Suspect in Ohio sniper case has history of mental illness
Charles A. McCoy Jr., 28, lived with his mother within miles of where the gunman's bullets killed a passenger, shattered windshields, dented school buses and drilled into homes and a school.
"McCoy has had mental-health issues in the past and is currently not on medication," the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said in a bulletin released to police departments across the country. "He is believed to have suicidal or homicidal tendencies."
McCoy's sister, Amy Walton, pleaded yesterday for him to give himself up.
"Charlie, we all love you very, very much and we're all concerned for your well-being," she said, reading a statement. "Mom and I need you to call us. We will arrange for you to come home. We love you, we miss you."
Authorities identified McCoy as a suspect Monday and released his picture, vehicle description and license plate.
Walton did not take questions after reading the statement. His parents could not be reached yesterday.
McCoy's mother, Ardith, had filed a missing-person report with police Monday, saying she had not seen her son since Friday.
Chief Deputy Steve Martin would not say what evidence led investigators to McCoy, but newspaper and television reports said yesterday that McCoy's family gave authorities at least one of his guns.
The Columbus Dispatch, citing unidentified sources, said a relative contacted police and said McCoy could be a suspect. It said McCoy's father, Charles Sr., later gave police a 9-mm Beretta handgun, and on Monday it was ballistically matched to some of the bullet fragments recovered in the shootings.
The bulletin said McCoy was still believed to have a semiautomatic pistol and ammunition.
Since May, two dozen sniper shootings have targeted vehicles and buildings around Interstate 270, which circles Columbus, and other highways. Most of the shootings have happened since October; the latest was Feb. 14.
Investigators filed an arrest warrant late Monday for McCoy on a charge of felonious assault in a Dec. 15 shooting that damaged a house.
Neighbors on McCoy's street of tidy homes said they didn't know much about the suspect or his mother.
"They pretty much stayed in their house when they were home, except when he was working in the yard," said Nicole Sewald, 28, who lives across the street. Her 8-year-old son attends Hamilton Central Elementary School, where one of the sniper's bullets struck a window in November.
The McCoys moved there about a year ago, did some repairs and put the house back up for sale, she said.
In the three most recent shootings, witnesses described seeing someone aiming at them while standing next to a car. Their descriptions of the suspect and car were similar to information the sheriff's office released Monday.
The suspect is 5-foot-8, 185 pounds with brown hair and green eyes, the sheriff's office said Monday. The car is a dark green 1999 Geo Metro with a black hood.