DC snipers may have shot man in Clearwater

In October 2002, the Washington, DC area was gripped in fear. It didn't matter who you were or where you were anyone was a possible victim.

The DC snipers' hit list included a landscaper, a shopper, a student, a gas station customer and a cabbie.

But before those victims, the reign of terror may have started at the seventh hole at Glen Oaks Golf Course in Clearwater.

Golfer Albert Michalczyk was playing a round of golf in broad daylight when suddenly he was shot in the chest. Speaking to FOX 13 by phone from his home in Arizona, Albert remembered how his life was almost cut short.

"I was shot on the golf course," Michalczyk said.

Despite a lack of physical evidence, Michalczyk is convinced John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were responsible for shooting him.

"It had to be those guys. They were in Florida visiting their parents," Michalczyk said. "It had to be them. The .22-caliber, yeah, the whole ball of wax was there."

Muhammad -- who along with Malvo shot 13 people, killing 10 -- is expected to be executed in Virginia today.

Muhammad is set to die by injection at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, unless Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine intervenes.

"I'm glad it's going to be over with. They killed so many people and ruined so many lives I wish they both were going to go," Michalczyk said.

Malvo is serving a life sentence in Virginia.

In 2006, he reportedly confessed to four additional shootings, including the one in Clearwater while the pair traveled cross country.

Clearwater police spokesperson Joelle Castelli said the timeline seems to match up, with Malvo's mother living in Fort Myers, yet investigators are not jumping to conclusions without solid evidence.

"We don't know the intention of the shooter. There may be some connection to the DC sniper. We're not comfortable saying there is or there isn't," Castelli explained.

Castelli said detectives will pursue any new leads if they become available.

Prosecutors said Malvo is willing to talk in exchange for immunity, but the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office isn't willing to make that deal.