Posted on 10/03/2002 11:45:15 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
Though al-Qaida training videotapes and manuals captured in Afghanistan specifically show the planning of attacks on Americans in drive-by shootings, experts who have analyzed those materials are cautious about concluding the murder spree outside of Washington yesterday is connected in any way to terrorism.
The videotapes and training manuals, which show Osama lin Laden's terrorists have prepared to kill Americans with small-arms fire from trucks and vans, were first revealed in a WorldNetDaily report last month.
But John Holschen of Insights Training Center, who produced a report on the tape for military and law enforcement officials, said the rash of shootings in a small area of suburban Washington in a short period of time is unusual but not altogether unique.
"It's not inconceivable that this will turn out to be a terrorist attack," he said. However, he cautioned against jumping to any conclusions without more information.
The training video captured in Afghanistan shows al-Qaida operatives practicing the following kinds of assaults:
Skip Gouchenour, a licensed detective in Pennsylvania who has analyzed the videotape and other training materials and made a presentation on them for the Pennsylvania Detectives Association, agreed that the Maryland shooting and murder spree is very unusual.
"I'm not dismissing the possibility of a terrorist connection," he said. "It's strange, indeed."
Gouchenour specializes in investigating murder cases for district attorneys, defense attorneys, police agencies and private citizens. He says he has run across similar murder sprees in his career, but finds some of the details of this case unusual.
Police across the Washington area are searching for what they describe as "a skilled shooter" who killed five people in a random death spree beginning Wednesday night and continuing yesterday morning in Montgomery County, Md.
The shootings took place at two shopping centers, two gas stations and on the lawn outside an auto dealership along Rockville Pike. The victims were ordinary people doing ordinary things on a seemingly ordinary day.
As a result of the attacks, children were kept indoors at schools in the county.
"We do have someone that so far has been very accurate in what they are attempting to do, and so we probably have a skilled shooter," said Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose yesterday. Police said they are looking for a small, slightly damaged white truck that may have black lettering on the side. Witnesses to the shootings said they saw a truck matching that description leaving some of the crime scenes.
Montgomery County police spokesman Derek Baliles said police suspect the shooter was armed with a rifle.
About 40 minutes before the first killing, a shot was fired through a window of a Michael's craft store in the 3800 block of Aspen Hill Road. No one was hurt, but Montgomery County police said they believe the incident may have been related to what followed.
The first fatal shooting occurred Wednesday night at 6 o'clock, when James Martin, 55, of Silver Spring was killed in the parking lot of a Shoppers Food Warehouse at Randolph Road and Georgia Avenue in Wheaton. By yesterday morning, the stores in the area were open for business as usual. A security tape from a camera that monitors the lot had been turned over to police.
Then about 7:40 a.m., James Buchanan was pushing a lawn mower over a narrow strip of grass in front of the Fitzgerald Auto Mall on Rockville Pike when he was shot.
The next victim was Premkumar A. Walekar, a part-time cab driver. It was about 8:10 a.m., at a Mobil gas station on Aspen Hill Road at Connecticut Avenue in Aspen Hill, when the killer struck and Walekar died pumping gas.
About 8:30 a.m., Sarah Ramos, 34, was sitting on a bench at the shopping center near the Leisure World retirement community off Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring when the killer next took aim and fired.
It was just before 10 a.m. at a Shell gas station in Kensington and Lori Lewis-Rivera, 25, was vacuuming her minivan. The station, at the corner of Knowles and Connecticut avenues in the heart of Kensington, is visible from all directions. But again the killer struck as if coming from nowhere.
Throughout the day the manhunt intensified, but as night fell there had been no arrests. Though authorities have downplayed the possibility of terrorism, the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Secret Service have all been involved in the investigation.
Speaking of the first attack at Michael's store I was wondering if the reason the sniper missed the intended target was because of the light refraction the glass pane? I'm not an expert in these matters but IF there is a refraction quality to glass causing the sniper to miss, it could indicate that while the perp is a good shot he may not be as experienced as some people suggest. IOWs, this sicko is not a trained sniper with military training.
In any event, the sniper never again tried shooting people through glass windows, which suggests that the perp suspected that the glass pane, for whatever reason, was why he missed. Which again points to a degree of inexperience notwithstanding all the subsequent open field accurate shots.
Bunches of US Senators and congressmen are first hand witnesses to the massacre, and the law they pass 2 days later is predictable.
Most every State does not allow them at all unless for military of LEO. I say most states because I am not aware of any state that does allow a civilian to have one in their possesion. Is there a state that allows civilian use?
The BATF is involved with federal law which allows silencers and automatic weapons with the licence and tax as well until the Brady law placed further restriction.
Where can you own and use a silencer for civilian purposes without legal trouble?
Less to do with the light and more to do with the bullet punching through the glass--heavy enough glass (large windows, for example) will tend to deflect thje bullet slightly.
It's even more appalling when the anti-gun BS comes from TV females, because they know damn well that the streets are hardly safe for women anymore, and yet, in their feeble minds they think they can just call 911 and some one will be there to save them.
Do you think killers care about gun or suppressor laws?
Unless he's trying to write "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!" on the map :o)
Thanks,I couldn't have said it better. My first thoughts on this tragedy was it had to be someone of superior marksmanship with some sort of high powered rifle. A hand gun couldn't to this unless close range. And I'm not a fire arms expert. I agree not to jump to conclusions, but we are at war, this is a modus operandi of the terrorists - to create incidents of terror. Is it too much of a jump to connect some dots? Ummm.
Red
Most store front windows are "thermo-panes"...two layers of glass with an air space inbetween.
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