Charles Moose, former Lexington resident who led D.C. sniper manhunt, has died

Charles Moose, who earned national recognition during the Washington, D.C. sniper killings has died.

Growing up in Lexington, Moose wasn't aspiring to be a policeman. In his book Three Weeks in October: The Hunt for the Serial Sniper, he recounts his time as a young Black man in the 1960s being wary of police and keeping a low profile to avoid any potential confrontations.

That changed after college. Upon graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Moose began his law enforcement career in Portland, Oregon, where he would eventually become the city's first Black police chief.

He moved back east to become the police chief of Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside of D.C.  

In 2002, Moose became the national face of a multi-agency task force during three weeks of random shootings in the district, Maryland, and Virginia. 

The violence stoked fear in the area just a year removed from the September 11 terrorist attacks. Ten people were killed. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were later convicted. Muhammad was executed for his part. Malvo is currently serving a life sentence. 

Moose earned praise for his leadership of the manhunt.

He left the department to write his book, which was published the next year.

Moose died last week. He was 68. A cause of death was not given.