Maryland Sniper Shootings Update Thread

CNN, Fox, Local Radio and Television | October 8, 2002 | CNN, Fox, Breaking News

[snooker]

Yikes! That's scary; Chief Moose certainly gave me no warm, fuzzy feelings that everthing was being handled with extreme competence.

Kind of like endless 'move along folks', if you ask me. The guy needs to take a few months off. Did you see the crap about 'John Ashcroft, please help me I'm failing? waving the letter around. Some confidence builder that was.

snooker.

[Chemist_Geek]

The firing pin indentation signature leads one then to speculate on the feds starting to "print" each and every firearm before it leaves the factory or dealer. Is that good or bad?

But, firing pins or strikers break and need replacement...

"Firing Pin Registration" is a horrible idea, especially because it presumes guilt. I argue that without a warrant, the government has no right to take and store that information about private property. If it wants to store that information about its own guns, fine. From what I hear about government agencies "losing" firearms, it might be a good idea to do so.

[Bringbackthedraft]

It wouldn't take much to pick up a recently fired shell casing at a range and leave it on the ground to mislead the investigators. Automatics eject shells, and if the shooter was half smart, he would have the sense to place a plastic bag over the ejection port to catch his spent brass. Sounds like he/she may have just dropped a casing there deliberately? I suspect that this weapon is also scoped.

[blackdog]

If you live in the DC area and posess any ammo of this caliber, you had better count your rounds. BTW, we have been training our troops for quite some time now on urban warfare and urban action. JFWIW.

[angkor]

do they really, have six deaths and two critically injured, have absolutely NO clues

They certainly have the ballistics from last week, so they know where the shooters were positioned with reasonable certainty.

They also know the shooters were not out in the open taking rush hour pot shots in Montgomery County last week.

So they know there are 2+ shooters (not a single lone nutcase shooter), and that they stay inside their vehicle.

They need concealment inside the vehicle, so it has darkened windows. They need room to maneuver the rifle, so its probably a van. They need inconspicuous anononimity, so its probably a typical minivan.

[Fishtalk]

Also, has Governor Glendenning issued any sort of a statement yet?

Spendenning was on Fox this morning. Though I've been complaining about his lack of an appearance, I was decidedly underwhelmed by his comments.

First, he tells us the perp is a coward. Well, duh. A coward maybe, illustrous leader, but a coward with a gun and willing to shoot the innocent.

Ah well, take me with a grain of salt. I can't stand this guy. Hell, the state dislikes him so much I think he's afraid to show his face.

Wish me luck. I'm going out into the wilds of Merryland today, directly into sniper territory.

[ET(end tyranny)]

That each fiearm purchase should be run threw the LE who fires 3 rounds and keeps the shells on record. I totally disagree with even HINTING at this procedure.

Wouldn't this have a trade off? Say your gun gets stolen. You report it. Later someone is shot, they not only would know that you didn't have anything to do with it, but they now know exactly what to look for.

I guess I don't see the problem with it. Guns are designed to kill or maim in self defense. It would seem the only reason to not want the prcedure done would be if the person were going to use to kill or maim in situations other than self defense. ???

[texson66]

Glendenning is busy drafting a mandatory flak-jacket law for students, commuters, and media types....

[ZinGirl]

I guess they are still looking for the white Isuzu truck. I suppose they figure unless they have another color to go on, they look for white. ???

yeah....I know....I had just wondered if Mr. Scumbag Terrorist had been in hiding over the weekend 'cuz he was painting whatever truck he'd been using. Maybe not paint the whole thing (although I suspect he'd switch to yellow...just a guess), but he chould paint new lettering on a white truck.

...just trying to guess moves in a game which has no rules.

[oceanperch]

I beleive it was one of the female Arabs. The posts where suggesting how much info she had at her fingertips working in the Mayors office.
Moose was Chief here. He loved Portland so I was shocked he left. Maybe he could not stomach Katz.
Remember after 911 Mayor Katz would not go along with the rest of the country regarding looking into suspicious Arabs. She was concerned about thier civil rights. Look up Grandpa Dave. He has a wealth of info.

[BCR #226]

[qb]If in fact they did recover an expended shell in the vicinity of the school, a half way decent forensic lab should be able to at least get the firing pin indentation marks from it. They might even be able to raise some finger prints. The firing pin indentation signature leads one then to speculate on the feds starting to "print" each and every firearm before it leaves the factory or dealer. Is that good or bad?[/qb]

Won't work. While on the surface, "fingerprinting" brass sounds like a good idea, the most basic thing is overlooked. Everytime a gun is fired, wear occurs on all the parts. After a while, the firing pin face wears, the rifling changes, etc. This means that the marks on the brass, primers, and bullets will change as well. The reason that ballistic comparison works is that most criminals don't shoot their guns often and the marks don't change much.

Ballistic fingerprinting is a total waste of time and money. If every new gun is "fingerprinted" when manufactured, those prints will be useless after the gun has been fired 100 times. Not to mention the fact that you would see many people swapping parts.

Mike

[iconoclast]

Something is really odd on this one

A serial killing, single shot, madman shooting (now a child) from 2 or 3 football fields away is not, in and of itself, ODD enough for you?

Do you live in a tinfoil house?

Yeesh!

[Noslrac]

Other people's brass is plentiful at the range. Wouldn't be hard to toss some and boom the cops arrest the wrong guy based on a spent case in the database. Besides, the case marks don't necessarily stay the same. The breachface can be polished, or an aftermarket barrel put on, or a new firing pin inserted.

[two23]

I guess I don't see the problem with it. Guns are designed to kill or maim in self defense. It would seem the only reason to not want the prcedure done would be if the person were going to use to kill or maim in situations other than self defense. ???

Many gun owners would consider this a step towards creating a national data base that would eventually lead to "confiscation" and disarming of the public--which some would construe as "tyranny"

[Dallas]

REUTERS

Police Find Evidence in Sniper Hunt

[blackdog]

Wearing bullet proof's is a crime for citizens in most places. Ever since that big bank mess in LA where they were in shoot-out conditions for hours due to criminals wearing kevlar, they banned it for the public. Gas masks too.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Also sounds like Md. LE need to be careful about not being too quick to publicize their news conferences. That would really provide a lot of publicity.

I was thinking yesterday, during one of their updates, just how thorough have they checked the area they use for their reports. Would be terrible to have someone shot on camera, if ya know what I mean. I thought of it because at the time I thought, here they have a sniper and they are all quite visible giving their updates.

[CobaltBlue]

This type of serial killer is almost always white, male, late teens to mid twenties. Very organized, very disciplined. High IQ. Probably quiet. When he is caught, the neighbors will all say that he seemed like such a nice guy.

[ET(end tyranny)]

If a shooter is as good as this one, a "found shell casing" is not luck. It is deliberate.

That's one of the reasons I wonder if the shooter is trying to make LE think that he is getting sloppy or reckless. Perhaps later more info will intentionally give LE an idea as to where the next shooting will be. (a set up)? just tossing ideas out.

[Miss Marple]

Do you have keepers? I don't, personally.

Occam's razor says this is terrorism.