BY ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Police want people to compare the times and dates of 14 shootings along a stretch of highway with the habits of individuals they suspect may be involved, investigators said Monday.
Police noted potential suspects would be able to come and go at all hours with little supervision and without drawing attention of family or friends.
“It’s sort of all over the page as far as times are concerned,” Franklin County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Martin said, referring to the shootings’ timeline.
“They may have demonstrated previous incidents of carelessness with a firearm in view of the witnesses or talked about their desire to shoot at vehicles or persons prior to these incidents,” Martin said.
At least two shootings along Interstate 270 have happened since Nov. 25, when Gail Knisley, 62, was killed as she was being driven to a doctor’s appointment, authorities said. She was the only person hit in the shootings.
Five of the shootings -- three at vehicles, one at an elementary school and one at a house -- were from the same gun, Martin said. Although ballistics tests could not link the rest of the shootings, investigators believe all are connected.
Potential suspects are able to hide and move quickly, Martin said.
“If stationary when shooting at a target, they are able to conceal themselves in such a fashion that they are able to remain undetected by witnesses, then are able to flee the area quickly without drawing attention to themselves,” he said.
If mobile, the shooter can fire from a moving vehicle with some accuracy yet still blend in with other traffic, he said.
Investigators have received 1,350 tips about the shootings. They are offering a $20,000 award for information leading to an arrest and charges.
Also Monday, workers were seen erecting cameras on poles along the southern portion of I-270 in the late afternoon. Michelle May, Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman, confirmed the state was putting up cameras at the request of the task force investigating the shootings.
She would not elaborate. Martin declined to comment.