Sister of Maryland sniper victim speaks out

Victoria Snider was waiting for her brother, James Buchanan, when police told her he was killed by a sniper.

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VIDEO Montgomery County police are looking for two people in a white truck or van in connection with the killings of five people, CNN's Bob Franken reports (October 3) PLAY VIDEO RELATED Gallery: Maryland Crime Spree  Map: Detail of shooting site

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As she watched news reports about Thursday's shootings in Montgomery County, Maryland, Victoria Snider said she had no idea her brother was among the five victims.

"They just said Hispanic male mowing a lawn, and so I didn't connect that with my brother at all," she told CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight" on Friday. "It just didn't dawn on me."

Snider was waiting for her brother, James "Sonny" Buchanan, to come over to her house, when police arrived Thursday afternoon instead, and informed her of Buchanan's death.

Buchanan, 39, was killed by an unknown sniper Thursday at 7:41 a.m., according to police. He had been shot while mowing a lawn in front of a commercial establishment near Rockville.

Buchanan was a landscaper and the son of a retired Montgomery County police officer.

Federal and local authorities confirmed Friday night that another man killed in Washington, D.C. and three of the five people killed in sniper shootings Thursday in adjacent Montgomery County, were shot with the same weapon.

Authorities in the communities shaken by the 16-hour shooting spree in Maryland said the victims -- each killed with a single bullet -- appear to have been selected at random, did nothing to provoke the attacks and had no link to each other.

James Buchanan was killed Thursday by a sniper while mowing a lawn.

Snider said she had no idea why her brother would be the target of what she called a "hate crime." She said she did not know any of the other victims and urged the killer to turn himself in.

"I think there is somebody out there that needs help," she said.

Snider's son, Jake, said his uncle was active in the community, volunteering with the Boys' and Girls' Club and he described Buchanan as his "go-to guy."

"He was not only my uncle, he was my friend, my best friend," Jake Snider said. "He was my mentor. If I ever had a problem he was right there."

Victoria said her brother was a private person and would not have wanted the notoriety surrounding his death. In her brother's memory, she has established "Sonny's Kids," an educational fund for underprivileged children.

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