Washington sniper charges filed

THE US: The US Justice Department yesterday filed federal murder charges against Mr John Allen Muhammad and Mr John Lee Malvo…

THE US: The US Justice Department yesterday filed federal murder charges against Mr John Allen Muhammad and Mr John Lee Malvo, suspects in the Washington-area sniper killings, Attorney General Mr John Ashcroft said.

The pair is suspected of carrying out 10 killings and three woundings around the US capital, as well as a killing and a wounding in the southeastern US state of Alabama.

According to media reports, police are also looking at other shootings around the country for possible sniper links.

"There are already people who are saying that they don't think the ultimate penalties ought to be available, whether they are editorialists or others who don't believe in the death penalty," Mr Ashcroft said yesterday. But he added: "I believe that the ultimate sanction ought to be available here.

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"The filing of this federal complaint gives us the opportunity to assemble additional facts and evidence upon which to make a considered judgment," he said.

The two men were caught last Thursday as they slept in a car at a highway rest stop north of Washington. - (AFP)