Sniper Probe Moves To N.J.
The FBI search for an anti-abortion activist who may have information about the killing of a New York abortion doctor has expanded to New Jersey, where officials say there have been two sightings.
The head of the agency's Newark office appealed to the public Wednesday for assistance in locating James Charles Kopp, who is wanted for questioning in the sniper slaying of Buffalo obstetrician Dr. Barnett Slepian.
CBS News Correspondent Diana Olick reports that police believe Kopp may be driving the black 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier with Vermont license plates that was sighted in Slepian's neighborhood just before the doctor was gunned down by a sniper hiding in the yard of his home.
"At this point, we know that there are several links that Mr. Kopp has in New Jersey," said William C. Megary.
Authorities are not calling Kopp a suspect. They say he is just wanted for questioning.
Kopp, 44, is wanted on a federal material witness warrant in the Oct. 23 shooting Slepian in Amherst, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo. The warrant was based on reports that his car was spotted in Amherst in the weeks before the 52-year-old abortion provider was killed.
Kopp, of St. Albans, Vt., has been seen in at least two locations in New Jersey and looks different than photographs distributed by authorities, FBI Special Agent Monica M. Patton said.
"He is wearing a bushier beard, and he also has gained approximately 10 to 15 pounds," she said. "He may additionally be wearing large, reading-type glasses."
Kopp has been spotted in the Red Bank area of central New Jersey and in Essex County, which is in the north, Patton said.
"Mr. Kopp appears to be very transient in nature, so we don't have him linked for any period of time with any individual," she said.
Kopp has a history dating back to 1986 of anti-abortion activism. According to his records and comments by relatives, he has never been involved in violence. His records shows only nonviolent activism in the form of protests at clinics.
Investigators believe the Slepian killing is linked to four earlier nonfatal shootings targeting doctors in Canada and upstate New York.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno posted a $500,000 reward for the arrest of the sniper who killed Slepian in his home.