In a chilling revelation that sheds new light on one of America's most notorious killing sprees, the former wife of DC Sniper John Allen Muhammad has broken her decades-long silence about the man who terrorised Washington and his disturbing manipulation of their own children.
The Making of a Monster
Mildred Muhammad, who survived her ex-husband's reign of terror, describes in harrowing detail how John Allen Muhammad systematically groomed their son to become his accomplice. "He made me watch as he taught our son to shoot," she reveals, painting a portrait of domestic control that would eventually escalate into nationwide terror.
A Mother's Worst Fear
The three-week shooting rampage in 2002 left ten people dead and three critically injured across Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. But according to Mildred, the warning signs appeared long before the attacks began.
"He would take our son to the woods for what he called 'survival training'," she recalls. "I didn't understand then that he was preparing him for something much darker."
The Psychological Manipulation
Muhammad's methods of control extended far beyond firearms training. His ex-wife describes a pattern of psychological manipulation that isolated their children and normalised violence.
- Systematic alienation from friends and family
- Intense paramilitary-style "training" sessions
- Psychological conditioning to distrust authorities
- Gradual escalation from survival skills to combat tactics
From Domestic Abuse to Domestic Terrorism
The transition from abusive husband to domestic terrorist wasn't sudden, but a gradual escalation that saw Muhammad's rage turn outward from his family to society at large. "The same control he exercised at home, he wanted to exercise over entire communities," Mildred explains.
A Legacy of Trauma
Now, years after Muhammad's execution in 2009, his ex-wife continues to grapple with the trauma and works to help other victims of domestic violence recognise the warning signs she missed.
"People ask why I didn't see it coming," she says. "But when you're living it day by day, the escalation is so gradual you don't notice until it's too late."
Her testimony serves as both a chilling warning and a powerful testament to the hidden domestic origins that can precede public acts of terror.
