Posted on 10/11/2002 3:21:12 PM PDT by texson66
There are some great tips on the thread but I believe Mat_Helm has the right idea.
In MY mind I'm gonna treat this b@$tard like I treat tele-marketers and democrats; . .
. . with ridicule, distain and contempt.
A real pro would have a 10/10 kill record along with 10/10 getaways.
I would imagine this makes the sniper a gifted amateur on the presumption that 8/10 and 10/10 is beyond the probability that the casual serial killer with this degree of boldness would get.
One outlier that may be worth examining more closely is the lady who was wounded in the back. Not only did she survive, but according to reports she was released from the hospital. What is different with this case? In particular, can it be ascertained that the sniper was far away when the shot was fired, and the bullet lost energy before it hit, or was it simple bad aim from close up? The former might yield the "500 yard" conjecture; the latter, a distinct temporary lapse in skill on the part of the shooter, UNLESS there is more than one sniper...
You are absolutely, positively, categorically correct.
All citizens, no matter where you live, should exert and exercise their 2nd amendment right.
Maybe something as simple as she moved just as he was pulling the trigger..
Unless it was intentional shoot-to-wound in those two cases. Perhaps to show the shooter(s) has/have Godlike powers to select who lives and who dies.
Jack
At least two dead victims were moving (IIRC, the first two), the guy in the food shopping center parking lot and the guy mowing the lawn at another parking lot.
Here is where I think skill and training could be a discriminant. A sniper is presumeably trained to snipe (or whatever the verb is) well. With a target rich environment that a US suburb is, he or she can afford to find or wait for a stationary target.
A real pro would (I imagine just from light reading) take pride in the bullet to kill ratio, and even the manner of the kill. For example, head shots versus center of mass shots.
Piggybacking here, I have not yet seen any ballistics info released on details such as barrel twist. That might go a long way towards narrowing down the type of .223 weapon involved (and thus aid identification). I am wondering specifically if the police already know but have artificially enlarged the profile in case the sniper has multiple weapons while using only one, or in case a number of people are involved.
Actually, I'm across the Chesapeake Bay from this creep. He probably won't come over here - too many armed citizens.
Actually, I've been pressing my own trousers - and shirts - for the past 50 years. And, I don't have a mother-in-law, or her daughter.
BUT: Carry a camera or camcorder at all times. If someone near you is shot/you hear a shot/crack/whizz take a 360° pan of the surroundings even before you render aid.
If possible do two full pans, you MIGHT capture an image of the sniper. The double images will help highlight anyone bugging out...
However, bear in mind that a prudent alternative from the safety point of view would be to HIT THE DECK FAST and shout at others to do the same.
The first rule of first aid and rescue is not to become a victim oneself in the act of helping others (otherwise more and more people just get dragged into the situation). I am not sure that this emergency situation is sufficiently different from the norm to warrant putting evidence gathering above self preservation.
Also at the distances that the sniper is apparently working from, and the relatively low resolution of the typical camcorder (and digital and point-and-shoot camera), at a minimum the cost-benefit tradeoffs should be considered carefully.
Perhaps, but then if the sniper's desire was to communicate that, I would have expected a more clear and obvious category delineation between the fatal victims and the wounded victims.
Also I don't think it is clear from the start who lives and dies when one is targeting center of mass. For example, a hemophiliac will die from a glancing flesh wound and a robust young healthy person might survive a shot that would kill the average person. I think it's important to retain the perspective that while this sniper may claim to be God, he almost certainly doesn't have Godlike powers. (The silver lining is apparently he has an ego and enjoys bragging enough to risk leaving evidence that might lead police to narrow down the search or even catch him.)
Plus as I mentioned earlier, I would expect the majority of people operating at the skill level demonstrated (ie gifted amateur if not pro) to aspire to the 100% clean, one bullet one kill credo. In this scenario, the sniper is probably dragging his or her tail a bit about the two victims that he/she/they were unable to dispatch cleanly. (Sheesh, even a typical hunter does that.)
Now time for a personal story... (or what might happen to you if you get too ridiculous about this) I was refueling my car last night in such an awkward position that the little girl came out of the bullet-proof office, to tell me that the gas hoses were not designed to stretch. When she got close enough for me to look her in her eyes, she just left saying, whatever!
LOL! I would type more, but I am laughing too hard ... :)
Anti-Bullet Bra w/heavy duty backstraps. ;-)
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