A 37-year-old man has been shot and wounded in a steakhouse parking lot in Ashland, Virginia. Authorities are investigating whether the Washington D-C-area sniper has struck again, for the first time on a weekend. The victim of the shooting outside a Ponderosa restaurant was rushed to a hospital and is undergoing surgery. A state police spokeswoman says portions of Interstate 95 were immediately shut down as police set up roadblocks. Maryland state police say troopers are on the lookout for a white van with a ladder rack. Ashland police say the victim and a female companion were walking to a car in the parking lot behind the restaurant about 8 p-m Eastern time when the victim was shot in the abdomen. The companion saw nothing, and authorities say at this point they have no other witnesses. Ashland is about 90 (correct) miles south of Washington and about 35 miles south of Fredericksburg, where two previous shootings this month were linked to the sniper. The string of shootings in the Washington area has claimed nine lives.