled the authorities to identify both the suspects and the weapons. On October 2, 2002, five individuals were shot and murdered in Maryland, sparking the start of the shootings. To try to identify the suspects, the police employed a number of strategies, including surveillance, witness interviews, and forensic investigation. A sizable amount of ballistic evidence was found at the crime scenes by the authorities.
References
Bell, S. (2020). Encyclopedia of forensic science (3rd ed.). Infobase Publishing.
FBI. (n.d.). Beltway Snipers. Web.