BALTIMORE (AP) - Sniper investigators said today they have been deluged with tips, including false alarms caused by fear and anxiety, as an edgy Washington area deals with the longest lull in the shootings since they began nearly two weeks ago.

Cars backfiring, windows shattering, firecrackers popping are among the noises residents have confused with gunshots, believing they are possibly related to the string of random shootings that hit 10 people, killing eight, since Oct. 2.

“We also admit that everyone is edgy. People are hearing things,” said Montgomery County police Chief Charles Moose, who is heading the multiagency investigation. “Things are occurring that may normally be overlooked or that may be routine, are certainly getting a higher response from people in their anxiety.”

Earlier Monday, for example, four squad cars were dispatched to a Silver Spring car dealership when the window of customer’s BMW shattered when he slammed the door.

For the second weekend in row, the sniper took a break. The sniper’s last confirmed shooting death came Friday morning in Spotsylvania County, Va., when a 53-yer-old Philadelphia man was gunned down as he filled his gas tank.

The break extended into Monday morning, when no problems were reported _ unlike a week earlier, when a boy was wounded outside a school, ending that weekend lull.

Moose, who didn’t give a specific number of tips his investigators have received, said people can now write as well as call with their tips. He gave an address - Box 7875, Gaithersburg, Md, 20898–7875.

He added that a second composite image - of a Chevrolet Astro van with a ladder on top seen leaving Friday’s shooting - was not yet ready. Over the weekend, he released a composite image of a white, box-type truck, based on witness descriptions from more than one shooting location.