The quicksilver sniper

ROCKVILLE, MD.–For the victims, there was no warning, no omen, before the .223-caliber slug slammed into them. For the killer, there appeared to be no anguish, no remorse. For the authorities, there was precious little to go on–little besides a message on a tarot card depicting Death: "Dear Policeman, I am God."

For a nation with such a long, lurid history of cold-blooded killers, ghoulish executioners, and obsessive serial murderers, the sniper who has terrorized the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and captured the attention of the world seems to be a chillingly different breed of predator. This is no "Son of Sam," driven to slay by his brain's endlessly howling dogs, no frat-boy Ted Bundy, impelled by a quenchless concupiscence, both sharing a deadly intimacy with their victims. No, even as al Qaeda terrorists attacked U.S. servicemen abroad and their leaders vowed more attacks on America last week, the quicksilver sniper felled victim after victim with a single, long-distance shot, then vanished quick as a mist in a morning breeze.

And morning, mostly, was the killing time. At week's end, at the close of a bustling, preholiday rush hour, the victim was another innocent, filling the tank with unleaded at yet another busy gas station at the side of a congested highway. There were nighttime killings, too–before Friday's shooting, near Fredericksburg, Va., the sniper murdered a man at another gas station Wednesday night in nearby Manassas, Va. Morning, nighttime, men, women, a child. An immigrant cab driver, mothers. The brain struggled, and failed, to make sense of it all, to divine a pattern.

And so, of course, did the police. What was the point, the message? What was the motive? The killer, nothing if not thorough, left few clues, and their absence, like a lethal yeast, served only to raise the level of panic to new heights.

Stalking. At first, it was the seeming randomness of the victims' selection that most chilled. Anyone, and therefore everyone, was a potential target. The sniper's first furious burst just over a week ago, when he killed five people in suburban Maryland, defied all attempts at rational analysis. Paralyzed, police and professional profilers sought, as usual, to draw some inference about the killer from the identities of his victims. But the only conclusion that seemed even remotely plausible was that the killer had simply stalked his victims, thought of them as no more than mere quarry. The killer's high-powered rifle rang out five more times, killing a pedestrian in Washington, D.C., wounding a mother in Fredericksburg, Va., and a 13-year-old honor student outside his Maryland middle school, and then killing the two gas-station customers in Virginia.

Conclusion? All the victims seem to have been chosen at random. But the last two, their lives expunged by single shots within a few easy yards of a highway, seemed to have been selected as much out of convenience as anything else, ensuring the sniper's ability to ease back into the slipstream traffic and disappear, once again. Which prompted still another reaction–helplessness. Police and federal agents could stop and search every white van on the East Coast, it seemed, but the killer was a few steps, or miles, ahead, his studied silence its own uniquely eloquent challenge to his pursuers.

One didn't need to be a fan of thrillers or police procedurals, either, to understand that the killer was following all of the hullabaloo–the endless press conferences, the breathless wall-to-wall cable coverage–with his own warped absorption. But unlike other serial killers, he has so far managed to avoid the trap of allowing that absorption, and his understandably growing sense of infallibility, to tempt him into baiting those who would bring his murderous spree to an end. The politesse of his tarot-card communication was doubtless intended to be ironic, at least in part. And it didn't take an advanced degree in psychiatry to parse the "I am God" part of the message.

Calling card. But taken together, and given the killer's otherwise unbroken silence and the seeming clinicianlike approach to his grim work, it all combined to suggest the conduct of a serial murderer whose like we may never have encountered before.

With so few other clues to go on, attention has understandably focused on the tarot card and its eerie inscription. "I am God" was a key line in the 1993 Alec Baldwin film Malice–which aired on cable just days before the card was discovered. The "calling card" has been a staple of snipers of all sorts, including American forces in Vietnam, who left the ace of spades or even tarot cards by the bodies of their Viet Cong victims.

The rest of the killer's psychological picture is equally open to debate. Typically, experts say, a serial killer enjoys unusual excitement, often sexual, in taking another person's life. And whether the killer knows his victim or not, the killing usually takes place at close range, after a face-to-face encounter with the victim. Neither dynamic holds here. Paul Appelbaum, a forensic psychiatrist and president of the American Psychiatric Association, points out that while this pattern is not apparent in the recent killings, this shooter might be "getting some kind of grotesque excitement from murderous acts through a telescopic sight."

