"Profilers: Montgomery County Shooters are Likely From Area"

WUSA 9 News, Associated Press ^ | October 4, 2002 | The Associated Press

[Hail Caesar]

Profilers: Montgomery County Shooters are Likely From Area

Whoever killed five people with single shots in Montgomery County is probably a white man in his 20s or early 30s who lives nearby, two former FBI profilers said Thursday.

The shooter and an accomplice likely dumped the white truck police were looking for Thursday night, the experts said. "That vehicle will be in a garage or a lake," said Clinton Van Zandt, a former FBI agent.

Both Van Zandt and another former profiler, Robert K. Ressler, said it's unlikely that one person carried out the killings. They said one person was probably the shooter, while the other drove the truck.

The two suspects are "giving themselves high-fives" as they shoot victims in a Columbine-like spree that Van Zandt said won't end until they're caught.

"They're moving - they like it," he said. "This is emotional heroin for them."

Ressler likened the spree to that of Andrew Cunanan, the suspected killer of fashion designer Gianni Versace and four other people. Cunanan died in an apparent suicide as police cornered him on a Florida houseboat in 1997.

"You're dealing with not a serial killer, not a mass murderer, but a spree killer," Ressler said.

Serial killers go though "emotional cooling-off periods" that could span days or even months. In this case, the killings were only hours apart.

The pair could be fugitives in their mid-to-late 20s or early 30s, with nothing to lose, Van Zandt said.

"One or both of these guys feel they've been ditched by the world," he said. "This is 'get-even,' this is 'level the playing field,' this is 'sharp stick in the eye."'

He said the suspects are also probably from the Montgomery County area, either living there, working there or with family connections to the area.

Both experts said crimes like this are generally solved by eyewitnesses or friends who notice that the suspects have disappeared.

"There are people out there right now who have suspicions," Van Zandt said.

[philetus]

Did anyone else hear the FBI on FOX say "keep an eye out for weapons of this type in your neighborhood"?

[Eala]

...is probably a white man...

Ohhhhhhh.... NOW we can do racial profiling!!

< / sarcasm >

[gdc314]

Have you EVER seen a profile that mentioned race that said it was anything other than a white man?...

[LibWhacker]

Absolutely! How in the world would you find a partner for something like this?

"Hey, Ed, you wanna go out and murder a bunch of random people in cold blood until we're hunted down and killed like dogs?"

*BURP* . . . "Sure thing, sounds like a plan."

No way! It's two muslim terrorists, or one guy off his nut.

[Hatteras]

"...there aren't many out there with the wherewithall to defend themselves, are there?"

How do you plan on defending yourself against this killer there, tough guy? Do you think that a weapon in your palm is going to stop that slug as it slams through your back? Tell us how much smarter you are than these poor souls that were ambushed?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the second amendment but that simply doesn't apply in this case. These guys weren't trying to rob, rape or torture anyone, they set up at a distance and picked their victims off and the few witnesses had no idea where the bullets came from. The victims and witnesses could all have been locked and loaded. With all due respect, save your 2nd Amendment arguments for another case.

[glock rocks]

yes. atlanta child murders.

[GirlShortstop]

Absolutely! How in the world would you find a partner for something like this?

Sadly, an answer to that can be found if you look back to April 20, 1999.

[The KG9 Kid]

There are a lot of AK clones out there chambered in .223.

[joesnuffy]

World Net Daily


HOMELAND INSECURITY
2 'Hispanics' sought in D.C.-area
hunt
Be-on-lookout alert describes shooters' race

Posted: October 4, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Paul Sperry
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

By Paul Sperry

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Police in the Washington suburb
where five people were gunned down in two days are
looking for two "Hispanic" men in the fatal shootings,
according to a police bulletin that federal authorities
shared with WorldNetDaily.

Montgomery County Police in press conferences have
described only the gender, not the race, of the two
suspects -- one a driver and the other the shooter.

The be-on-the-lookout, or BOLO, alert that local police
sent out earlier today to all law enforcement agencies
also described in detail the "white box truck" used by
the snipers.

The six-wheeled vehicle resembles a commercial
delivery truck, police say. The cab is smaller than, and
separate from, the large box-shaped cargo area, which
is completely enclosed. The rear passenger side of the
bumper has been damaged. And there is
block-lettering on the side and rear of the truck.

A Montgomery County Police spokesman confirmed
that the BOLO describes the suspects in the sniper
slayings as "Hispanic."

