WASHINGTON - The 13 shootings in our area in 2002 caused a lot of fear and panic while the snipers were still on the loose. At the Shoppers Food Warehouse in Wheaton on Tuesday, people shared their vivid memories of those frightening weeks.

"Oh my God, I was so scared to go to work. I didn't want to take my son to daycare, I didn't want to leave my house, I was scared to even get gas," remembered Silver Spring Resident Maria Bowen.

At the Shoppers Food Warehouse, the D.C. Area snipers claimed their first victim on October 2, 2002. Fifty-five-year-old James Martin was fatally shot in the parking lot.

It wasn't until the next day when four people were gunned down in just two hours -- a man mowing grass, a woman sitting on a bench,
and two others at gas stations -- that it became clear a serial killer was on the loose.

The three-week random rampage left 10 people dead in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.

Routines suddenly changed: people purposely parked close to stores and hid behind tarps while pumping gas.

One person remembered, "I'd pump the gas really quick, put it in really quick, get in my car, wait in there."

"You never knew where he was gonna be...you always had to watch your back," said Aspen Hill resident Audette Walker.

There was the wild goose chase over white box trucks when all the while John Allen Muhammad (news) and Lee Boyd Malvo (news) were actually shooting their victims from a hole drilled in the trunk of a blue Chevy Caprice.

Schools went into lockdown, outdoor sports and recess were cancelled. High school senior Israel Morales was then in fifth grade.

Morales recalled, "We weren't allowed to go outside, we had to stay indoors."

When authorities finally captured the snipers at a Maryland rest stop, there was relief. Now, many welcome Muhammad's scheduled execution Tuesday night.

"I think he deserves it," said Rockville resident Christel Gesterling. "I think he brought a ridiculous amount of terror to this area."

Another person said, "I think it's right."

Muhammad is scheduled for execution Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia.

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