If the sniper isn't motivated by any of the things that typically impel a serial killer, it may be that this is all about thrill seeking, a hideous game of cat and mouse. One hint: the sniper's penchant for modifying his tactics in reaction to media reports. After press accounts noted that kids weren't targets, the sniper struck the middle school. "The person is sending a message," says John Cohen, a former cop who advises states and cities on better policing. " 'I don't want you to feel comfortable anywhere.' "

With so much unknown about the killer's mind-set, investigators are left with the little they can glean from his tactics. "You have someone who has the ability to take long-distance shots–that eliminates many people," says Vernon Geberth, a former chief of the Bronx homicide unit and author of an influential textbook for murder investigators. "This leads me to believe that this person has training."

That training may not have covered simply how to shoot. "This is someone sophisticated enough to blend in. It is really, really hard to leave a crime without anyone noticing," says Cohen. "This is someone who has thought through what he was going to do and has obtained the skills to do it. This is a person with a plan." Observes forensic psychologist Charles Patrick Ewing of the State University of New York-Buffalo: "These are not random killings–they are random victims."

And that's just what has people so frightened in Washington's suburbs. Some 5 million people live in the area, meaning the odds of being shot are slim. But the shootings have forced people to rethink their daily movements. Suddenly, people are asking themselves: Should I drive my child to school? Should I take a walk in the park? Should I smoke a cigarette outside the office? Should I stop at the ATM? Lately, the answer's been no. "It's making me totally nervous," says Keith Schenk, 34, who works in a jail medical unit in suburban Maryland. "I'm looking over my shoulder all the time."

People want to avoid being exposed. Starbucks shops all over the region yanked their outdoor furniture. One mother in the upscale suburb of Bethesda, Md., says she has a new way of walking from her car to the grocery. Instead of walking down the parking lot's main aisle, she snakes between parked cars for cover. "You don't want to feel like target practice for someone," she says. There also are new, cautious methods for pumping gas: Drivers use the pumps as shields. Or they stick the nozzle in the tank, then sit in the car. Or they opt for full service–suddenly price doesn't matter. Many are topping their tanks to shorten the time at gas stations. All the while, they're scanning the roads. "It's definitely changing people's lives," says Jimmy Cladius, 38, a Shell station manager in Silver Spring, Md. "It has put fear in people's hearts."

Lockdown. And not just in the hearts of his customers. "I don't want to go out anymore," says Cladius, noting that he's skipping movies with his wife. "I want to get off work and go home."

For kids, it's the fun part of life that's been locked down. "I don't take my dog out now," says Katie Berganski, 13, an eighth grader at the middle school where last week's shooting occurred. "I used to jump on my trampoline all afternoon. Now, I don't go outside." Says her friend, Stephanie Beall, also 13: "I feel weird going to a simple place like the grocery store, because that's where it's been happening." Faeben Zenebe, 14, a ninth grader at Montgomery Blair High School, says waiting for a bus home from school is the only time she goes outside. "I don't go to the park anymore," she says. "I don't go out anywhere."

Recess, most field trips, and after-school activities were scrubbed as schools went on "Code Blue," meaning doors were locked and the outdoors placed off limits. Parents escorted preteens to bus stops, something that normally would be deemed extremely uncool. And those jittery kids didn't seem to mind too much when parents sent them off with a kiss and a warning: "Stay alert today!"

Scared stiff. A week into the killings, the scene at schools is surreal, as cowering children run into the buildings. After the shooting at Benjamin Tasker Middle School, police cars sat parked in front of schools and parent volunteers quickly hustled kids into schools. "Go right in," mom Martha Fleury told kids, quickly steering them into a parochial elementary school. "Get in the building." Fleury sees anxiety in the children. "The kids are scared. They are stressed out. They know something is going on and don't understand it."

