I-80 closed west of Reno after sniper shooting

RENO, Nev. -- A sniper opened fire on Interstate 80 Monday, hitting at least four vehicles, wounding one man in the chest and forcing authorities to close the highway from the outskirts of Reno west to the California border.

At least two other people were injured by flying glass as they were shot at along a 5-mile stretch of the interstate west of Reno between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

"The window kind of exploded. I heard a loud pop, glass shattered in my face," Carl Ruggerio of Reno said. "I thought I got hit by a rock from a truck."

Dozens of law officers, FBI agents, a SWAT team and two helicopters from the Nevada Highway Patrol were searching the area as the interstate remained closed in both directions Monday afternoon for about a 10-mile stretch headed west out of Reno.

Children at three schools in the area were being kept indoors and afternoon kindergarten was canceled at one elementary.

"A fairly massive search is under way," Washoe County Sheriff Richard Kirkland said as officers used dogs to search an area around the Mogul exit about 7 miles east of the California border.

The shooter could have been as far as 1 mile away from the interstate in rugged terrain with high, rocky cliffs, he said.

"People could hide in those areas," Kirkland said.

Investigators believe the shooter likely was still in the area.

"As we responded, the shooting continued," Kirkland said.

Police initially put out an alert for a possible suspect in a light blue pickup who bought an assault weapon with a scope at a pawn shop earlier Monday, but later said they had located the truck and eliminated the man as a suspect.

"We're looking for somebody that likes to shoot at cars," Sgt. Bob Towery said.

The name of the man who was shot in the chest was not released. He continued driving a few miles off the interstate to a fire station. He was taken to Washoe Medical Center but his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

"He was shot once in the chest. There's a bullet hole in the window," Towery said.

In two cases, bullets traveled "right through the center of the windshield between the seats," he said.

The interstate was closed in both directions at about 10 a.m. from the California state line to the Mae Anne Drive exit on Reno's west side.

Traffic was re-routed along old U.S. 40 paralleling the interstate.

Towery said the highway would remain closed until it was deemed safe to re-open it.

Officers were having trouble pinpointing where the shots came from because the vehicles that were hit traveled a distance on the highway before pulling off the road, Towery said.

Ruggerio said he was westbound on the interstate just past Mogul when his car was hit. He said he thought at first a stone had hit the window, but then realized there were no other vehicles around.

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