Terror stalks the suburbs of Washington

Public squares are no longer full of parents and children

By Kevin Anderson BBC News Online, Washington

It is a glorious autumn day in Bethesda, one of the Maryland suburbs of Washington.

I used to love living here, and now I find myself thinking: 'Am I crazy to be living in the Washington area?'

Joyce Bader

Usually on such a day, the small square in front of the Barnes and Noble book store in the city centre would be crowded with mothers and their children.

But today, the square is almost empty. Those who do come out to enjoy the autumn sun move along quickly.

With news of a bus driver being shot dead in the early hours of the morning in similar circumstances to the other attacks, there is fear that the sniper has returned.

There were a few brief hours of optimism on Monday when police took two men into custody.

But the men were unrelated to the case, and any sense of optimism or calm was shattered by the shooting of the bus driver.

Playgrounds stand empty

It was the first shooting with possible links to the sniper in Montgomery County, Maryland, in almost three weeks.

When she heard the news of the arrests on Monday, Joyce Bader immediately felt relieved and thought: "We can get back to normal."

But her hope quickly soured. "It was very frustrating when it wasn't true," she says, adding: "It made me realise how much it's depressing me."

And it is obviously affecting her community.

She points to the square, saying it is normally a happy, bustling gathering place, but she is one of only two people sitting outside.

For a moment, the warm sun makes her forget about the sniper, but then the thought comes: "Should I be sitting here, out in the open?"

What to tell the children

Gina Seebachan sits in the square with two of her children. She is afraid, and the shootings have made her pray more often.

Her children carry little glow-in-the-dark stars with them because they are waking up in the middle of the night crying. The light comforts them.

They are frightened for their daddy, who has to walk to work, and the religious Mrs Seebachan tells her children that the stars represent the light of Christ.

School sports are taking place at secret locations

The early morning shooting created chaos for parents with school-age children, Mrs Bader says.

She did not know whether her five-year-old's school was open or closed, and buses were delayed as police shut down roads and motorways.

This autumn is one of anxious misery for parents and children alike.

Children are not allowed to play outside at school, and games of sport, usually a highlight of the autumn for teenagers, have been cancelled or moved to locations kept secret from all but the coaches, teams and parents.

Mrs Seebachan wishes that the schools would return to normal. "The children are much more fearful," she says.

And she has to explain to them why they can play outside in their own back yard, but not at school.

Mrs Bader so far has shielded her daughter from the truth.

The school has told the youngest children that they cannot play outside because the air pollution is too bad.

Terrorism fears

For herself, she wishes she knew more. She wants to know if the sniper is a "single insane person or something else".

Something else? Terrorism.

The thought would not have entered her mind before 11 September, but now, after the attacks on Washington and New York, after the anthrax attacks, she wants to know if the shootings are part of a terrorist plot.

It is beginning to make her consider leaving the area, for the safety of her family.

She says: "I used to love living here, and now I find myself thinking 'Am I crazy to be living in the Washington area?' "