Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501030096
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: STEVE STONE AND ALEX MARSHALL LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long
Moments later, the man walked back toward the double glass doors of the abortion clinic in the 1600 block of East Little Creek Road, pulled a semiautomatic .22-caliber rifle from a black bag he was carrying and squeezed the trigger.
At least 23 bullets shattered the doors, spilling glass onto the sidewalk, and whizzed through the lobby, passing two security guards. Some bullets came out the front doors at ground level, hitting just a few dozen yards from where six stragglers from the usual Saturday morning anti-abortion protest were picketing.
No one was hit.
The man ran back to his dark gray Toyota pickup and sped off. He didn't know Norfolk arson investigator Ken Harlan had seen him fire the shots and was following him - and radioing for help.
Three blocks down the road, Norfolk police cars pulled up around the pickup, forcing it to halt. Officers jumped out, weapons drawn. Even before he was told to do so, the driver tossed a rifle out the passenger window.
The rifle broke as it hit the pavement, unfired bullets visible in the arched clip.
With that, the nationwide manhunt for 23-year-old John C. Salvi III came to an end. Salvi was wanted in Massachusetts on charges of killing two abortion clinic workers and wounding five others in a pair of attacks Friday. He was loaded into a police cruiser and taken away.
``The potential for serious injury or death was there,'' said Larry Hill, Norfolk police spokesman. ``It's incredible no one was hurt. The investigator from the Fire Department did a very good job.''
Salvi remained behind bars - and under heavy security - at the Norfolk City Jail on Saturday night while local police, federal authorities and law enforcement officials in Massachusetts tried to coordinate their next steps. There was some confusion initially about what would be done with Salvi, but Norfolk police said he will remain here at least through Tuesday, when he faces arraignment.
Police in Brookline, Mass., where the fatal shootings occurred, said investigators were en route to Norfolk Saturday night to question Salvi, and that they want to return him to Massachusetts as soon as possible. He is charged there with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of armed assault with intent to murder.
Additionally, federal warrants were issued, charging Salvi with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Salvi appeared to have acted alone, said FBI Agent Richard Swenson, who helped coordinate the manhunt.
``Our initial thought was that he was in New Hampshire,'' Swenson told The Washington Post on Saturday at Brookline police headquarters, which served as a command post for the coordinated efforts of local, state and federal authorities, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
After failing to capture Salvi at his apartment, police focused their efforts in five states - Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and two states ``down south,'' which Swenson would not specify. It was unclear whether one was Virginia.
``We didn't know where he was going,'' Swenson said, and agents were surprised he turned up in Norfolk. ``Clearly, we did not know he was going to be at that particular clinic.''
The gunman pulled up behind the Bel Aire Building just before noon, according to one of two security guards stationed inside the lobby.
Suzette Hughes Caton, spokeswoman for Hillcrest, spoke with the guard, whose name was not released, and related this scenario:
A man walked up to the rear lobby doors, stepped inside and asked the guard if there was a Burger King nearby. She gave him directions and said the man walked back to his truck.
The guard turned away. When she happened to look back, she noticed the man walking back toward the lobby from his truck. He was carrying a black duffle bag.
Standing in front of the glass double doors, he took a rifle from the bag and opened fire. Shell casings fell on the sidewalk and the pavement. The doors shattered.
The guard sought cover.
When the shooting stopped, the man ran back to his truck and sped away.
The guard ran upstairs to alert clinic staff.
Only one of 14 staff members on duty had heard the shots, ``but no one knew what had happened until the guard came up,'' Caton said. ``Everybody seemed relatively calm.''
The office was sealed. Workers and an undisclosed number of patients and their guests were not allowed to leave. Police were called.
At the same time, a second security guard who was stationed at the other end of the lobby ran into the parking lot with his gun drawn. No shots were fired at the truck.
Nearby, Mark Brindel, 16, a student at Norview High School, heard the gunshots from his apartment across Bison Street.
``I ran to the window, and there was this guy standing there shooting what looked like a .22,'' said Brindel, demonstrating how the man held the weapon between chest and shoulder level.
``He was spraying the doorway,'' Brindel said. ``I didn't know what to do. It kind of shook me up. None of this stuff happens around here.''
Brindel said the gunman ran back to his pickup and drove off.
Moments later, ``I saw this security guard come out doing the commando stuff,'' crouching low with weapon drawn.
Brindel said the gunman had short, dark hair and was wearing dark-colored pants and a dark coat.
Ken Harlan also heard the gunshots. The arson investigator with the Norfolk Fire Department just happened to be at the Bel Aire Building on Saturday morning investigating an blaze that had occurred a week earlier.
When Harlan heard the first shots, he looked around the corner of the building. He saw the gunman squeeze off the final shots and then drive away.
Harlan ran to his own vehicle and followed the pickup. He radioed police dispatchers and requested assistance. Moments later, the pickup was stopped.
Police surrounded it in the 1300 block of Little Creek, just short of the intersection with Military Highway.
The dark gray pickup had a white camper shell on the back. The New Hampshire license plates - with the state's ``Live Free or Die'' motto - were BUH-466. Police quickly realized they had made a major catch.
Hill, the Norfolk police spokeman, said ``documents'' were found in the pickup linking the driver to the Massachusetts shootings.
Police Chief Melvin C. High said police will look at the incident to see what more can or should be done to assure public safety at the clinic. ``You are always concerned about people mimicking violent acts,'' he said as he visited the shooting scene Saturday afternoon.
Although local police have often been stationed at the building on days when there are major protests - and they had been checking the area Saturday - none was there when the shooting occurred.
High said he was ``very proud'' of his officers for making the swift arrest, and praised the alert arson investigator. ``A lot of it was a matter of luck,'' he said. ``We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.''
David Crane, 36, of Norfolk, who heads the anti-abortion group Virginia Citizens for Justice, had left the clinic just minutes before the shooting. He is one of several people who have been picketing Hillcrest on Saturday mornings.
``I don't know what to think of it,'' Crane said of the shooting, adding, ``It's just more evidence that this is becoming physical warfare. ... it's spilling over into the streets.''
Donald Spitz of Chesapeake, head of Pro-Life Virginia, also came to the clinic after the shootings.
``People are not going to sit on a bench and let people kill babies,'' he said. ``Men are beginning to rise up and be men and defend the defenseless.''
Asked if he was glad that no clinic workers had been hurt, Spitz said, ``I have no comment on that.'' Asked if he was disappointed that none had been hurt, he responded, ``I have no comment on that either.''
Lynn Waltz, Marie Joyce and Robert Little of Landmark News Service contributed to this story.
by CNB