Police may prosecute sniper witness after bogus van claim

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.

The story began to unravel when police compared it to accounts from others who had seen the shooting on Monday that killed an FBI cyber-terrorism analyst in a crowded Virginia car park.

Eleven people have been shot in the sniper attacks since October 2, and nine have died.