Stay indoors and bunker down. Random shootings. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37433-2002Oct3.html
They think it was random. They say that because they have not been able to link the victims. There could be something to link the victims that the authorities have not been able to see at first glance. Thus it is safer to tell the public that it is random just in case. It seems that these killings were done from a distance...and ONE shot per victim. This sounds like it could be a pro. Most random killers don't use one shot from a distance and move on. They usually fire from close range and it is loud and very brutal. Just my 2 cents.
Seriously, this is incredibly creepy. It's almost like the sniper took the weekend off. Maybe he sat around and watched football games while planning his next hits. Is it just me, or are we all holding our breaths hoping this isn't related to international terrorism? It's horrible either way, but it seems like it's a tiny bit less scary if this is just one nutcase who snapped. Hope they find him (or her) soon. What a horrible way to lose somebody you love.
I'd think this is the MO of a single nutcase......except for the eyewitness accounts suggesting it was two men. That's scary. 'Cuz you know what? If you're a terrorist, you want to instill terror in the minds of the populace. And this will do it. Cheaply and easily. And if your boys get caught; so what......there's purportedly a long line of individuals waiting to take their place.
Yeah, it's nuts. I'm about 15 minutes away from this freak. You wonder how and if anyone will be able to stop him. If he's a sniper I don't think we have the resources to find him. I mean how would you find him. But I think the shots have been heard. So he's not using a silencer or anything like that. I just hope they get him soon. It does make you hesistate before going out. And I've never noticed so many white Mitsubishi and Isuzu trucks in my life. But now I see them everywhere. Luckily I'll be in the much safer places of houston and Vegas next week
The sniper killings have been officially linked with todays attempt to kill the 13-year old. Boy, 13, Shot Outside Maryland Middle School Foxnews.com BOWIE, Md. — A 13-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded Monday morning in front of a middle school in Prince George's County, Md., sparking fears that the serial sniper who is terrorizing the Washington, D.C., area may have struck again. Officials stressed that they had established no link to the six spree-killings that took place last week, but forensics experts investigating five slayings in neighboring Montgomery County rushed immediately to the scene. "Whether they're connected or not, the fear has ratcheted up quite a bit," Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan said. The boy, who sustained a single gunshot wound to the chest, was in critical but stable condition following almost three hours of surgery at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., and doctors said they were "satisfied" with how he got through the operation. The victims in last week's shootings -- six people killed and one wounded -- also were felled by a single shot. Dr. Martin Eichelberger said the boy had a gunshot wound to the abdomen, which went through his chest, then into his spleen, stomach, pancreas and lung. He said the boy's spleen was removed along with part of his stomach and pancreas, but he says those are organs a person can "live without." Eichelberger said the major concerns now for doctors are whether the boy continues to bleed, and whether he has problems breathing. He said the next eight hours are crucial to determine the boy's recovery. The doctor said the surgery team made a special effort to find a portion of the bullet, which they gave to police. Monday's shooting happened well before classes were scheduled to begin, so there were not a lot of witnesses, Prince George's County Police Chief Gerald Wilson said. A gunshot was heard, and the boy slumped over and told his aunt, who had brought him to school, that he thought he had been shot, Wilson said. His aunt took him to a small hospital in this suburb northeast of Washington, and then he was transferred by helicopter to Children's Hospital. Police cars surrounded the school and officers put up crime scene tape and searched the campus. Sharon Healy had just sent her 12-year-old son, Brandon, to school on his bicycle when she heard of the shooting shortly after 8 a.m. outside Benjamin Tasker Middle School. She said she ran there and pulled him out of class. "You think you're safe, but you're only as safe as your next step," Healy said. Said her son: "I was scared." Othar Haskins, 13, standing outside the school with his mother, said he was a friend of the wounded boy. "He's funny, he's always around friends," Othar said. "He helps you out when you need it. He's a good friend." Othar cried and put his head on his mother's shoulder as he spoke. Last Wednesday and Thursday, five people were shot to death by a sniper in a 16-hour span in Montgomery County. A sixth victim was killed Thursday in Washington, D.C. On Friday, a woman was shot and wounded in Virginia. "All of our victims have been innocent and defenseless, but now we're stepping over the line," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said. "Shooting a kid -- it's getting to be really, really personal now." At one point, tears streamed down his face. But he stressed that it was too early to know whether Monday's shooting was related to the earlier ones. In an afternoon briefing, Moose said police were investigating yet another shooting in Washington. But Washington police spokesman Kenny Bryson said the shooting occurred in an apparent robbery and there's "no link whatsoever" to the sniper attacks. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said federal authorities -- the attorney general, Treasury Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- have been "very involved on the ground and have lent support and equipment." Asked if there was any evidence of terrorism, Fleischer replied: "I've not heard anything like that, but the fact of the matter is that people are trying to determine who the shooter is, or shooters are, and we continue to help local officials in that endeavor." Montgomery schools had planned a normal schedule with extra security, but after the Prince George's shooting, officials initiated a "code blue" alert, keeping students inside during recess and lunchtime, Moose said. Prince George's schools and some other schools in the region took similar steps. The five Montgomery County victims were all gunned down in public places: two at gas stations, one outside a grocery, another outside a post office, another as he mowed the grass at an auto dealership, and the sixth, a 72-year-old man, killed on a Washington street corner. Each victim was shot once from a distance. There were no known witnesses. Tests confirmed that the same weapon was used to kill four victims. Ballistics evidence also linked the Maryland slayings with the wounding of a 43-year-old woman on Friday. She was shot in the back in a parking lot at a Michaels craft store in Fredericksburg, Va., and was in fair condition Monday at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The cops are pretty impressive to this point, saying all the right things. Who shoots a 13 year old? and yes the bullet matches all the others.
Pole, exactly. And AB, I hope terrorism doesn't answer your question. Again, what better way to bring terror to civilian US soil? If it's a nutcase, just how deeply nuts does a person have to go before they start sniping random civilians? Pointless question, I guess, but the usual MO for nutcases who go on shooting rampages, as someone metioned earlier, is to walk into crowded places and not care so much about whether they themselves are seen or apprehended.
I don't think this is a terrorist, or at least, a Al-Qaida-type terrorist. The sniper's M.O. isn't large scale or efficient enough. However if this was happening in multiple cities, I then might think its a political/religious terrorist. IMO, it seems more similar to the Unibomber or the guy who was shooting homosexuals (including Gianni Versace) a few years back. I think the official term is spree killer. My guess is that the perpertrator has lived in the area most of his life. Whatever the case, I hope they catch the sniper ASAP.
X-PAC The MO of claiming responsibility for terrorist attacks seemed to changed somewhat around thirteen months ago.
My understanding is that this is a 322 calibur weapon. That would be a military sniper rifle. You can't go buy those at Oshman's. Whoever that is knows what they are doing and has access to military weaponry. I hope they catch him soon.
This doesn't follow the classic pattern of terrorism. Terrorists want the big hits that are harder to trace. A single or pair of people committing these crimes over the course of weeks, when they are ultimately caught, will result in a long trail of clues and information that terrorist organizations go to great lengths to protect. With that type of military weaponry and the precision of these killings, that sounds an awful lot like a former military person or marksman gone nutty. Think Charles Whitman, the guy who got into the tower at UT and shot people on campus. Seems to follow a similar pattern here.
I agree with everything you just said, Jeff. I sure hope you're right.......and that they catch these person(s) soon.
Refman.....I've never heard of a .322? Even for non-domestic firearms. Can you confirm that for me? I can't imagine anything over .30 caliber being flat shooting enough to be an effective sniper weapon unless it was backed by an inordinate amount of powder. I know they use .50 caliber Browning rounds in some sniper weapons, but these rounds were used for anti-aircraft. And they'd just about split a person in two. Are you sure it wasn't a .22 caliber? That would make more sense as it could be ANY number of centerfire rounds, both military and non; all fairly flat shooting, and available in any number of weapons that are designed around accuracy.
I believe it was a .223. As far as I'm aware, that's pretty common, right? I just hope this doesn't escalate. He went from adults to kids. Maybe next time he'll try to get a reporter on live TV.
