Shots rang out just before 8 p.m. that Saturday, making the worst case scenario a reality.

John Allen Muhammad, still only known as the D.C. sniper at that time, and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, had struck — this time in Ashland.

On Oct. 19, 2002, a Melbourne, Fla., couple had stopped at the Ponderosa just off the Interstate 95 exit for dinner en route to their home. Jeffrey Hopper, then 37, was shot in the abdomen as he and his wife left the restaurant. He is among the three of 13 victims who survived the sniper attacks.

Two weeks after Muhammad was put to death by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center, Col. V. Stuart Cook, sheriff of Hanover County, talked about how his department responded with a plan in place.

“The shootings all started up in [Washington] D.C. and North-ern Virginia and they all appeared to be related to the Interstate 95 corridor,” Cook said on Tuesday, Nov. 24. “As time progressed, the shootings worked their way farther south and I talked with Lt. Col. (David) Hines and discussed the fact that we needed to have a plan together, because it was not without the realm of possibility that might occur in our area.”

A meeting with other jurisdictions — neighboring Henrico and Chesterfield counties and the Town of Ashland and the Virginia State Police — was called to “put a contingency plan together. We went over some different scenarios of what if he came to Richmond, what if he came to Hanover, and how we would handle it who would be in charge of the different aspects of handling a shooting of that nature.

“Little did we know that we would have to implement the plan.” Within a week after the plan was structured, Muhammad and Malvo — stationed in the woods behind the restaurant — opened fire.

The sheriff said the plan was finalized on Thursday, Oct. 17, and put into effect on Sunday, Oct. 20.

First, he said, the plan consisted of securing the crime scene and what agency would be in charge of the crime scene, which would be determined by the location of the shooting.

Also factored in was the responsibility of the investigation.

“Other jurisdictions’ roles encompassed shutting down roadways, egresses, ingresses immediately surrounding the shooting site. And with ‘x’ number of miles from that site, giving thought to the fact that the shooter had fled the scene immediately after the shooting but also making sure that we didn’t overlook the fact that the shooter or shooters could still be in the immediate area,” Cook said.

Before the shooting, he said that his department “had already strengthened our visitations and appearances at the schools. Not only were our resource officers and DARE officers on alert, we had patrols as much as time allowed in schools and every day care.

“A list was put together of all the private day care centers and officers dropped by talked with the proprietors — everybody was on alert. You can imagine the fear and anxiety of the parents dropping their kids off.”

Being aware also hit close to home for his officers, who the sheriff said were “looking over their own shoulders when gassing their vehicles.”

Officers were vigilant in patrolling exits and entrances into Ashland and Hanover County “as best we could,” Cook said. “Unfortunately, as it turned out, we were all looking for the wrong vehicle because of eyewitness accounts from the previous shootings. Everyone was looking for a white boxed van. It was nowhere near the description of the Chevrolet Impala they were actually using, which was blue.”

Hines, who is second in command, said they “had Street Crimes Units sitting on ramps in unmarked vehicles for three or four days and then switched over and put marked units on.”

“It’s one of the serious aspects of law enforcement most citizens don’t stop to think about,” Cook added, “but I can assure you I thought about it when we deployed our units when they actually were a target. We put them out there and they basically were sacrificial lambs to some degree. In fact, that’s exactly what we feared — that one of those police officers could be a target.”

After Muhammad and Malvo were arrested, “word was received that a police officer was going to be a target.”

During the time of the shootings, news organizations such as CNN and MSNBC had “experts on talking about what they thought the profiles of the suspects were, where they would be shooting next and one of them said, to my understanding, is they could go as far south as Ashland,” the sheriff recalled. “That was on one of those talks shows and the next thing you know is it was Ashland.”

“One of our concerns is that as these talking heads kept giving their expert advice it almost appeared that Muhammad and Malvo were following a script being played out by the media.”

Since they had formulated a plan of action, Cook said he was confident the multijurisdictional operation offered more experts.

“As soon as the shooting occurred, we put the plan into action and sealed off the crime scene. Road checks were set up” in Henrico and Hanover counties, Ashland, “even as far south as the City of Richmond.” In addition to the major highways, Cook said “a lot of the secondary roads of Hanover were sealed off.”

“Law enforcement did a great job of shutting down the highways immediately after being notified of the shootings.”

“We had [Interstate] 95 shut down,” Hines said, as well as U.S. 1. “Chesterfield and Richmond shut down 95 their way, and [Interstate] 295 was shut down.”

