Sniper convicted again
The week's news at a glance.
Rockville, Md.
John Allen Muhammad, the “Beltway sniper” who terrorized the Washington, D.C., area in late 2002, was convicted this week of six murders in Maryland. A Virginia jury had previously convicted Muhammad and sentenced him to die for a murder there. Muhammad, 45, served as his own lawyer in the Maryland trial, at one point engaging in a tense cross-examination of Lee Boyd Malvo, his 21-year-old accomplice. Malvo and Muhammad shot 13 people during their spree, killing 10. Muhammad wanted to kill many more, Malvo testified, for “the sheer terror of it.” Malvo also said the pair discussed an extortion scheme by which they hoped to collect $10 million from authorities in exchange for an end to the shootings. Maryland prosecutors said they put Muhammad on trial as insurance, in case his Virginia conviction is overturned on appeal.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff