Joseph Fuerst

Alicia,
What a terrifying situation for you to be in! This situation seems like
terrorism at its finest and I can't help but wonder whether the Al-quaida
etc. might be a possibly involved. Of course, I suppose Al-quaida has
become the face of terrorism for us and perhaps that possibity cloaks other
terrorist types.

I wish you and your family peace and courage. I hope this mystery is soon
solved and this horror will be stopped
Susan

> Mary, thanks for your kind thoughts.
>
> It's all real close to home for us. My sister was filling up her car with
gas less than 10 minutes before the shooting of the cab driver at the Mobil
station in Aspen Hill. The shooting of the lady vaccuming out her car at the
Kensington Shell station was across the street from my sister's office, and
the lady who was shot on the bench in front of the Crisp and Juicy by
Leisure World was the cousin of a friend of ours. The Crisp and Juicy is a
great Peruvian chicken place that we have gone to many times. I go to the
Michael's Craft Store at Spotsylvania Mall (Fredericksburg) all the time and
was planning to go to a seminar at the Holiday Inn Hotel right across the
street the same Friday as the shooting, but opted to go to another event in
Richmond instead. My Mom lives about 15 minutes away from the Bowie middle
school where the 13 year old boy was shot.
>
> On Wednesday night, my dh got bitten by a brown recluse spider at home and
went up to our health care provider for treatment just a few minutes away
from the Sunoco station where the engineer was shot and killed. I was out at
a meeting so DH took the boys with him. They were all in the area near
> the shooting, but were never aware of what occured until they got home.
(DH's spider bite is doing fine too, btw.)
>
> Our local county schools are on lock-down and there are sheriff deputies
> patrolling the grounds during school hours. No one is allowed to play
outside and all outdoor activities are cancelled, as are field trips to
anywhere.
>
> Even we homeschoolers are affected. We had tickets to see the Lion King
puppets at the Kennedy Center and that was cancelled. We haven't been
letting the kids play out in the front yard, though we do allow the back
yard since it is fenced and the children can't be seen from the street --
and they have to get fresh air somehow! I try not to be out alone anywhere,
even though that's my favorite way to get certain errands, like my weekly
shopping, done. No more. I get gas at stations that are farther away from
the interstate.
>
> The perp's first targets are in an area that I know like the back of my
hand
> -- Rockville, Wheaton, Aspen Hill, Kensington. I think the investigation
> will find that the attacker(s) originated from that area. The routes are
> well-known to people who live in that area, but probably not known to
outsiders. The perp has gone farther afield to prove that he's got a wider
range, but in each incident he's been less than a mile from the
interstate -- Spotsylvania/Fredericksburg (I-95), Bowie (Rts. 50& 301,
Manassas (I-66).
> The shooting just south of us on Friday really hit close to home as I
drive the kind of vehicle (white Chevy AstroVan) that was being stopped in
the road blocks. I haven't driven it much since, partially because we're
trying to minimize our trips to only essential errands and also because I
don't want the children to be upset when the police come up to our family
vehicle with their guns drawn. When I do go out, I make sure my drivers
license and registration are on the dashboard before I leave the driveway.
>
> It's been pretty awful coping with the steady drip, drip, drip of stress
and warily waiting, helpless, for the next shooting to occur. We had a
break in the weekend, but last night, another shooting in Falls Church.
This time in a covered parking lot, with lots of concrete pillars and the
woman victim was with her husband. She was doing all the things that police
have been telling us to do to keep safe. I hope the perp is caught soon so
we can get our lives back to normal again. I refuse to be paralysed with
fear, but I am a lot more cautious these days. The world keeps turning,
right?
>
> Thanks for letting me vent here! At times it is very hard to keep a calm
veneer for the sake of the children, so they will feel safe and free.
>
> Alicia
> (from her hidey-hole)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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