The infamous Chevrolet Caprice used in the 2002 sniper attacks that terrorized the capital region is a focal point of a new exhibit at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, D.C.: “Without Warning: Ending the Terror of the D.C. Snipers.”

The exhibit, which opened last week, marks only the second time the public has been invited to view the 1990 Caprice, according to Thomas Canavan, the museum’s executive director.

The Caprice, dubbed a “rolling sniper’s nest,” played a central role in the snipers’ shootings in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, in Virginia and Washington, D.C. In little more than three weeks, the perpetrators killed 10 people and wounded three others.

The snipers had modified John Allen Muhammad’s Caprice so the barrel of their Bushmaster .223 rifle would fit through a hole in the trunk just above the license plate, allowing the gunmen to fire from inside the vehicle while concealing both the weapon and shooter.

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The exhibit will run through December 2027 to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the attacks.

A criminal investigation to apprehend the snipers involved five federal and 14 local and state law enforcement agencies.

The exhibit will also showcase a semiautomatic rifle, the .223 rifle, used in the attacks, notes that the suspects left at some crime scenes and a display with pictures of the victims, along with 911 recordings of the emergency calls that were made.

The .223 Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle used in the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks is displayed in the exhibit, “Without Warning: Ending the Terror of the D.C. Snipers,” at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington.
The .223 Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle used in the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A tarot card taunting police is seen in the exhibit, “Without Warning: Ending the Terror of the D.C. Snipers,” at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington.
A tarot card taunting police. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A bullet casing is seen in the trunk of the 1990 Chevrolet Caprice used in the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks.
A bullet casing in the trunk of the Chevrolet Caprice. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Tom Manger, Chief of Police for Fairfax County, Va., during the D.C. sniper attacks, looks at the exhibit, “Without Warning: Ending the Terror of the D.C. Snipers,” at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington.
Tom Manger, who served as police chief of Fairfax County, Virginia, during the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks, takes in the exhibit. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)

“The exhibition primarily serves as a reminder of dangers that are present and the role law enforcement plays to keep us safe,” Canavan said. “It is an opportunity for a new generation to learn about the events that took place in October of 2002 and an opportunity to see some of the artifacts up close and personal.”

Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in Virginia in 2009. Muhammad was accused of brainwashing his teen accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 when he was arrested.

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A Virginia jury convicted Malvo of capital murder in 2003, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. His sentence was later altered to life in prison with parole after Virginia’s governor signed a law in 2020 allowing parole for those serving life sentences for crimes committed as juveniles.

Malvo pleaded guilty in 2006 to six counts of first-degree murder in Montgomery County and was sentenced to six life sentences without the possibility of parole. He remains imprisoned in Virginia as he seeks to be resentenced in Maryland.

“Without Warning: Ending the Terror of the D.C. Snipers” runs through December 2027 at the National Law Enforcement Museum, 444 E. St. NW, Washington, D.C. The museum is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket prices vary.