Not that Washington has closed for business. Workaholics still commute on the infamous beltway. But traffic is down at many stores and restaurants. "Normally, we have a line out the door," says Sam Young, manager at Panera, a popular lunch spot about a mile from the middle school. He estimated business was off 40 percent to 70 percent some days last week. Many catering orders were canceled. "People just don't want to come out," he says. Kari Booker, a manager of a minigolf course in Rockville, sees fewer kids, especially without their parents. "People are worried," he says. "They know it's going to happen again." At a popular movie theater in Bethesda, manager Tony Bond says the organizers of a private screening called with concerns. "They wanted to know if there would be a security presence and could we allow people into the theater earlier?" he said. "They said people wouldn't want to stand in line outside."

But other businesses saw a boom as residents hid out. Domino's pizza deliveries spiked in some locales as people either stayed in or were stressed from rejuggling their work and school commuting routines.

Bethesda psychologist Venus Masselam says the sniper is another topic for her therapy clients who struggle with anxiety and depression. "Between the threat of war and the snipers, it's bigger than big," she says. "It's like there is no safe place."

Young, the restaurant manager, felt anxious going to the bank one day last week. He froze when he saw a white box truck–police said the shooter might drive a white van or panel truck–in the parking lot. "I didn't take my eyes off of it," he says. On the first day of the shootings, John Ceanfaglione says, he too was reluctant to walk alone to the bank. "I decided to stay in," he says. But, like many people, Ceanfaglione says he doesn't want to let a madman rule his life. "I'm not going to live in fear," he says. "If I'm unlucky, I'm unlucky."

Luck is on investigators' minds, too. With scant leads, veterans of previous serial-killer manhunts say police may have to wait to get lucky. When Son of Sam was on the loose, police ultimately broke the case because of an innocuous parking ticket. "Today, I'm reading in the press that a number of the incidents have been close to highways," says Joseph Borrelli, the now retired New York detective chief who helped nail Son of Sam. "We noticed that same thing with Berkowitz. We thought that if he had been speeding away, he might have gotten a summons. So we checked, and found one for double parking in Brooklyn, on a car with a Yonkers address. And that's how we first got to him."

One thing that may help investigators' luck: the tendency of serial killers to become more brazen–and more sloppy–over time. Of course, that means cops will have to wait for him to strike again, a deadly gambit. In the meantime, the sheer number of law enforcement agencies involved is beginning to cause strains. Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief Charles Moose was irate about last week's leaks, and cops from different forces are all pointing at one another in blame. "Every time you bring different agencies in, you bring different agendas in," says Geberth. "It won't be long before people are at each other's throats."

Solid clues–even mundane ones like traffic tickets–are what Borrelli says cops need most. "The 'he might be this, and he might be this' stuff makes good reading," he says. "But you've gotta do the nuts and bolts."

Nuts and bolts. The nuts and bolts means sifting through reams of tips and searching crime scenes for shell casings, scraps of material, or anything else left behind inadvertently or deliberately. Investigators also are comparing the recent shootings with past shootings; guns leave unique markings on slugs and shell casings. They also may review other old cases, such as reports of trespassing or shots fired–incidents that seemed middling before but may offer valuable clues today.

Experts say investigators may question gun enthusiasts and the military community. John Schelin, owner of Schelin Guns in College Park, Md., said a federal marshal came in last week to ask about purchases of .223-caliber ammunition or guns. "I sold a couple of boxes to several people, but nothing that would have set off a warning," he said. They also very likely are looking for fingerprints on the tarot card and recovered shell casing, but given this sniper's style, experts say, it's likely he wears gloves.

One question on people's minds is why so many officers from so many jurisdictions are stymied. Since 9/11, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have gone through great preparations for possible future terrorist attacks–preparations contingent on those agencies' working together. The scenes of police bickering and overloaded tip lines are a bad omen, even if this spree has nothing to do with geopolitics. Says policing expert Cohen: "What this has become is a very good snapshot of how effective those preparations are."

