SNIPER SCARE IN SUBURBIA Police weigh multiple killers, vehicles

World Net Daily ^ | 10/11/02 | Paul Aperry

[JulieRNR21]

SNIPER SCARE IN SUBURBIA

Police weigh multiple killers, vehicles

'If this is 1 shooter, he's got a helluva lot of energy – and luck'

Posted: October 11, 2002 1:15 p.m. Eastern

By Paul Sperry

WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – Authorities here are now investigating the possibility that the Beltway sniper shootings are the work of multiple shooters using multiple .223-caliber rifles and traveling in multiple white vehicles, WorldNetDaily has learned.

"We're looking at that angle," said Montgomery County Police Department Detective Paula Pascarella.

In 10 days, 10 people in Washington and four surrounding counties have been shot. Eight have died, all from a single bullet wound to the torso or head.

Authorities are growing increasingly doubtful that a single sniper could strike with such frequency over such a broad territory in such a short period – and still avoid detection.

"If this is one shooter, he's got a helluva lot of energy – and luck," said a federal law-enforcement officer.

In addition, eyewitness accounts of the vehicle seen fleeing the scenes of at least four shootings have varied.

An eyewitness to a shooting in Montgomery County last week reported seeing a white box truck with two Hispanic-looking men in the cab, according to an initial Montgomery County Police lookout bulletin released to law enforcement last week.

A witness in the Prince Georges County shooting claimed to have seen a man leave the woods carrying a duffle bag near the school where a 13-year-old boy was shot. The witness said the man got into a truck.

Witnesses at a Sunoco gas station in Prince William County say they saw a white panel van (with no side windows) resembling a Dodge Caravan leave the scene.

Now police in Spotsylvania County, site of the latest shooting which occurred at an Exxon station, are looking for two men in a white box-shaped cargo van with what they describe as "ladder racks" on top. It's said to resemble a Chevy Astro Van.

Authorities say white cargo trucks and vans are common, making it hard to track down the shooters.

They also say that – with the exception of the school shooting, which apparently came from the woods – it's possible that the sniper or snipers are firing from inside the windowless cargo areas, and not the passenger windows, of the vehicles.

Previous stories:

FBI: Maryland shootings fit no category

2 'Hispanics' sought in D.C.-area sniper hunt

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Paul Sperry is Washington bureau chief for WorldNetDaily.

[JulieRNR21]

Correction: Author is Paul Sperry

[JulieRNR21]

FYI Please ping your Mega List!

This is the first time, I believe the theory of multiple shooters & vehicles has been voiced by a federal LEO.

[bonesmccoy]

Looks like the FR analysts are better than the newspaper.

We got more firepower than the print media!

Keep up the commentary... it's great to read.

[Joe Brower]

'If this is 1 shooter, he's got a helluva lot of energy – and luck'

No. The rules of this game, as craftily defined by the shooter, are almost completely on the shooter's side. In addition, although law enforcement will not admit it, it appears that the bad guy is at least as good as they are, if not better.

More and more, it seems that the perp here will only be caught if he/she is either extremely unlucky, or if someone who knows them drops the dime.

Meanwhile, the deliberately disarmed and emasculated populace is left to cower.

[marktwain]

Looks like the FR analysts are better than the newspaper.

If the police have any sense, they will spend some time reading Freerepublic and some of the shooter forums. Some very interesting possibilities and theories have been put forward. Most police, especially those in administration, are not shooters, don't understand shooting, and haven't a clue about the technical aspects of shooting.

[John H K]

WASHINGTON – Authorities here are now investigating the possibility that the Beltway sniper shootings are the work of multiple shooters using multiple .223-caliber rifles and traveling in multiple white vehicles, WorldNetDaily has learned.

"We're looking at that angle," said Montgomery County Police Department Detective Paula Pascarella.

Umm,this being World Net Daily, with their usual degree of journalistic hyperbole and incompetence, I wouldn't count on the the "angle" that Pascarella is looking at matches the previous paragraph.

[MissAmericanPie]

I've lost count, I thought this one killed today made 11 victims, two of whom survived.

[JulieRNR21]

No. The rules of this game, as craftily defined by the shooter, are almost completely on the shooter's side. In addition, although law enforcement will not admit it, it appears that the bad guy is at least as good as they are, if not better.

He/they are definitely skilled but I wouldn't call them 'good'....EVIL is more accurate.

I posted this because it was the first time I've seen a report of a LEO suggesting 'multiple snipers or vehicles'.

[JulieRNR21]

This is #10 shot in 10 days I believe. Two survivors were wounded. Also believe that more men than women have been targetted.

[Koblenz]

and traveling in multiple white vehicles

Say what? Why would the vehicles all be WHITE?

[JulieRNR21]

Perhaps I have a higher opinion of WND than you.....Paul Sperry is reporting what LEO's have speculated not creating the theory himself.

[JulieRNR21]

Did you read the entire article?

Eye witnesses have reported seeing different white vehicles at the various crime scenes.

[Joe Brower]

I used the term 'good' as it relates to the skill of the shooter, not the moral basis for their actions. He/she is obviously quite capable in terms of target selection, field position, marksmanship and escape/evasion. By the time the law arrives, the deed is done and the shooter is long gone.

This can be repeated indefinitely, and obviously is.

[gramho12]

I've stated in previous posts that I think this is being perpetrated by terrorists, that there is more than one person involved, and that the "lone angry white man" is a total bogus profile.

Shootings are too close to muslim communities where there have been arrests for charity-fraud, etc. in both VA and MD. And as I once stated, I hope this is not target practice for people in our government.

I hope to God it is just a nut case.

[Freedom2specul8]

A mega ping for you Juli!

Maryland watch ping

[Freedom2specul8]

WASHINGTON – Authorities here are now investigating the possibility that the Beltway sniper shootings are the work of multiple shooters using multiple .223-caliber rifles and traveling in multiple white vehicles, WorldNetDaily has learned.

[dixierat22]

White is a common color for commercial and non-commercial vehicles. It's easier to hide a needle in a stack of needles than in a haystack (It doesn't stand out in a stack of needles)

[Freedom2specul8]

Sorry it took so long to get here.. I have to take my mind off of this for a while..sort of like mini-breaks.

[gramho12]

My other two cents, since we're just speculating anyway. I think the white vehicles are diversionary, and that the killer(s) are getting away in nondescript vehicles. People can see a white vehicle more easily, there are huge numbers of them, so it is a perfect cover. Even if they get the right vehicle, that person probably will have an excuse for being in that location at that time.