Introduction On October 22, 2002, the beginning of what seemed like the longest three weeks in the Washington Metropolitan area transpired. No one wanted to believe that what was happening would change the lives of thousands. The attacks left the Washington suburbs transfixed with terror. People knelt down by their rear wheels to pump petrol or sprinted into shops from their cars to avoid the snipers. Thousands of people were scared to exit their home due to the killings. The killings were known as the “Beltway Sniper Attacks” because the shootings took place in many different locations that were located within so many miles of each other. This would puzzle police since the very essence of many of these attacks were random further pushing the brink of fear even farther to a place no longer imaginable.
The Shooter's The shooters were identified as John Allen Muhammad and his teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo. John Allen Williams was born December 31, 1960, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and died November 10, 2009, by the lethal injection execution. John Allen Williams was also a former U.S. Army soldier. John's parents were Ernest and Eva Williams, he and his family moved to New Orleans when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer; she died when he was five. After his mother's death, his father left and he was raised mostly by his grandfather and an aunt. In 1987 he joined the Nation of Islam. As a member of the Nation of Islam, Muhammad helped provide security for the "Million Man March” in 1995, but Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has publicly distanced himself and his organization from Muhammad's crimes. Muhammad kidnapped his children and brought them to Antigua around 1999, apparently engaging in credit card and immigration document fraud. It was during this time that he became close with Lee Boyd Malvo, who later acted as his partner in the killings. Williams then changed his name to John Allen Muhammad in October 2001. Lee Boyd Malvo born on February 18, 1985, in Kingston, Jamaica. Known as one of the D.C. snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo, along with John Allen Muhammad, went on shooting spree near the nation’s capital for three weeks in 2002, which left 10 people dead. The son of Una James and Leslie Samuel Malvo, he spent most of his childhood in Jamaica. With an absent father and a mother who often left in the care of others, Malvo was shuffled around a lot with little supervision. Around 1998, he and his mother moved to Antigua. It is believed that Malvo and Muhammad met there. He eventually made his way to the United States in 2001. He lived with his mother in Miami where Malvo briefly attended high school, and they later moved to Bellingham, Washington. It was in a homeless shelter there that Malvo and Muhammad really began to develop their strange bond. While it was reported that Muhammad and Malvo’s mother dated for a time, Muhammad seemed more dedicated to her son. Muhammad became a father figure of sorts to Malvo, playing chess with him and imposing a challenging exercise and diet regimen on him. A former member of the U.S. military, Muhammad also taught Malvo how to shoot, and they spent hours practicing. Many that knew the pair said that Muhammad appeared to be very controlling of Malvo. In December 2001, Malvo and his mother caught by the INS for being in the country illegally. But they were freed a month later pending a deportation hearing. Malvo caught up with Muhammad soon after and the two have been linked to a murder that happened that February Execution On September 16, 2009, a Virginia judge set an execution on November 10, 2009, for Muhammad. On November 9, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States refused a last-minute appeal. On November 10, hours before Muhammad's scheduled execution, pleas for clemency made by his attorneys were denied by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Under Virginia law, an inmate is allowed to choose the method by which he or she will be put to death, either lethal injection or electrocution. Because Muhammad declined to select a method, by law, the method of lethal injection was selected for him. He was offered a selection of a last meal, which he accepted, but refused publication of its contents. J. Wyndal Gordon, Muhammad's attorney, told the Associated Press that Muhammad's last meal consisted of "chicken with red sauce and some cakes". Muhammed declined to make a final statement, and the execution began at 9:00 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarrat, Virginia. According to the official statement of the prison spokesperson, the actual lethal injection process started at 9:06 p.m. He was then pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m. His body was cremated and the ashes were gave to his son in Louisiana. John Allen Muhammad had no last words before his execution. As of 2014, Lee Boyd Malvo is incarcerated at the Red Onion State Prison as Virginia Department of Corrections. Lee Boyd Malvo is currently in solitary confinement at Red Onion State Prison because he cannot get along with any other inmates.
Plans
One of the two snipers who murdered 10 people in a killing spree that terrorized Washington has revealed their plans to kill hundreds of children, policemen and rescue workers in an attempt to shut down cities across the country. John Allen Muhammad, 45, and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, 21, brought America’s capital to a standstill in 2002 as they picked off white targets at petrol stations and shops in the city’s prosperous suburbs. Malvo testified that Muhammad, driven by hatred of America because of its “slavery, hypocrisy and foreign policy” and his belief that “the white man is the devil”, planned to kill six whites a day for 30 days. Malvo alleged that Muhammad had said: “We are going to go to the Washington DC area and we are going to terrorise these people.” They then intended to move to Baltimore for stage two of their campaign, to shoot a policeman and then blow up explosives at his funeral. More explosives would target the ambulances that would then rush to the funeral. Another plan to kill three busloads of school children was thwarted because the pair were arrested when Malvo fell asleep while keeping watch at a Maryland petrol station. Muhammad’s ultimate plan, Malvo testified, was to indoctrinate 140 young homeless men at a Canada compound who would “shut things down” in cities across America.

Conclusion October 22, 2002 was a tragic day that several innocent people lost their lives to two serial killers. Still today the killings haunt many families and the people that lost their lives are honored for their bravery for trying to save other people's lives that were involved in the killings. The DC sniper holds a very prolific spot in the mind of many northern Virginians since unprovoked many lost there lives without provoking these cold-blooded killer. These killers will always hold a spot in the back of the mind of many Virginian’s since without warning so many died short of the time that they were destined. This in itself will always make us fear even though that they were caught, this still will be very tormenting to many because many did not know that they were going to die not knowing when their time would come.