Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 16, 1994 TAG: 9408160081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia is among 26 states keeping tabs on shootings by motorists. Other states plan to follow, as does the FBI.
Despite a lack of national statistics, the incidents appear to be more commonplace.
Virginia has recorded 38 highway shootings since January and 46 since October, when state police started keeping separate records.
``Two-and-a-half or three years ago, we began to see these occurring more frequently than they had been,'' said Lt. Col. W. Gerald Massengill, director of field operations for the state police.
The Tidewater area reported 19 highway shootings since January, and Northern Virginia reported nine.
``We have more people and more miles of highways in those areas,'' Massengill said.
State police did not keep track of how many people were killed or injured in the shootings, Massengill said.
Incidents ranged from two men firing apparently at random with a pellet gun, injuring another motorist in the neck, to a rolling gunfight between two cars.
``Apparently, the motive for this behavior is very different for different circumstances,'' said Eduard Ziegenhagen of the State University of New York at Binghamton, a political science professor who studies crime and crime victimization.
The crimes often result from such highway provocations as sudden lane changes or tailgating, Massengill said. But domestic disputes, workplace arguments and gang rivalries can also play out on the highways, he said.
``We tell the public, if you see something suspicious, get the license number and report it to state police. And if a situation arises, stay calm and don't make yourself a party to it,'' Massengill said.
Many states don't distinguish between shootings by motorists and other shootings, making it difficult to tell where the crime is most prevalent, experts said.
The crime gained prominence in 1987, when hot tempers on Southern California highways left four dead and two seriously wounded in a five-week period.
The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports division will soon begin compiling national statistics on highway shootings, said Vicki Major, a report editor.
The system will provide a national profile of crimes tallied from 16,000 law enforcement agencies, she said.
Eight states now send highway gunplay data to the FBI. Eighteen others, including Virginia, are testing their own collection and reporting systems before joining the FBI network.
The FBI will track highway shootings by type of weapon, offense and location, said Deidre House, senior crime information specialist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado is one of the eight states now sending data to the FBI.
by CNB