I wasn't familiar with the Alkire Rd. area (the red star on the map), so I looked this up. This is where the man was shot in a pickup truck this morning, now in critical condition. It's pretty darn close to 270.
Posted on 12/11/2003 8:16:55 AM PST by flutters
Nervous motorists scanning the woods along I-270 could be looking in the wrong place for the south Outerbelt shooter.
Evidence suggests the shooter, in several of the 15 incidents that lawenforcement officials said are connected, might have fired from a vehicle, perhaps traveling in the opposite direction of the victims’.
Authorities also recently suggested an in-transit shooter.
"We don’t rule anything out, whether stationary or mobile," Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin said.
Of the six reports with detailed information about the paths of the vehicle and trajectories of the bullets, each had been struck on the driver’s side. That would mean the closest shot would have been from another vehicle.
If the shots had come from a stationary position off the freeway, then the shooter repeatedly aimed past the nearest lanes of traffic and, in the case of those on I-270, shot across at least three lanes and the highway median.
Other information that could support the shots being fired from a moving vehicle include:
• A home and a school building were struck by bullets on their sides facing the road.
• A van shot while parked on the Pay Days used-car lot, 3408 S. High St., was hit on the side facing the road. The bullet recovered was fired from the same gun used days later to kill 62-year-old Gail Knisley, authorities announced Tuesday.
• One victim said that when his minivan’s window blew out on Rt. 23, he immediately suspected a shot from an oncoming vehicle as it passed. "I thought whatever happened came from that vehicle," said the victim, Edward Cable. "But there’s no way to know."
• Another victim said a federal agent told him he thinks his house in Obetz north of I-270 had been shot from a vehicle. "They don’t give you any certainties," Don Fitch said of the investigators.
• A laser that investigators shined Saturday through a bullet hole in the Obetz house on Lisle Avenue appeared to point to a guardrail on the opposite side of I-270, meaning the shot could have been fired from a car window.
• On Tuesday, a woman told police that someone pointed a handgun at her from another vehicle while she was driving on I-270 near Rt. 23.
The house and school, both of which were empty when they were hit, could have been struck by stray bullets fired at cars.
Publicly available information about the other shootings is too sketchy to know if they fit the pattern.
In an August shooting, a horse trailer apparently had been shot from above, and the victim reported seeing a group of juveniles standing on an overpass, one with a gun.
The last two shootings police have linked to the case took place Nov. 30. As of yesterday, six of the 15 being investigated have been positively connected with ballistics tests.
Yesterday at the daily news briefing, Martin said the task force had no new information to release but was following up on more than 1,600 leads.
Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Franklin County Sher iff ’ s Office at 614-462-4646.
In case it's a team of shooters,I've considered pickup shells or just junk and trash in a pickup bed for the shooter to hide in.Even a solid seat and gunrest could be camouflaged for the shooter well enough that other close vehicles wouldn't see a thing even while the shooter is comfortably doing his thing.
I've got some older "workin'" trucks.One has so much rust on the beds outside skin that gunports cut out of the inside bed material would give a shooter a nice place to shoot from prone.It wouldn't change the truck's looks at all.
About anything in the back glass of a regular car would allow a shooter in the back seat to take his shots even while being followed.
Moh and Malvo were "extremely" stupid to be caught so quickly,I think.
TM,I believe you said on another post that shooters will be harder to catch when "trained" snipers start doing this.
I completely agree but I'm afraid of what nearly anyone could get away with if they put their mind to it and use common sense.
Ever since I learned most or all the bullets struck the driver's side I've thought the shots were from a moving vehicle in the opposite lane.
However, if the photo depicts the trajectory of the bullet, then extrapolating back brings up some question in my mind.
I've driven that highway several times ( and may again around Christmas),but don't recall whether both lanes are always on the same elevation or not. The trajectory seems to be coming from a lower point, possibily between the guardrail and the ground.
That might rule out the moving vehicle idea.
If the driver is shooting a magnum out his window, look for someone either wearing muffs or is deaf.
Man Found Shot In Car
Victim In Critical Condition
UPDATED: 9:07 AM EST December 12, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A newspaper delivery driver found a man shot inside a car in west Columbus Friday morning.
NewsChannel 4's Jesse Abdenour reported that the victim was shot in the head.
The driver found the man, who police identified as Greg Price, slumped over inside a pickup truck at Alkire Road and Winding Hollow Drive.
Police said that they found a shell casing inside the truck.
Price, 34, was transported to Mount Carmel West and was in critical condition.
