One of the two suspects in last year's Washington area sniper shootings told a prison guard that he shot a teenage boy to anger the police chief heading the investigation, the guard has told a court.

By James Bob Caldwell IT now seems clear that what motivated John Muhammad, and Lee Boyd Malvo was money - $10m (€10.2m) in fact.

Police hunting the Washington serial sniper have issued an arrest warrant for a man they believe has useful information.

A BUS driver was the Washington sniper’s thirteenth victim, police said last night as anxious parents took their children back to schools after a chilling warning from the gunman that said “your children are not safe.”

RELUCTANCE and difficulties in sharing information among the growing number of agencies investigating the serial sniper case, along with FBI problems handling thousands of phone tips are slowing and hampering the probe, according to law enforcement officials.

POLICE chief Charles Moose, the man leading the hunt for the Washington sniper, has become famous for his passionate press briefings and confrontations with reporters.

THE Washington serial sniper was feared to have struck again yesterday after a bus driver was shot dead with a single bullet.

THE hunt for the Washington area sniper has become perhaps the ultimate TV reality show.

US police investigating a sniper who has shot 12 people in the past month said tonight they had received a message warning: “Your children are not safe anywhere at any time.”

US detectives investigating the Washington sniper are attending the scene of a shooting at bus stop on a major road in Maryland.

Investigators hunting the Washington DC sniper believe the killer phoned police directly but used a voice-disguising device, according to reports.

Investigators have issued a third cryptic message to the Washington serial sniper as hopes faded that two men held in custody were linked to the attacks.

POLICE pleaded with a man believed to be the Washington-area sniper to call them back last night.

Police hunting the Washington serial sniper were tonight questioning two men in connection with the attacks.

Police hunting the Washington serial sniper today arrested a man driving a white van in Virginia, according to reports.

Authorities in the US have said they believe the Washington-area sniper might be trying to communicate with them through a message left at the scene of the latest shooting in Virginia.

PROSECUTORS are investigating whether to file charges against a witness accused of intentionally misleading investigators by falsely claiming he saw a sniper open fire with an assault rifle and flee in a cream-coloured van.

FOR the first time since the Washington-area sniper slayings began, more than one witness saw a man fire and flee in a white van, but police said yesterday that none of the witnesses got a good enough look to yield a sketch.

Police investigations into the identity of the mystery sniper were stepped up today after a woman was shot and killed outside a shopping centre near Washington DC.

An image of a white truck believed to have been used by the serial sniper stalking Washington has generated a huge response from the public, police said today.

Police hunting a sniper who has terrorised the Washington area were today searching for a white van spotted leaving the scene of a seventh murder.

Police were today trying to determine whether a man shot dead while pumping petrol in Virginia was the latest victim of the sniper who has terrorised the Washington area for a week.

ANXIOUS parents accompanied their children to school or kept them at home on Tuesday, a day after a sniper linked to the murder of six adults critically wounded a school pupil.

Scores of police searched the Washington suburbs today for a sniper who they believe randomly targeted five people, killing each with a single shot.

Police were today hunting a “skilled shooter” after five people were killed one by one in less than 16 hours in the Washington suburbs.