The Ohio highway sniper attacks were a series of 24 sniper attacks along Interstate 270 and other nearby highways in the central part of the U.S. state of Ohio (mostly around Columbus) against traffic, homes, and a school building in the Hamilton Local School district in Columbus, Ohio. The shootings began in May 2003 and continued for several months. One person was killed (62-year-old Gail Knisley, killed on November 25, 2003), and the shootings caused widespread fear. The suspect, Charles A. McCoy Jr., was arrested in Las Vegas on March 17, 2004. McCoy, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1996, stood trial in 2005. The first trial with death penalty charges resulted in a hung jury on May 9, 2005, most likely due to McCoy's severe mental illness. Rather than face a retrial, McCoy accepted a plea arrangement where he avoided the death sentence. After pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and ten other counts, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison on August 9, 2005. See also Beltway sniper attacks (October 2002) 2003 West Virginia sniper Phoenix freeway shootings External links Court TV coverage of Ohio sniper Charles McCoy Ohio Department of Corrections Offender Information on Charles McCoy Jr 2003 murders in the United States Interstate 70 Murder in Ohio Deaths by firearm in Ohio 2003 in Ohio Crimes in Ohio Attacks in the United States in 2003 References