COLUMBUS - A van and a Mercedes were shot on an interstate minutes apart yesterday in a case resembling a series of 21 sniper shootings along a highway south of the city, investigators said.
Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin stopped short of linking the two shootings to the serial gunfire. However, he said yesterday's gunfire seems consistent with the I-270 shootings, based on initial evidence.
One person has died in the serial shootings, which also have targeted schools, school buses and homes since May.
No injuries were reported in yesterday's shootings, which happened about 11:30 a.m. on I-71 near Jeffersonville, about 40 miles southwest of Columbus, said Jerri Redfern, a dispatcher with the State Highway Patrol.
Authorities were on the lookout for a dark sports car that may have been connected to the gunfire.
Martin said the shots were fired from two overpasses about one mile apart. Witnesses said they saw a white man in his 30s or 40s and a small, dark-colored vehicle on the overpasses.
My understanding from the authorities in Fayette County is that it's a very short jump from one bridge to the other
Martin said.
Earlier in the day authorities briefly took into custody two juveniles who were in a car matching the description given by witnesses. The youths were questioned and were being released, said Lt. Rick Fambro, spokesman for the State Highway Patrol.
Basically it's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time he said.
Law enforcement officers were seen examining a white van at a gas station off of I-71. A dent was visible on the driver's side of the hood of the car.
Officers were looking at a Mercedes parked on the shoulder of the interstate about two miles north of the gas station. At least one officer could be seen lying on the ground under the car.
Fambro said any evidence collected would be turned over to a task force investigating the highway shootings.
The left lane of I-71 northbound was closed south of state Route 38 just before one overpass, while officers searched the area. The closure caused traffic to back up several miles.
Most of the sniper shootings have occurred in an area of I-270 and I-71 on the south side of Columbus.
But the last two that have been linked by authorities have occurred on I-71 south of the area, including a van that was shot Tuesday in a rural area about 15 miles south of most of the other shootings. Ballistics tests on the latest bullet determined that it is one of at least eight to come from the same gun.
Authorities said the shot in the latest case came from an overpass. In another shooting, the driver said the shot came from an overpass and he saw a person standing in shadows
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