Who me???
Posted on 10/16/2002 6:55:53 PM PDT by kattracks
Police probing a wave of sniper killings in the Washington area said eyewitnesses were unable to come up with an accurate composite sketch of the suspect as the military offered airborne surveillance to help the hunt for the serial sniper.
"Unfortunately, distance and darkness and perhaps adrenaline have made ... them unable to give us a clear composite we can disseminate," Montgomery County police captain Nancy Demme told reporters.
Nine people have been killed and two others seriously wounded in the string of shootings that began October 2 in the greater Washington area.
In the wake of the most recent shooting, which claimed the life of an FBI intelligence analyst late Monday, police were initially buoyed by the number of witnesses who came forward claiming to have seen a man firing the murder weapon at the scene.
Police also used these descriptions to develop a composite image of a light-colored van which was released Tuesday.
The US military confirmed Wednesday that it would provide aircraft fitted with sophisticated surveillance equipment that could track the sniper even if he opens fire under cover of darkness, as he did on Monday.
The move was approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday, just hours after an FBI employee, Linda Franklin, was confirmed as the ninth victim. Franklin was shot on Monday night in a shopping mall car park in Falls Church, Virginia .
The US military is banned from domestic law enforcement and use of its surveillance equipment would be restricted to a support role, according to the Pentagon.
Monday night, the killer again managed to slip through a huge security dragnet unleashed within minutes of the shooting, but police believe they have secured vital new clues as to the sniper's identity.
Hundreds of police from the states of Virginia and Maryland as well as the city of Washington and federal agencies are already hunting for the sniper who has killed each victim, seemingly chosen at random, with a single shot.
However, police said eyewitnesses gave conflicting accounts of what they saw.
"The only common denominator is 'male.'" Demme said, discounting earlier police reports that witnesses had seen an "olive-skinned man."
Police were also hoping the killer's image might have been captured by video surveillance cameras operating in the shopping center Monday.
Demme did say that one witness to Monday's shooting was emphatic that he had seen the shooter fire an AK-74 assault rifle.
Police have said the killer might have used a light-colored van with a ladder rack on the roof and possibly a tail light that does not work.
Amid mounting public nervousness, eyewitnesses reported seeing scores of suspicious vans while anything resembling a single shot has set off police alarms.
Many schools in the region have been keeping children indoors during school hours since October 2 and have canceled many after-school activities. Since four of the 11 attacks occurred at gas stations, motorists are wary of buying gas in areas where the killings were carried out.
"For most area residents the latest killing only reinforced a sense of fear and imprisonment," said the Washington Post in an editorial which urged school authorities to find a way to let children resume normal life.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill tightening controls on gun sales, while the White House dismissed calls by gun-control advocates for a national ballistic database of weapons sold in the United States.
The House bill seeks to identify people with a history of mental illness or criminals ahead of the purchase of firearms.
"Steady run of arrests continued Tueday as agents of the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms pursued tips and found individuals with illegal rifles..."
Perhaps what they should do would be to give a broadcast radio call for all motorists in the vicinity to reduce speed and bring the area into gridlock to give the police time to set up check points at exit ramps.
This goes against all instincts to "get the hell out", but I'll bet you would get cooperation from enough motorists to create the jam and trap him in traffic.
I'm also concerned that the sniper team/cell is sending observers/spotters in white Astro Vans to draw attention leaving every crime scene but they would be clean if stopped, the sniper getting away in a smaller sedan. Maybe that's why there is so much eye witness confusion.
If this turns out to be a terrorist attack...its going to start a stampede to the gun stores...and MAYBE a a landslide to throw out the anti-gun pacifist pols. NAAAAAAAW I know. But it is a DREAM I have.
Who me???
I'm not convinced the shooter and/or his accomplices are driving very far.
I've posted this elsewhere, but I'm wondering if they are quickly going to ground in a pre-arranged safe haven near the site of the shooting. Then, after the dust settles, they leave at their leisure in another vehicle.
He/they are gone. Spooked the last time when they were seen when they moved in close to make the head shot that the TV said they hadn't made yet. I expect they were suprized by the quick area lock down and were almost caught.
They'll probably take some time off and move to another city, probably New York. (Just my thoughts)
The people will have to step up where our government is failing. It's time.
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