Posted on 10/14/2002 2:44:20 AM PDT by MadIvan
Intelligence experts in Washington are increasingly concerned that the gunman known as the "psycho-sniper" could be a terrorist with links to Islamic terror groups.
From the evidence gathered so far, which includes a handwritten note by the gunman, investigators think English may not be his first language.
The shootings, which have left eight dead in fewer than 12 days, coincided with a warning that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network is planning new attacks. The FBI warned last Wednesday that supporters of Bin Laden were "targeting key sectors of the US economy" and has long suspected that a number of "sleeper" cells are still active.
The latest victim, on Friday morning, was father-of-six Kenneth Bridges, gunned down at a petrol station in Fredericksburg.
Investigators are troubled by the gunman's behaviour, in particular his habit of selecting targets at random. Recent reports suggest he may have a female accomplice and drives a large white van.
No, I'm talking about those on this site who ridicule the idea that it's Moslem terrorists. Surely you've seen them.
You are not hearing me...Yes there have been serial killers who have targeted children and there have been those who target "young men", yes there have been those who kidnap and abuse children. I am not arguing that point.
What I am saying is that it is unusual for someone to target a wide range of adults, men, woman...and when you add to that to specifically target a child it could suggest someone out of a different culture.
True. But what if the owner of the truck doesn't even know his truck is being used? If it's 2 brothers like I'm speculating, they would be using one of their father's trucks, an old one he isn't using anymore for his business. The father would have an alibi because he IS innocent. Same if the truck is still being used. In that case both employees and owner would have an alibi for the time of the shootings.
I'm not convinced the killer is shooting from hotel balconies/rooftops; I'm inclined to think the fact that many of the shooting locations are at major exits off major interestates means there will be an abundance of both gas stations and motels/hotels clustered around. But I think all options should be turned over and examined, so the rooftop sniping is as good a guess as a shooter-on-the-ground or shooter-in-the-van theory.
Well...that's a darned sight better than the FBI dusting off the "angry white male NRA lovin' gun nut" profile...WHICH, BTW, they dragged out in the Luke Helder case with no more accuracy OR success.
But the random nature of his victims is a consequence of his MO. He's worked out some gimmick that allows him to shoot without being easily detected in an urban environment. Whatever it turns out to be- a truck, a disguised weapon etc- I would imagine one part of the gimmick is the speed with which he can aquire a target, shoot and have the weapon out of sight again. So when he arrives at his shooting point, I don't figure he'd waste a lot of time there lest someone notice his activity. So he goes where there are bound to be people and where there are ample escape routes to facilitate his withdrawal from the scene. He pulls up (or whatever), quickly sets up his weapon (if it isn't already set up), aquires a target, shoots and didi-maus. In this mode, I don't figure he'd waste a lot of time looking for a target- just the first person he saw that he figured he could hit.
With the boy at the school, I think he was responding to A) his own sense of invulnerability after his initial succesful shootings and B) The claim the police made that schools were safe. His initial spree left him feeling like God. Then the media/police combo tell him there are people that are immune to his power. So he purposefully shoots a kid at school to "show them" no one is exempt from his wrath.
I figure that was a risk for him to take to make his point but he was probably still able to carry out the attack using the same MO. These random gas station attacks are probably his bread and butter- they're simple, easy and he likes it. But I imagine he will want to spread his power to other regions and would look for shootings in other States.
Also, after this guy is caught, we might be in for copycats who witnessed the frenzy this killer caused. This might become the new fad for wannabe high profile killers.
Again, am I saying this is the only logical explanation? No. Are there flaws with this theory? I'm sure you will let me know them all. Do I believe this is what is happening? Not necessarily.
I think, however, this is one possible theory to explore and isn't that what this is, a discussion thread on the possible explanations?
Then they're more interested in protecting Moslems than they are the rest of us, which wouldn't surprise me BTW. However if it continues and spreads to other areas, nobody will care what the official version is and everybody will know they're terrorists.
As far as I know, Muslims don't have a particular problem with Tarot. I could be wrong, but since they developed their own style Tarot deck in the 12th century (IIRC) they must not mind it. They're also heavily into numerology and communication with spirits - djinn.