“So the investigation commenced,” Cook continued. “We had a temporary command post set up at the crime scene and a staging area for all other law enforcement agencies. This was planned for. Those on the scene did a great job segregating and segmenting the troops.”

The staging area for other responding officers was set up about a mile and a half from the crime scene (in the vicinity of the cannery). “That’s a large enough area that they were able to assemble. We had federal agents from every branch of the government.”

Cook and his department were determined to maintain control of the crime scene and were responsible for processing. The evidence was then transported by State Police helicopter to two labs, one operated by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and the other by ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms).

The snipers had left a note at the scene. “Once it was found,” Hines said, “we did not open it. We sent it with an investigator on a State Police helicopter. The note went to the FBI lab (at Quantico) and was opened there.”

All firearms evidence was sent to the ATF lab, the sheriff said, while fingerprints went to the FBI “to make sure we remained consistent with the handling of the evidence (as had been the procedure with the other shootings).”

“The evidence from our crime scene played a crucial role in every case that was prosecuted,” he added.

Only one other shooting took place after the Ashland incident.

“That was the last shooting until the bus driver was shot (on Oct. 22, 2002), so obviously they had left the area,” Cook said. “We were still concerned during that time where they might be and where they would hit next. But the shooting of the bus driver took place and information was developed on Muhammad and a description of his vehicle that they were in was actually obtained. That commenced a manhunt for Muhammad and Malvo and the blue Chevrolet Impala.”

“As it turns out, they were found parked in a parking lot in Maryland. The vehicle was observed by a truck driver who actually blocked the vehicle in with his truck.” Federal, state and local law enforcement officers were notified “and then put together a raid plan and captured them in the vehicle without incident.”

Having a plan in place, Hines said, “set the stage for us to be prepared to do this.” He also credited the sheriff for acting on the situation “long before the shootings moved south.” He said they had discussed the possibilities a week and a half in advance and set the regional plan into operation.

“Having good people to put that plan together and carry it out [made it successful],” Cook said. “Those same good people were never concerned about who was going to make the arrest, who was going to clear the case — it was always a team effort at its best.”

He again talked about how they were “putting our people out there as a target in a marked car.”

“We redeploy people all the time,” Hines said, “but the people that were in those marked cars were our Street Crimes [Unit].” Those officers had to shave and put on a uniform.

Sheriff Cook also praised the efforts of the parents in Hanover County, saying they “rallied around the schools and the teachers.”

Private businesses, like Cox Trucking, played a role. “John Cox sent tractor-trailers to park in front of the schools so buses could unload behind them. Parents actually formed a line.

I know the parents in Hanover County stepped forward and did a tremendous job.”

With Muhammad’s execution, his only comment was that “Society won’t have to worry about John Muhammad ever again and I think the arrogance he displayed as I read in the media pretty much told everybody who he was. Justice has been meted out down here, but that pales in comparison as when he comes face to face with our God.”

The Hanover County Sheriff’s Office was represented in the gallery when Muhammad was taken to the death chamber. Sgt. Glen Snyder, who was involved in the investigation, was in Jarratt on Nov. 10.

Another tragic aspect was the “affect it had on the kids,” Hines said. In his last press conference at the time of the shootings, Cook addressed his county’s children. “Once Malvo and Muhammad had been caught, he spoke to the kids and told them ‘I know you had been afraid and we were too, but it’s OK. These bad men have been caught’.”

“Every member of this department had a son, daughter or grandson, granddaughter in the schools,” the sheriff said. “That was even more pressing on law enforcement to bring this to a conclusion.”

“When we talk about crime prevention,” Capt. Michael J. Trice said, “we talk about the triangle and what you can do to protect yourself. But what made this particularly disconcerting was that everyone was vulnerable. That was the tough part here — everybody could see themselves becoming a victim.”

For their efforts, the Sheriff’s Office was recognized by the business community, led by Bob Bailey. Cook said they were the recipients of “a really nice dinner for every member of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, both sworn and civilian.” Spouses also were invited. Cook said he didn’t think any of the other jurisdictions received a “thank you” of that nature.

“I think we were one of the most proactive law enforcement agencies in this area in that we recognized quickly that it could very well be a possibility of occurring in Hanover County as they moved down 95,” Cook said. “I think what set us apart is we got together beforehand and actually had a response plan in place.”