Apr 1, 2004 12:00 PM

Charles A McCoy Jr, the suspect in a series of sniper shootings along Ohio highways during the past year, has been arrested in Las Vegas NV.

Acting on a citizen's tip, authorities apprehended McCoy at his room in the Budget Suites hotel in Las Vegas, according to Todd Palmer, a Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman.

Columbus OH police had issued a warrant recently charging McCoy with felony assault in a Dec 15, 2003, shooting that damaged a house. This was one of 24 shootings in the Columbus area that began in May 2003 and became more frequent this past autumn. In November, 62-year-old Gail Knisley died after being shot as she rode in a friend's car.

The shootings occurred on Interstate 270 in central Ohio, as well as Route 23, a main feeder for I-270. Bullets in the 24 shootings were fired mostly at vehicles on highways but also at homes, at parked vehicles, and at a school.