Beltway Sniper Shootings-FR Commentary-Sunday, Oct. 13

Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences | October 13, 2002 | Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences

[Peach]

To avoid multiple vanity threads regarding any news from press conferences, let's keep a live commentary thread going again today. Please stop by the Prayer Thread to leave a prayer for people in the target area http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/767040/posts

[Peach]

Overnight news: The NYP reports that sources revealed detectives have a surveillance tape from Wednesday evening's shooting that may have a picture of the shooter's face and his accomplice (accomplice mentioned in next-to-last paragraph of article). A 36-year old Georgia man was briefly detained near Friday's shooting as police compared his face with a photo from the tape. The man is a 5' 9" white male of medium build with sandy brown hair and a mustache.

[Peach]

Ping

[Miss Marple]

Good morning, Peach. I am still dumbfounded that after all the waiting for a "graphic" we get nothing but a truck.

I wonder if they had more stuff but decided against releasing it.

[Miss Marple]

Good morning, Peach. I am still dumbfounded that after all the waiting for a "graphic" we get nothing but a truck.

I wonder if they had more stuff but decided against releasing it.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

	A composite image produced by the FBI (news - web sites) of a box truck is shown after being released by Montgomery (Md.) County Police, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002. Law enforcement is searching for the truck, believed to be linked to the sniper shootings in the Washington D.C. region. (AP Photo/Montgomery County Police) - Oct 12 7:30 PM ET
	A composite image produced by the FBI (news - web sites) of a box truck is shown after being released by Montgomery (Md.) County Police, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002. Law enforcement are searching for the truck, believed to be linked to the sniper shootings in the Washington D.C. region. The writing on the side reads, 'unknown words.' (AP Photo/Montgomery County Police) - Oct 12 7:28 PM ET

[dirtboy]

(accomplice mentioned in next-to-last paragraph of article).

That's pretty amazing - the fact that there was an accomplice was buried at the end of the article. That changes the entire nature of the attacks, fer cryin' out loud!

[Peach]

Good morning, Miss Marple. The graphic was certainly a disappointment and make it likely the shooter(s) may switch trucks. And it may all be a red herring, anyway.

[Peach]

Thanks for posting these photos. My linking skills are sadly lacking, as my feeble attempt at linking the prayer thread all too clearly shows.

[Peach]

Agreed re the accomplice - should have been in first paragraph. But we have to remember that it's the NYP - not always reliable.

[Miss Marple]

I am wondering if they had someting else, decided not to use it, and had to come up with SOMETHING to give the media, so the white truck was it. I cannot have taken all this time to produce a composite truck picture that most freepers who dabble in graphics could have produced in an hour.

[Peach]

Let's hope they do have something else; perhaps a video of the shooter's face, as mentioned in the NYP article. It hasn't been a very good showing for the police in terms of strategy.

[Skywalk]

So with the bombings in Bali and Finland(and a few more obscure ones in the last couple of weeks) and the attacks in Kuwait, can we start asserting more confidently that this is NOT angry white nut(s)?

[Peach]

AQ has been active again for the last 10 days and I go back and forth whether the sniper is AQ or domestic militia. Good arguments can be made for both; today's NYP, if true, of the video with the shooter's face and description doesn't sound particularly ME. But could be homegrown with sympathy for AQ.

[Born on the Storm King]

I just have a few comments to make, most of those comments being in reference to my experience in the La Belle Discotheque bombing murder investigation in Berlin, Germany in 1986, in which I was a criminal investigator. In the first place, in reference to the Second Amendment, this sniper situation is further aggravated because Maryland does not allow concealed weapons permits. But worse than that, in this particular situation, all able men and women in good standing should be permitted to carry a rifle at sling arms! This place (the DC area) is not the America of our Founding Fathers, but the land of the Philistines.

Now, in reference to my experience in La Belle, somebody in law enforcement working on the sniper case knows who the perpetrators are right now, right at this moment. Those LEOs have to argue their asses off! An investigation like this is like a Chinese fire drill---and there's a lot of socializing and ass kissing going on---you can't work on the case and jawjack your piehole at the same time! One cannot sift through, read and concentrate upon thousands of pages of criminal information and run around the police station like a frivilous dilletante at a cocktail party at the same time!

This sniper case fascinates me because it is a mystery just like La Belle was. I solved La Belle on Day Two, and I just shot my mouth off the rest of the time! But I did alot of sifting through data to defend my argumentation. (I was the criminal information analyst.) BTW, they didn't pickup the La Belle suspects for over 10 years and finally convicted them on November 10, 2001.

[Lion's Cub]

The more I look at that truck (assuming that it is used by the snipers), the more I think these guys must have safehouses nearby each shooting site. That truck would not be my choice for a fast getaway. It must be going into a garage nearby.

[Peach]

Police said killer typically strikes at rush hour and killer's next shoot was at 9:15. Police said killer works within a geographic area and next shoot was outside the previous geographic area. Police said kids were safe and next shoot was a 13 year old boy. It's time the police take the hint and keep their prognostications to themselves and give press conferences only when there are facts to report that will help apprehend shooter.

[Peach]

You have an interesting background. Read an article this morning that said Maryland gun laws are coming into play in this recent election. Good. Further, glad to read you think police have an idea who is behind these shootings and hope you are right. LEO's need to be more careful in press conferences because shooter is proving he watches the coverage and then reacts to what he's heard.

[Peach]

Good point re hiding the truck, or perhaps it's a delivery truck and parked at place of employment. (Might have to go quickly - thunderstorm moving in).

[R. Scott]

“That truck would not be my choice for a fast getaway.”

If empty that truck might not be all that slow – and remember it would be in fairly heavy traffic where acceleration would not help.
It is about the most common local delivery truck around, making it blend in easily. It could also be the shooter’s working vehicle as he seems to kill only on Monday – Friday.