A .223 is the same thing as 5.56 nato (think M-16).....probably the most common centerfire long-gun round in the world. Available just about everywhere, and there are plenty of readily available guns that would make good sniper choices utilizing it.
Ummm Refman, there is no such thing as ".322 caliber military sniper weapon." It's a .223/5.56mm. The same caliber used by the M16/AR15 line of rifles. You can buy this round at any Academy, WalMart, Oshman's etc. You can also buy the rifles that fire them at these same places. It is a "varmint round." Popular on ranches for killing varmints such as coyotes, rabbits, etc. It isn't some super secret military sniper weapon. This piece of crap subhuman probably just slapped a scopeon a .223 bolt action & hides in a car w/ a getaway driver. The media of course, w/ it's usual tact & accuracy, is making this out to be some super sniper weapon & also showing Ar15s & asking anyone who sees someone with one to call the authorities. Stupid. I guess then that next time you go to the shooting range off of highway 6 & Westheimer you should call the FBI b/c there are about a dozen people target shooting w/ them on the weekends... There are probably 50 types of rifles that shoot this round, but instead of the "hunting rifle" looking versions, the cops & media are parading around the "evil, black" looking versions. Very responsible...
So what tactic do you employ now. Do you continue to call this guy a marksman and hope that he just kills one person a day until you catch him. Or do you fire up a sick profile on him and enrage him into a mass shooting spree and try to catch him Will he try and contact the Police? Or what do you do. I mean he (or she) is just picking us off one by one. It appears as tho he had a choice on his last kill, aunt or boy, and he picked the boy. He's trying to make some points. What's next? Don't they have satellites to help with this stuff. It's not a super large area. What do you think the agencies are doing now?
Correction...it was a .223. I got my damned numbers flipped. In any event...it was likely a military weapon. Jeff-- I think the analogy to Whitman is not a good one. Whitman, to the best of my knowledge, did not have any military weaponry...he used civilian weapons.
I see the posts stating that any of 50 or so rifles can shoot this round. I am out of my element when discussing rifles...handguns are more my thing. Can any of those rifles fire this round from the long range this appears to have been done from? It just seems fishy to me. In any event...whoever is doing this is not a neophyte.
This is very flat shooting round, so it would make an ideal sniper round....and I'm pretty sure that all of the major hunting rifle manufacturers make a rifle for it. It's generally used for hunting game smaller than deer at long distances, so the rifles will be built to exacting tolerances for accuracy Note that the authorities are probably assuming that it's a .223. (because of it's popularity). There are actually many different rounds that use the same bullet, they just have different size and shaped cases. Some of them, like the .220 swift fire the bullet at over 4000 feet per second, and are used to hunt animals much smaller than humans at distances of over a quarter mile.
All caliber confirmation aside, I hope Jeff is right. I'm just nervous relying on the "classic pattern of terrorism" these days. I really don't see how they'll catch him/her/it/them until he/she/it/they screw up and leave some clues. Of course, there could be some high tech resources being pulled in at this point, from a federal level.
Weaponry isn't really the issue. It is the nature and type of killings. This guy is probably firing from a pretty good distance in all of these - 100 yards + - and taking someone out with one shot in varying weather conditions is NOT easy. Nevermind the walking away without anyone noticing part. He sounds very ex-military to me.
I agree with you there. This individual has some serious training under his belt. Whether it is military or otherwise remains to be seen. My first impression was that it sounded like the act of a seasoned pro. The 13 year old kid blows that theory to hell. It's even scarier now. My question now is how do you go about detecting this person and then catching them?
Guys, if by training you mean military/police, I think you might be severely mistaken. Go out to the range sometime, there's plenty of guys out there shooting on the 100-200 yard range who are shooting tiny groups - in all kinds of weather. These guys are your average Texas weekend deer hunters. It doesn't take special training to do what this guy is doing - it takes madness...
There is a big difference between shooting a target on the range and shooting a moving human being with precision accuracy from a van. You may be right, but I have my doubts.
I feel a conspiracy theory coming on... Anthrax attacks one year anniversary. Same general area, seemingly excellent proficiency in the crimes, causing wide hysteria, and not much evidence in either case. Hmmm... paging Oliver Stone.
Nah. The way I see it there are only 2 possibilities: 1) The guy is a random nutcase. (more likely) 2) The guy is a pro and the victims are linked by a common enemy in a way the cops do not know or have reason to know. If 2 is the correct scenario, the 13 year old could be explained by the assailant wanting to get back at the boy's family by taking out the child. It's possible...but a little far fetched. I think that 1 is the most likely scenario. The shooter is not a novice though.
So far we have what, a 13 year old kid, a guy mowing a lawn, a lady on a bench, a lady at her car, a cab driver, wtc. Different races, diff. geographic areas. I don't see how the victims could be linked w/out the cops figuring it out by now. As for the shooting, I'm telling you, it is no feat. Hunters shoot small moving animals, from distance, often from moving vehicles - routinely. Sitting in a van shooting a stationary or walking human from 100-150 yards is not that hard. Seriously, next time you go to a range see how the people putting up their targets 100 yards away look. Now look at them through a high powered scope. Easy. Again, maybe if you don't have any hunting and/or range experience this seems difficult, but it's really not & this is what scares me more than anything. This could very easily be some ordinary guy who snapped, with a Wal-mart bought hunting rifle, sowing terror.
RocketBurrito---Refman-- I won't tell you that it's easy, but there are quite a few weekend shooters that can put up groups like that. This type of round is used by "varmit" hunters. Guys that shoot prairie dogs out to 400 yds. Humans....even walking.....would be pretty easy targets.
This is getting even more ****ed up. This now seems more like the work of a serial killer, although the fact that the victims are so diverse does break the mold. Normally, serial killers focus on particular "types" - i.e. blonde-haired women, gay men, and so on. But leaving a tarot death card with a statement like "I am God" definitely fits a serial killer profile more accurately than it does a spree killer profile. This is a very twisted and evil individual. I hope he make a mistake soon and gets caught.
I think the first mistake is dropping that stupid card. He obviously wants attention for this, so hopefully they'll be all over his a$$. Actually, the very first mistake was his mother not having an ab-- whoops, wrong thread. j/k
Guess what? Tomorrow morning I fly to Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and I will be spending the weekend in suburban Maryland at a family function. Pray for me.
the tarot card said "Dear Policeman, I am God." that first part makes him sound foreign. Now I wonder if he really is foreign, or is trying to get officials of his trail by pretending to be foreign.