"If the sniper isn't motivated by any of the things that typically impel a serial killer, it may be that this is all about thrill seeking, a hideous game of cat and mouse. One hint: the sniper's penchant for modifying his tactics in reaction to media reports. After press accounts noted that kids weren't targets, the sniper struck the middle school. "The person is sending a message"

Maybe...if it were widely noted that the sniper has not hit any insipid, clueless journalists or factless, sensation seeking television reporters...a timely message might get sent to the pot-stirring idiots in the media.

... this shooter has a political motivation.

How would we know that? The tarot card mesage doesn't sound political, and that's all we really have to go on. He hasn't hit any noticeably political targets, just common people. It would be just as easy to say he has a religious or financial motivation. Maybe he just likes hunting. You're right about the standard profiling not applying.

... this shooter has a political motivation.

"How would we know that? The tarot card mesage doesn't sound political, and that's all we really have to go on. He hasn't hit any noticeably political targets, just common people."

I suspect ML was suggesting that the shooter's politics might be Islamist.

If the shooter's objective was terroristic, the article describes how very successful he has been.

Being that there are evidently no prior "serial killings" with which this episode can be compared, we can conceivably arrive at a single guiding motive -- but from two separate quarters:

1. The shooter is a homicidal maniac of a unique sort, whose objective is to terrorize a community.

2. The shooter is himself a terrorist, or has been employed to terrorize.

we're at war with Al Qaida, we know they've trained snipers and that they have sleeper cells in the US and they've targetted the DC area before. I think the likeliest scenario is that this is an Al Qaida attack. The evidence we see doesn't make any sense for a typical serial killer attack. Victims are of different races and sexes, victims killed out long range and not up close and personal, probability that the sniper had assistance versus most serial killers act alone -- and the ones that do have a partner usually are rapists who kill their victims.

This is such a well executed operation, I don't know what to make of the tarot card. Could be a red herring. It could be some kid who's played too much Dungeons and Dragons, but I suspect its somebody who's been to Afghanistan at some point in his life, or maybe South Carolina.

Whats interesting about that Oregon cell that was recently busted is that one member had joined the army reserves just so he could attend basic training at Fort Jackson, SC and learn military skills (such as firing an M-16), after training he was a no-show at his Oregon unit.

Wonder why no one is saying the possible obvious - these barbaric murders fit the modus operandi of muslim terrorists - the entire area is justifiably terrified!

IMO, I believe these murders are being committed by two or more two person teams of muslim barbarians, and I doubt any will be caught, unless they do something stupid so as to be caught.

I hope I am wrong!

The shooters are adept at killing with a rifle.

The killers are terrorizing a large geographic area with seeming little effort and without getting caught, thus repeating the act, for effect.

The lack of 'responsibility' hints at malice aforethought and cold planning, not likely therefore to be thrill killing or spree killing.

The terrorizing is the key and points unswervingly to planned assault with a situational meaning, as in shooting to accomplish fear and confusion of the general public, as opposed to hate directed toward a class of individuals or race.

The discipline to continue making a single shot then fading away hints strongly at training for this sort of activity.

The cold, calculating killing points to persons considering themselves soldiers.

The fact that the brass has been left for finding points to a calculated message of malice, aimed absolutely at the citizenry in general.

Not one obviously Moslem-appearing person has been killed by this perp. [A seik in a turban doesn't even come close.]

The range of victims or the bodily region aimed for would hint that there is no rage at any particular victim grouping, just matter-of-fact killing for effect on the general populace.

I am left to conclude that the killing is organized terror by an al qaeda cell or Muslim cell and that the terror is about to be ratcheted up, spreading to other metropolitan areas due to the success achieved in terrorizing the DC area.

How do we deal with this sort of terrorist activity?... because that is what this is, not some thrill killer or spree killer or nut case.

I have no doubt that 100s of LEOs are going over thousands of minutes of video from ATMs, 7-11s etc.

That entire stretch of I-95 south of DC is covered with traffic cams ... don't know if they log all of it, but there was a link to the DC area traffic cams the other day, and they are everywhere along that route.

Either the sniper(s) are very, very, lucky sociopaths, or they have been planning this mission just like Atta's group did for 9/11 ... it is amazing that they escaped the net on Friday.

The more I think about it, the more it smells like a muslim mind job to shut down the nations capital and impact the economy.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.