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"CALL ME GOD."
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0:00
A shot rings out in broad daylight, and a woman turns and sees a body fall to the ground
0:10
Across the parking lot is a man, and he has also heard the loud bang
0:15
It's 6.30 in the evening, and happens at one of the busiest intersections in the Montgomery County area
0:21
just across from the local police station. Neither of the witnesses has a clue where the sound came from, much less who fired the bullet
0:31
This means that the shot had likely come from a distance. The following morning at 7.41am, another man drops dead at a gas station
0:41
and within the span of two hours, three more victims are killed
0:47
Each death occurs from a single bullet, and after every murder, the suspect is nowhere to be found
0:55
This is the harrowing story of the DC snipers, two men who wreaked havoc on our nation's capital for three weeks straight
1:05
Before we get into the story, I've got to put food on the table somehow
1:09
so today's sponsor is HelloFresh. And before you guys skip, you're really telling me
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that you don't want to see this guy try to make crispy kicking cayenne chicken cutlets
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Okay, so I'm not no Gordon Ramsay, but I'm going to try my best to make these things taste good
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So I don't really know how to cut potatoes all that well, so here's my best attempt at doing so
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I struggled a little bit to get the chicken out of the package, but guys, this was just because
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my camera lens was quite literally strapped to my chest, hence the reason why you can see both of
1:38
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considering this was the first time in a while that I didn't just nuke a pizza in the microwave
1:54
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1:59
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2:06
Again, that is HelloFresh.com, code JACKNEIL21, 21 free meals plus free shipping
2:12
Anyway, guys, let's get back to the video. John Allen Williams grows up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the 60s
2:20
and enlists in the U.S. Army when he's 18 years old. He trains as a mechanic and serves until 1989
2:27
before moving to Washington where he meets his wife, Mildred Muhammad. They have three kids together, but unfortunately they don't end on the best of terms
2:36
because John does not want to share custody of his kids. He then kidnaps the children, flees the country, and essentially becomes a fugitive
2:45
Eventually, though, he's tracked down and Mildred takes him to court, where she is granted full rights over her children
2:52
John, on the other hand, has partial custody and can only see his kids on certain days, and when he does, he's supervised
3:00
And this series of events will act as a catalyst for a rampage that will leave over a dozen bodies in the grave
3:08
But more on that in a bit. Shortly after losing his kids, John converts over to Islam and changes his last name to Muhammad
3:17
He starts spending more time overseas on Antigua, an island in the Caribbeans
3:22
And it's there in the year 2000 where he meets a 14-year-old boy named Lee Boyd Malvo
3:28
Lee born February 18 1985 in Kingston Jamaica And growing up his father is nowhere to be found His mom Una James works several jobs to support her son but this means she never really home Lee spends the majority of his time
3:45
alone, and when his mom is around, she torments him both physically and mentally. At age six
3:52
Lee and his mother move to Antigua, the same place where John Muhammad is living. And when the two
3:58
cross paths, John immediately takes a liking to the child and gives Una money to support him
4:04
even offering to help raise the boy. Now, Lee is absolutely ecstatic about this
4:09
because he finally has the dad he's always wanted. But John is no father figure. He is an evil
4:17
manipulative man who wants nothing more but to use the child as part of a deadly plan
4:24
In early 2001, John and Lee move together to Bellingham, Washington, while Una stays behind in Antigua
4:31
The plan here is basically make enough money so they can send it to her, so she can move with them to the U.S
4:37
However, the second they land on American soil, a flip switches. John severely mistreats Lee, forcing the boy to undergo rigorous military-style drills and hours and hours of physical training
4:52
He hurts him for making the smallest mistakes, and Lee will later testify in trial that the pain wasn't just physical or mental, but sexual as well
5:03
October 2nd, 2002, 5.20pm. A window is shattered at a Michaels craft store, and the bullet narrowly misses the cashier
5:15
And since no one is dead or injured, the shot is assumed to be random
5:20
Curiously, the casing of the bullet indicates that it has been fired from a high-powered rifle
5:27
Approximately an hour later, 55-year-old James Martin is loading bags in his car from the grocery store when a bullet strikes him from a distance
5:37
He dies on scene, yet the perpetrator is nowhere to be found
5:41
The next day at 7.41am, a landscaper named James Buchanan is shot dead while mowing the lawn at a gas station
5:50
Just 30 minutes later, a 54-year-old taxi driver named Prat Kumar Wali Kar is blown away while pumping gas at the gas station
5:59
Three more people died that day, and each shooting is more precise than the last
6:04
And the victims are seemingly random, all ranging in age, race, and gender
6:11
The D.C. area has turned into a hunting ground for a ruthless killer
6:16
There are no witnesses, no clear motivations, and police have no idea who is doing this
6:24
However, ballistic evidence does show that the same weapon is being used in all the killings
6:30
A Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle. Further, the gunman responsible is quite bold
6:37
He leaves ominous messages, even a death tarot card, behind at the crime scenes
6:43
Many of them contain the phrase, call me God. And a few serve as ransom notes, requesting $10 million to stop the attacks
6:53
They do not explicitly say what the money's for, and remember this because it comes into play later
7:00
The attacks make headlines worldwide, with the media dubbing the shooter the Beltway Sniper
7:06
These incidents invoke fear all throughout DC an entire area scared to leave their homes People avoid going to the grocery store pumping gas in their cars and children are taught
