Bowie, Maryland, October 7, 2002: A 13 year old boy was critically wound by a sniper outside Benjamin Tasker Middle School - Bowie, MD

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THE BOY was wounded in the chest or abdomen outside Benjamin Tasker Middle School, said Mark Brady of the fire department.

The boy was wounded in the chest or abdomen outside Benjamin Tasker Middle School, said Mark Brady of the fire department. Initial reports were that the child was shot from a distance.

The boy's guardian brought him in the car to Bowie Health Center, a small hospital. A Maryland State Police helicopter was to fly the child to a hospital specializing in traumatic injuries in children, Brady said.

"The child is suffering from extensive blood loss and is in critical condition," Brady said.

 The boy was shot in front of the school, according to a woman who answered the phone at the school's main office. She said the principal was talking with police.

Police received a call at 8:09 a.m. reporting the shooting, said Cpl. Robert Clark of the county police department.

There is some concern that this shooting is tied to the string of shootings on Wednesday and Thursday of last week when five people were shot to death by a sniper in a 16-hour span in Montgomery County, which adjoins Prince George's County.  

Keep checking here for more update information.

UPDATE

 At this time the young man is still in critical but stable condition following almost three hours of surgery at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C

It is now believed that this is tied to the other sniper shootings in Washington.   Police say ballistic evidence they have recovered from a 13-year-old boy shot in front of his school in Bowie, Md., Monday links the shooting to several in the Washington area.

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