Posted 11:00 p.m. Oct. 14

(U-WIRE) WASHINGTON–Police in Fairfax County Virginia said tonight that it “is too early to tell” if there is a correlation between the shooting death of a woman Monday night outside of a Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia and the recent sniper attacks around the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.

According to law enforcement officials, a white female was killed by a single shot to her upper body while standing near her car in the parking lot of Seven Corners strip mall. Police have refused to say whether or not this latest incident is related to the string of sniper attacks that have claimed eight lives and injured two others since Oct. 2. Over 100 law enforcement officials from both local and federal organizations responded to the crime scene though, immediately closing all major roads in the area, conducting vehicle by vehicle searches.

Police reported searching for a specific vehicle, a cream colored Chevrolet Astro van, but would not say if the van was driven by the suspect.

If connected to the recent sniper attacks, this would mark the ninth murder by an unidentified individual or individuals in the Washington, D.C. area in the last two weeks.

U-WIRE will have updated coverage as the story unfolds.

-Patrick W. Higgins