NEWS: Ohio Highway Shooter Suspect Named

Officials have named Charles A. McCoy Jr, age 28, as the prime suspect in twenty four Ohio highway shootings. He's still on the loose and is considered armed and extremely dangerous. McCoy has a history of mental illness and is not on his medication.

FoxNews.com

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office said Charles A. McCoy Jr., 28, should be considered armed and dangerous. Investigators did not provide a hometown.

McCoy is 5'8" and 185lbs with dark hair and brown-green eyes. He drives a dark green 1999 Chevy Metro with Ohio license plate CGV7387. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
For a photo of McCoy, click here.

Police were tipped off by a relative of McCoy's that he may be the shooter. His father removed four guns from the suspect's possession on the 11th and subsequently turned the guns over to police. One of the guns, a 9mm Baretta pistol, has been ballistically linked to at least nine of the shootings.

Just hours before police named him as their prime suspect, McCoy's mother filed a missing person report on her son. She last saw him on March 12th when he left after getting upset about the family's upcoming move. McCoy reportedly withdrew $600 from his bank account when he left.

Officials have linked 24 shootings in Ohio since 5/10/03. Targets included schools, homes, and vehicles, with one person killed. Gail Kinsley died when a bullet entered the car and hit her in the passenger seat. All shootings occured in or near Columbus.

Related News:
Timeline of Shootings
AJC.com
WashingtonPost.com

Related ATSNN.com Stories:
Columbus Sniper Shootings Now at 20

Related ATS Discussion:
Copycat of DC Snipers?


[Edited on 17-3-2004 by Banshee]

Weird...that name sounds oddly familiar. I hope they catch the bastard reeeeal son.

[Edited on 15-3-2004 by EricFM]

I hope they catch him real soon, soon as in tomorrow afternoon - as I'll be driving that route tomorrow night

I hope they catch the bastard reeeeal son.

I agree (if i'm reading it correctly). I think they should have gotten him before now though. With the military "gunship videos" we see all over the internet I have to wonder how some psycho can elude our own police for so long.

Oh yeah, my "good old Armed and dangerous" part. Has anyone else ever noticed how much newscasters relish, even revel in, saying those three simple words? It's quite amusing when you watch for it.


[Edited on 15-3-2004 by Fry2]

Weird...that name sounds oddly familiar. I hope they catch the bastard reeeeal son.

real soon. lol.

I hope they catch him real soon, soon as in tomorrow afternoon - as I'll be driving that route tomorrow night

wow. I'm sure you'll be ok though. Drive fast!

Originally posted by Bob88
I hope they catch him real soon, soon as in tomorrow afternoon - as I'll be driving that route tomorrow night

I hope you have your will handy! Buy your own sniper rifle just in case so that when u get shot at, pull over and be all like, "O that motha f*cka had better not have stratched my car!" and aim at his head and BAM! right through his scope, through his eye, and out the other side. O YEA! and when you leave, be all luck "SPAM BUSTERS, B*TCH!" just because it sounds cool.

They've released McCoy's physical description & photo, and have issued a warrant for his arrest.

-B.

I live in SW columbus in Galloway. I do hope this ends soon. I drive on 70 and 270 a lot. I was never really worry about the shooter, but some nights driving on the south end of 270 I would catch myself watching every overpass. The south end of 270 is pitch black at night. When I drove home on it at 2am I realized how this guy was getting away with the shooting. Miles of that road do not have any lights and I couldn't believe how dark it was on a major freeway. I knew when his guy started shooting cars in the middle of the daytime that his days were numbered.


[Edited on 15-3-2004 by zerotime]

Anyone got a link or info on how they zeroed in on this guy, did someone turn him in or what? I know they had been having a hard time catching up with who the shooter was.

I live in central Ohio and I heard this morning on the news that the suspect's father McCoy Sr. gave police the gun and they did a ballistics match.
In looking around on the local Columbus news web sites I cannot find this information anywhere though. The station I was watching this morning was CBS or ABC.

More information is found on Columbus' NBC new site.

They report the $600 he took out of his account Friday night, his mother reporting him as a missing person at 12:27 am Monday, and how he is mentally ill.

www.nbc4columbus.com...

Originally posted by OgdenEnigma
I live in central Ohio and I heard this morning on the news that the suspect's father McCoy Sr. gave police the gun and they did a ballistics match.
In looking around on the local Columbus news web sites I cannot find this information anywhere though. The station I was watching this morning was CBS or ABC.

Main story updated with this info, including a Washington Post link for reference.

-B.