I share your same thoughts on this and have previously commented on this. What really steered me in the terror direction more than anything else was the fact that after the first couple of shootings on that first day, before the boy was even shot, the schools in the area went into immediately lock-in. I don't believe this would be standard procedure, unless of course they were responding to what they thought was related to the threats on American schools that came out at just about the time the shootings started.
Georgia Ave. itself is a main street. East-West Highway (Rte. 410), a quarter of a mile north, is another main street. Nearest major highway is the Beltway, maybe three miles north on Georgia.
Below is an analysis of the shooting dates and times. The times that start with "P" are the prayer times in the time zone of the shootings. Before and after the indicated shooting times.
The time in bold is the supposed shooting time. The times of the shootings seem to fall well before or after prayers except for #3 wish is close and #10. #10 was at 8:15 P.M. and an exact match for the Isah pray time.
That would indicate that a devote Muslim is not the shooter is they are following prayer times. But, combining the 5th (Maghrib-Evening) and 6th (Isha - Night) is allowed. Usually when the Muslim is "traveling". So, the actual prayer time for #10 could have been 6:53 P.M. if the 5th and 6th prayers were combined.
#1 (P-4:29P.M.) 5:20 p.m.(P-7:06 PM) Oct. 2: Windows shot at craft store in the unincorporated Aspen Hill area of Montgomery County, Md. No one hurt.
#2 (P-4:29P.M.) 6:04 p.m. (P-7:06 PM) Oct. 2: James D. Martin, 55, of Silver Spring, Md., killed in grocery store parking lot in Wheaton, Md. (Montgomery County)
#3 (P-7:26 A.M) 7:41 a.m. (P-1:15 P.M.) Oct. 3: James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, of Arlington, Va., killed while cutting grass at an auto dealership in unincorporated White Flint area. (Montgomery County)
#4 (P-7:26 A.M) 8:12 a.m. (P-1:15 P.M.) Oct. 3: Taxi driver Prem Kumar Walekar, 54, of Olney, Md., killed at gas station in Rockville, Md. (Montgomery County)
#5 (P-7:26 A.M) 8:37 a.m. (P-1:15 P.M.) Oct. 3: Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring killed outside post office in Silver Spring. (Montgomery County)
#6 (P-7:26 A.M) 9:58 a.m. (P-1:15 P.M.) Oct. 3: Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring slain as she vacuumed her van at a gas station in Kensington, Md. (Montgomery County)
#7 (P-7:26 A.M) 9:15 p.m. (P-1:15 P.M.) Oct. 3: Pascal Charlot, 72, of Washington, killed while standing on a Washington street.
#8 (P-1:15 P.M.) 2:30 p.m. (P-4:23) Friday: 43-year-old woman wounded in craft store parking lot in Fredericksburg, Va. (Spotsylvania County)
#9 (P-7:30 A.M) 8:09 a.m. Monday (P-1:14 P.M.): 13-year-old boy wounded as he is dropped off at school in Bowie, Md. (Prince George's County)
# 10 (P-8:15 P.M) 8:15 p.m. (After Prayer Hours) Wednesday: Dean Harold Meyers, 53, of Gaithersburg, Md., killed at gas station in Manassas, Va. (Prince William County)
#11 (P-7:35 A.M.) 9:30 a.m. Friday (P-1:13 P.M.) : Man shot to death at gas station in Fredericksburg. Investigation pending on possible link to previous shootings.
Why? What is your reasoning for this? The guys says he's God. He is on some kind of twisted power kick. The media/police taunted him by saying children were safe from him and he went out straight away and disproved that theory. Why does he need to be from another culture?
Look, I have already stated that I firmly recognize that this person might well be a terrorist- of course this is a possibility and I would hope the police are not blind to that avenue. But it is just as likely that he is an American nutjob and personally, that's where I'd bet if I were a betting man- and I am.
I think his MO is random hits. I also think he stepped out of his MO to shoot the boy after he felt insulted by the police. I don't look for him to continue shooting children- but if he did, I wouldn't be surprised because whoever he is has no respect whatever for human life- children or adults.
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