Turf Wider For Ohio Sniper?

A man standing on a highway overpass fired a handgun at a sport utility vehicle Saturday on Interstate 70, and investigators said it appeared to be linked to the months-long series of highway shootings in the Columbus area.

No one was injured in the late morning shooting near Pataskala, about 15 miles east of Columbus.

The bullet struck the SUV's right front fender and lodged in the battery. It was recovered and sent for lab testing.

The shooting appeared to be related to the 23 others since May, said Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin, a spokesman for the task force investigating the shootings. One person has been killed.

"This is pretty consistent with what our shooter has done in the past," he said. "Our particular shooter is becoming much more aggressive, much bolder."

The SUV driver and four other witnesses described the shooter as a clean-shaven white male in his 30s with dark hair, wearing a hat and sunglasses and driving a small black sedan, Martin said.

The description matched the one given by witnesses who were shot at last Sunday on Interstate 71 southwest of Columbus.

Although the serial shootings started in May, most have occurred since mid-October.

Until last month, the gunfire was scattered along or near Interstate 270, the busy highway that encircles Columbus. The last four shootings had moved toward the southwest on I-71.

Saturday's shooting is the farthest east the shooter has struck.

And CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick says that would be "a disturbing development for law enforcement officials. The shooter struck first south of Columbus on the 270 loop, then even farther South on another highway. With increased surveillance and heavy patrols on both those roadways...officials hoped to have him caged in. Instead, he may now be expanding his target area again."