Representational Image.
Washington:
The suspect in a spate of highway shootings in the US state of Arizona has been indicted on multiple charges including terror, authorities said Saturday.
Suspect Leslie Allen Merritt, 21, was arrested Friday but maintains his innocence.
At least 11 shootings have taken place on or near Arizona's Interstate 10 since August 29, including a semi-trailer being struck in the side by a bullet, police told AFP.
The sheriff's office of Maricopa County said Merritt has been charged with terrorism in addition to other charges that include drive-by shooting, criminal damage, aggravated assault and discharging a firearm within city limits.
The only person hurt in the shootings was a teenage girl cut by flying glass when the window of the car she was in was shattered by a bullet.
Authorities said Friday that Merritt would remain in custody "because the weapon that he owned is forensically linked to the crime."
But Merritt said he was being wrongly accused.
"I'm the wrong guy," Merritt said, maintaining that his gun has been in a pawn shop for two months.
Police have linked Merritt to the first four shootings but warned there could be still be "copycat" shooters and that an investigation remained under way.
Local media reported that he was arrested as he exited a Wal-Mart store along with a woman and a young child.
Suspect Leslie Allen Merritt, 21, was arrested Friday but maintains his innocence.
At least 11 shootings have taken place on or near Arizona's Interstate 10 since August 29, including a semi-trailer being struck in the side by a bullet, police told AFP.
The sheriff's office of Maricopa County said Merritt has been charged with terrorism in addition to other charges that include drive-by shooting, criminal damage, aggravated assault and discharging a firearm within city limits.
The only person hurt in the shootings was a teenage girl cut by flying glass when the window of the car she was in was shattered by a bullet.
Authorities said Friday that Merritt would remain in custody "because the weapon that he owned is forensically linked to the crime."
But Merritt said he was being wrongly accused.
"I'm the wrong guy," Merritt said, maintaining that his gun has been in a pawn shop for two months.
Police have linked Merritt to the first four shootings but warned there could be still be "copycat" shooters and that an investigation remained under way.
Local media reported that he was arrested as he exited a Wal-Mart store along with a woman and a young child.
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