Killer on Loose in Virginia After Mysterious Shooting

Man shoots music teacher, caregiver
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2014 10:16 AM CST
Killer on Loose in Virginia After Mysterious Shooting
An Alexandria Police Dept. squad car is seen in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

A manhunt is currently underway in Alexandria, Virginia, for a man who shot two women—whom he apparently didn't know—in broad daylight. A balding, gray-bearded man in a suit knocked on a door at 11:30am yesterday, witnesses told police. When 59-year-old music teacher Ruthanne Lodato opened the door, he shot her, as well as a caregiver inside the home, and then fled, CBS DC reports. Lodato died at the hospital soon after, but the caregiver is expected to survive.

Now, detectives are looking into the possibility that the killing could be connected to the still-baffling murder of regional transportation planner Ronald Kirby, the Washington Post reports. Kirby was shot in his home in broad daylight three months ago, nothing was stolen, there was no sign of forced entry—and he lived just about a mile away from Lodato. Police are using dogs and helicopters to hunt for Lodato's killer. Six area schools have also been put on lockdown. (More shooting stories.)

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