The actual car and rifle the D.C. sniper and his accomplice used in 2002 are presented in a quiet gallery at the National Law Enforcement Museum in downtown Washington, D.C. through 2027. 

 “Without Warning: Ending the Terror of the D.C. Snipers” was a tricky exhibition to design. The perpetrators’ pictures are nowhere to be found. 

Thomas Canavan, a native Washingtonian and the executive director of the museum for almost seven years, said in a phone interview, “We made a lot of effort not to glorify the murderers. But this is a true crime story which we wanted to present as a minimalistic experience so people could feel the weight of true horror of those three weeks in October, 2002.

 “We wanted to focus on the main artifacts and show how much law enforcement was dealing with and how they came together.”

Josh Bronson is the museum’s director of education, programs, and visitor experiences who gave me a tour, apologizing for being a few minutes late after spending time with new members of the U.S. Secret Service showing them around.

 “We moved the rifle here so people could get a better sense of what it looks like, get up close to it and see it from all angles because obviously it’s quite a piece of history.” The rifle is in a protective, transparent case.

After receiving a tip from a truck driver at a rest stop near Frederick, MD, police raided the car, which has the car panels removed and the windows smashed.

“Even then,” Bronson went on, “it was an older model car. [A 1990 Chevrolet Caprice.] Seats then didn’t fold down. They ripped them out enough that they could scoot back behind the seat into the trunk” and used a large hole, plainly visible, to shoot with the Bushmaster rifle.

The accomplice “was smaller and so he climbed through the car more easily and lay down in the car just like this.

“The trunk would be mostly closed but not all the way so he could use the scope. The rifle barrel would fit right in there and you couldn’t necessarily see it. He could shoot without being detected.

“Everybody was looking for a white van. Driving around today, how many white vans do you see?”

An important part of the exhibit is a large facing wall with an area map of the victims’ names, places and dates of death.

“We hope people walk away with an understanding of how committed law enforcement is, trying to keep us safe,” Canavan said.

The gallery is guarded by an attendant and has a warning sign for parents and adults who may find the exhibition too extreme.

Renovated in 2018, the museum has 25,000 artifacts covering 300 years of law enforcement history, like some of the first police badges issued and early long rifles lawmen used to carry.  

A prison cell from the former Lorton prison, an 1880s leg iron restraint, an 1870 handcuff, and a rattle dating from 1658, which police used to warn people of nearby trouble (reminding me of whistles people use now to alert the public that ICE is on the approach) are just a few of the pieces on display.

There are police games on exhibit, the desk and belongings of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and some of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. 

An interactive police car that simulates driving and gives “people a firsthand opportunity to experience what it’s like to be inside a patrol car,” Canavan said, is just one of three simulation pieces the museum offers guests.

The museum is located across from the National Building Museum at the Judiciary Square Metro exit, which is surrounded by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the nation’s monument to the almost 25,000 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. 

The “deadliest day in law enforcement history” was September 11, 2001 when 72 officers from 37 different agencies died.

 With so many free museums in downtown D.C., attracting a paying audience has not been easy.  But a free day is coming up Sept. 26 (asking a $15 donation) and beginning today through 2026, the museum offers $3 discounts for DMV residents at the box office. A college and career fair will be October 24.

 The museum is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Before discounts, admission for adults, $22; students and seniors, $20; law enforcement, military, and survivors, $18, and free admission for those age 17 and under.

The D.C. sniper was executed in Virginia in 2009, and his then 17-year-old accomplice has been serving multiple life sentences in Virginia, which denied him parole in 2022. 

See images on page 17.