But he cautioned that they could be another non-white
race.

"We do not count on them being two Hispanic males,"
said Officer Derek Baliles. "Appearances can be
interpreted. We do not want to limit anything at all."

"It's possible," he added, that the suspects could be
Middle Eastern.

He also cautioned that their eyewitness account of the
suspects is not solid.

Baliles says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms is examining bullet fragments in two other
shootings to see if they are connected to the other
five, which occurred Wednesday and Thursday.

A 72-year-old man Thursday night was shot to death
on a Washington street corner. And a Virginia woman
this afternoon was shot in the back at a crafts store.
Her condition was not immediately known.

ATF ballistics experts have determined that a
high-velocity rifle firing a .223-caliber bullet was used
in at least three of the shootings. The bullet is used in
hunting rifles and M-16s and makes a large wound as
it enters the body.

The police spokesman says FBI profilers will put
together a "word picture" Saturday morning to try to
make sense of the unusual crime and come up with a
possible motive.

Authorities are not ruling out terrorism.

Baliles says the Secret Service has assigned at least one
agent to the case. The Office of Homeland Security
and CIA are not involved, he says.

The shooters took very select shots of random
strangers, and appear to be trained in marksmanship.
All six victims who died were killed with a single shot,
some apparently shot in the head, although Baliles
would not confirm that.

[John H K]

Indeed. Regardless of one's gun control views, every single citizen in Montgomery County could have been packing a handgun and every killing would have gone down the same way, and the killers would still be on the loose.

Well, you might have had assorted random white trucks/vans/SUVs shot up by the not-so-bright, that would have been one difference.

[wcbtinman]

This guy Van Zant is either purposefully lying, or he is full of sh!t.

[ET(end tyranny)]

This guy Van Zant is either purposefully lying, or he is full of sh!t.

I was wondering if they might be deliberately giving wrong data. Maybe to give the perps a false sense of security?

[newsperson999]

Why do they think thats it's a white male? If they would have said black male there would be an uproar.

[LibWhacker]

Good point. It is a chilling thought that there are more Klebold and Harrises out there who actually made it to adulthood yet whose thought processes haven't matured at all.

But these killings seem even more insane to me as they are completely random (didn't Klebold and Harris concentrate mostly on specific people they hated?). Brrrrrrrrrr . . . Gotta catch these guys soon!

[Redcloak]

Whoever killed five people with single shots in Montgomery County is probably a white man in his 20s or early 30s who lives nearby, two former FBI profilers said Thursday.

18 months ago, I'd likely have agreed with this assessment. But then again, 18 months ago, I'd would likey have forgotten that the last shooting in the area that was comparable to these was committed by a Pakistani in McLean.

[exit82]

I think it's both. My profile for both perps:

Prays to Mecca five times a day.

Has more then one copy of the Koran.

Trained by Al-Qaeda in sniper killing.

Hates America.

Carries a picture of Bin Laden.

Thinks Mohammed Atta is a role model.

For TWO men to do this, travelling, is VERY SUSPECT. Most mass killings occur in a single location, or shots fired from a single location.

Regardless of what type of persons these are, this is terrorism, plain and simple. The goal is to inject terror in a large mass of people,paralyzing them with fear.

Most likely, these would be Islamic terrorists, as they have shown the most propensity to do the above, and captured Al-Qaeda videotapes describe precisely this kind of terrorism.

We are seeing all kinds of tortorous spinning by the authorities as we did in the El-Al counter shooting at LAX.
It is more important that more innocent Americans die than we might offend someone and not be thought of "tolerant".

After losing three good people on 9/11/01 in NYC and PA, I'm not for being tolerant any longer. The government of the people better start protecting the people, or the people will get one that does.

[Redcloak]

FWIW: The Egyptian who shot up the El Al counter at LAX was initially described as "Hispanic".

[wcbtinman]

"...or the people will get one that does."

Our govt representatives are no longer interested in protecting anything except their place at the trough.

From your mouth to God's ear.

[Palladin]

It's not a black male. Criminals who fit that profile are usually gangbangers who shoot wildly and empty all their ammo in one big burst. Then they run and cower under the bed in the girlfriend's apartment.

This is exactly what happened in my town last weekend. The idiot got off 7 shots on a crowded street, and miraculously not one person was hit. IOW, these types of criminals are not noted for their strategic planning, their accurate sharpshooting, or their ability to make a clean getaway.