7:21
to run in zigzag patterns. The sentiment around town is if you have to go outside, it's harder to hit a moving target
7:29
Residents of the area constantly look over their shoulders, hoping they won't be next
7:35
We truthfully are a bit nervous about just standing still. Like now, I'm standing here with you, and I'm kind of looking around because I'm thinking, really, should I stand here
7:45
Police then receive a promising tip that the killer may be driving a white van with a rack mounted on the roof
7:52
Unfortunately, though, this isn't the case. Wasting precious time and putting more people's lives at stake
7:59
In a desperate attempt to get any info they can, investigators set up a hotline so people can call in and submit tips
8:07
Basically, this gives the public a place where if they see something, they can say something
8:12
Soon, over 100,000 calls are flooding the hotline. Some are alleged sightings, others are information about the perpetrator, and many are just prank calls
8:24
But there is one caller in particular that stands out among the others
8:29
Please, Bob calls the fire recorded. Good morning. Don't say anything. Just listen
8:35
Where are the people that are causing the killing in your hair? Look on the terror card
8:40
It says, call me God. Forensic experts will later confirm that this is the voice of the killer
8:47
And I know, you're probably thinking, Jack, why didn't they just trace the call
8:51
Well, since there are thousands of other messages coming in, it's possible that the dispatcher may have misunderstood this as a prank and not reported
8:59
it to the authorities. But I'm curious what you guys think. Did the cold, callous delivery
9:05
and specificity of the words make the dispatcher responsible for not reporting this
9:11
Anyway, a good tip does eventually come through, leading police to two persons of interest
9:17
John Alan Mohamed and Lee Boyd Malvoe are seen at various locations in the DC area
9:24
and are believed to be involved with the murders. It's revealed that John has a long history with the Army
9:30
and with his military tactics and knowledge on weapons, this makes him a prime suspect
9:36
But the question still remains, where are they? DMV records show that John drives a blue Chevy Caprice
9:45
so police issue out a Bolo or be on lookout for his car
9:50
On October 24th, the hotline rings again. A caller reports seeing a blue Caprice with a suspicious person inside at a rest stop in Maryland
10:00
The car matches the description of the one on the news, and when they provide police the license plate numbers, it's an exact match
10:07
This is the vehicle of John Allen Muhammad. A convoy of state, federal, and local agents rush to the scene, and they are expecting an all-out war
10:18
But when they arrive, they realize that both guys are sound asleep in the car
10:24
Officers arrest them on scene, and the 20-day bloodbath finally comes to an end
10:30
However, it's not before 10 innocent people are killed, and it's possible that this number could be much higher, but more on that in a bit
10:39
And trust me, you'll want to know. When investigators search the car, they find the Bushmaster rifle along with the ammunition
10:46
which is an exact match to the ballistic evidence found at all 17 crime scenes They also find a laptop a GPS and a map with various locations circled all of which are confirmed kill sites But even
11:01
more disturbing is when they look on top of the car. It appears that it's been altered into some
11:06
sort of makeshift killing machine. They've carved two holes on the top, one for the rifle and one
11:13
for the scope. This way, shots could be fired without ever opening the trunk. The firewall and
11:19
backseat have also been taken out, so someone, no matter how tall, can lay completely flat on their
11:26
back. These adjustments enable them to drive, shoot, and kill someone, all without being seen
11:33
or having to roll down a window. So now we know how the duo had been able to pick off so many
11:39
victims, but why did they commit these horrific attacks? John claims it's for a noble cause
11:46
to bring awareness to crimes against children and parents who are neglecting them. Further
11:52
he says that he'd been trying to extort the government for money to support his cause
11:57
hence the reason why he left the ransom notes behind at the crime scenes
12:01
And this part is kind of questionable, like call me crazy, but maybe he could have started a
12:07
charity? Investigators get a different version of the story when they speak with close friends and
12:13
family of John, who say that he'd probably wanted his ex-wife dead. The killing spree had been part
12:19
of an elaborate plan to make it seem like she'd just been another sniper victim. And while it's
12:25
true that many of the shootings had occurred around his ex's neighborhood, it doesn't really
12:30
make sense that this would be the sole motivation. I mean, he probably just would have killed one or
12:35
two, maybe three people, but a dozen? The more important question though is why involve the boy
12:44
See, the 41 year old had used the kid in his mission, forcing him to be the trigger man. At
12:50
the time, I guess he was thinking, officer, I'm not the one who had pulled the trigger
12:55
It's this kid. Ultimately though, you kind of have to feel bad for Lee. Yes, what he's done
13:01
is awful, but he wanted a dad so badly. He had been manipulated and coerced by this older man
13:09
and by the time this case gets to trial, his life is literally on the line
13:17
The state argues John and Lee are equal partners in the shooting spree and are seeking the death
13:24
penalty. Lee's lawyers say that he's a broken kid, not able to make rational decisions because
13:31
of his young age. And while he's spared being put to death, he's sentenced to life in prison
13:37
John, however, is not so lucky. He's convicted on all 10 counts of murder and is executed in
13:43
November 2009. Lee later claims that there are many more victims out there across multiple states
13:50
but law enforcement hasn't identified them. Police, though, reject this claim, saying that there just isn't enough proof. All in all, the true motive behind these attacks
14:00
is still unknown. While John had a bitter divorce with his ex-wife, there's not enough concrete
14:06
evidence that he'd planned to harm her. Lee Boyd Malvo gets married behind bars in 2020
14:12
and John Allen Muhammad goes down as one of the most notorious serial killers
14:16
in modern history. I'm Jack Neal, and as always, stay safe, YouTube
#History