Watch NewsChannel 4 and refresh nbc4columbus.com for additional information.
http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/2700729/detail.html
Man Positive He Saw Gun Flash
UPDATED: 9:04 AM EST December 12, 2003
OBETZ, Ohio -- A trucker driving along Interstate 270 said that his truck was hit by gunfire late Thursday night.
The driver, Efrean Regalado, was driving his tractor-trailer from Nashville, Tenn., to the Aaron's Distribution Center, just off Groveport Road, when he said he noticed a flash coming from an overpass.
NewsChannel 4's Beth Dal Ponte reported that Regalado then claimed he heard something hit his truck very hard. Regalado said that he then pulled off at an exit and called police.
Regalado said that he has been around guns and was positive he saw a weapon.
"I know it was a gunshot," Regalado said. I've been around weapons all my life. And I know what a gun looks like when you fire it at night. This was no flashlight. It was actually a gun flash."
Regalado, who told Dal Ponte that he lives in Texas, said that he was unaware of the I-270 shootings that have taken place. The shootings date back to May, but most happened during the last two months. They have involved bullets hitting cars, a house and a school. Police are investigating 15 shootings, and six have been linked to the same weapon that killed a Central Ohio woman last month.
Obetz police officers and investigators from a task force that is investigating the shooting examined Regalado's rig but could not find any damage, Dal Ponte reported.
He said that he would re-examine his rig after sunrise Friday.
http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/2700895/detail.html
I am actually a "he" -- "Alberta's Child" is the name of a song by Canadian country music legend Ian Tyson.
I made that statement about the police being further along in their investigation than they've let on because I know exactly how they would go about identifying a perp like this if he were shooting from a car.
That's OK. A lot of people make that mistake, probably because "Alberta" is a woman's name.
I won't go into great detail here, but the purpose of the cameras is not to actually see a shooting in progress. Folks here who are familiar with the capabilities of some fairly ordinary video camera equipment will know what I'm talking about.
Check your Freepmail in a few minutes.
I wasn't familiar with the Alkire Rd. area (the red star on the map), so I looked this up. This is where the man was shot in a pickup truck this morning, now in critical condition. It's pretty darn close to 270.
I'm know the feeling....I'm also sickened, disgusted, and down right scared.
Authorities Investigate Incident
UPDATED: 5:50 PM EST December 12, 2003
OBETZ, Ohio -- Employees at the Rite Rug corporate headquarters on the city's west side said Friday that they found bullet holes in a delivery van, NewsChannel 4's Nancy Burton reported.
Columbus police confirmed that two of the holes came from a bullet and that a third hole was somewhat questionable, Burton reported.
The driver of the van travels the south outerbelt where the serial shootings have occurred.
"He was on the south outerbelt with this particular vehicle yesterday morning and this morning," said Mike Nelson, vice president of operations for Rite Rug. "We can't say for sure (if the shooting happened Thursday or Friday). We just discovered the holes when the truck came back from that route today."
Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said he was not aware of the alleged shooting incident, but that did not mean other investigators were not checking on the report.
"Every day, reports of shots fired in and around the Columbus area occur with some regularity," Martin said. "As in most larger cities, this is not an unusual occurence. We believe we are hearing about these incidents from the public more now because of the sensitivity to the investigation."
Martin said the reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of a suspect or suspects in the death of Gail Knisley was increased to $30,000.
He said no new ballistic matches to the bullet that killed Knisley were made. The number of matches stands at six. The number of shootings connected to the serial shooter or shooters remains at 15.
Anyone with information in the shootings should call the shooting tip line at (614) 462-4646.
ODOT Employees Find Gun
Two Ohio Department of Transportation employees were placed on administrative leave Friday pending an investigation after they allegedly found a gun Sunday near Interstate 270.
Jimmie Gaines and Chris Chesser allegedly found a Jennings .38-caliber handgun in the grass at the West Broad Street exit off I-270 South, Burton reported. The men allegedly handled and unloaded the weapon Sunday and then placed it in a glove compartment of an ODOT truck. The gun was not reported to the Ohio Highway Patrol until Tuesday.
"This is unacceptable and egregious behavior that defies our policies and common sense," ODOT Director Gordon Proctor said. "Pending the outcome of our investigation, these employees face serious disciplinary consequences, up to and including dismissal."
Martin said he is not sure what role, if any, the handgun will play in the serial shootings investigation.
http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/2700895/detail.html
My money is on a Muslim terrorist connection. These have gone from "random" events to "terror" events and they still continue. Likely, the shooter(s) are, like Muhammad/Malvo, a team.
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