US schools reopen amid sniper threat

Despite fears children have gone to school

Thousands of anxious students returned to school in the Washington area on Wednesday morning amid heightened security after a serial sniper threatened to target children.

The mystery gunman issued the chilling warning in a letter to police, saying children were "not safe anywhere or at anytime".

US media reported that the sniper demanded a ransom of $10m in the letter, which was left near the scene of a shooting on Saturday night at a restaurant in Ashland, near Richmond, Virginia.

Police confirmed on Wednesday that a 35-year-old bus driver killed with a single shot in Montgomery County, Maryland, early on Tuesday morning was the sniper's latest victim.

I don't feel safe at all... I feel as if I am in prison

Hannah Matthew, Maryland pupil

There are reports that a new letter was also recovered from a park near the scene of that crime. It is said to repeat the demand for money and set a deadline to investigators.

In total, 10 people have been killed and three others wounded in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC since the shooting spree began on 2 October.

Police have appealed for new witnesses - in particular with information about Tuesday's shooting and an earlier one in Prince William's County - to come forward.

And they stressed that any immigrants should not hold back information for fear of police investigating their status.

Schools in fear

As the intensive hunt for the elusive gunman continued, schools in the Richmond area of Virginia reopened after they were closed for two days amid pressure from anxious parents.

	:	Trail of terror
Map showing location of recent attacks

Other schools in the greater Washington region have remained open but they have cancelled outdoor events and kept pupils indoors during school hours.

Teaching staff have reportedly been briefed by police regarding safety, while pupils' parents are volunteering to patrol school grounds.

Hannah Matthews, a student in Maryland, told BBC News Online that children were afraid.

"I don't feel safe at all. We are in our third week of lock-down at our school. I feel as if I am in prison," she said.

'Incompetence'

If confirmed, the note left at the scene of Tuesday's shooting is the third written communication left by the sniper.

The first was a tarot card with the words "I am God", which was found near a school where a boy was shot and wounded.

And at the weekend, a letter of several pages was found at the weekend near a restaurant where a man was shot in the stomach. It is said to have demanded $10m and included the threat to children.

I've lived in northern Virginia my entire life, and there is an atmosphere of fear
Patrick Murphy, Fairfax County Virginia, USA

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In a flurry of cryptic press conference appearances, Montgomery Police Chief Charles Moose indicated that police were considering requests made by the sniper in that letter.

"We have researched the options you stated and found that it is not possible electronically to comply in the manner that you requested.

"You indicated that this is about more than violence. We are waiting to hear from you," Chief Moose said, adding that it was important to "do this without anyone else getting hurt".

Chief Moose offered to set up a private post office box "or another secure method" for the sniper to contact police.

Media reports say the letter berates the police for hanging up on six previous occasions when he tried to make contact with them by phone.

"Five people had to die" because of their "incompetence", the letter says, according to a source quoted by the Washington Post.

The police appeal for new contact comes after they said an earlier phone message was too muffled for them to understand.

Dragnet eluded

The killing of bus driver and father-of-two Conrad Johnson, was linked to the other shootings by ballistics and other evidence.

Johnson was shot on the steps of his bus

Mr Johnson was hit as he stood on the steps of his stationary vehicle in the Aspen Hill area of Montgomery County, about 15 miles (25 kilometres) north of the US capital.

The road was cordoned off by police, causing heavy traffic jams during rush hour, and surveillance helicopters circled overhead, but the gunman escaped.

The scene is close to those of the first six shootings.

But the incident took place while it was still dark, much earlier in the day than any previous shootings.