A man was shot at a petrol station today, and police searching for a sniper closed down a nearby motorway after reports a white van had been seen in the area.

The death toll from the Washington sniper rose to seven as ballistics evidence linked the killer to a man gunned down at a Virginia petrol station.

POLICE are searching for a white van seen leaving the Prince William County gas station where a man who may have been the ninth victim of a sniper terrorising the Washington area was fatally shot Wednesday night.