Posted on 10/04/2002 3:38:51 PM PDT by RaceBannon
FRIDAY OCTOBER 4 2002
FBI: Maryland shootings fit no category Agency profilers can see no motive other than terrorism
Posted: October 4, 2002 3:10 p.m. Eastern
By Paul Sperry © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON It's not gang-banging. Or spree-shooting. Or armed robbery. And it's not a serial killer.
So what would motivate two assailants to randomly target five victims in a Maryland suburb, and possibly a sixth in D.C., killing each with a single shot from a high-powered rifle?
The calculated shootings, which took place Wednesday and Thursday, are like none that federal investigators have seen.
"If some sicko just wants to go out and essentially assassinate a bunch of random people and he's not a terrorist it's almost like a new category" of crime, said a veteran FBI agent.
The perpetrators aren't spree shooters, FBI profilers have concluded.
Typically, spree shooters are loners who snap one day and fire away until police appear and they come to their own violent end.
They typically seek revenge on an employer, such as the post office, or fellow students at a school. They come to the scene loaded with weapons, and take a stand, spraying victims with bullets.
But in this case, two men in a white van or "box truck" did not spray bullets, but picked targets, trained a rifle, or rifles, on their victims and aimed to kill, like trained assassins.
"In a spree shooting, there are usually a lot of people wounded," said one agent. "The shooter is not really taking time to aim."
"This is much more cold and calculated than the typical spree shooting," he said. "The victims were not wounded."
What's more, the sniper, or snipers, didn't take a stand, but sped off to avoid capture.
"This is different they've taken great steps to avoid being apprehended," he added.
Authorities are said to have a description of the shooters but are not releasing it. They've reviewed video tapes from security cameras at some of the businesses where the shootings took place.
"The idea of terrorism is to spread fear," said one law enforcement officer. "If that's what they wanted to do, they've succeeded, because there's a lot of fear in the Washington area right now."
Related story:
Terror link to Maryland shootings? http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29178
Paul Sperry is Washington bureau chief for WorldNetDaily. © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
What about the wheels/tires? Rear-wheel drive vehicles don't drive too well with a tire blown out, and are more likely to attract identifiable attention.
Further, if the vehicle is a van or box truck as pictured, someone shooting at the tires may do so from a position of relative safety provided he's not directly behind the vehicle.
I agree, he's probably not a psycho. I'm just not sure he's some kind of highly trained hit man either. (That is a possibility though. some group hires a pro to pull it off?). I'm sure that this is deliberately calculated for some purpose. And, unless these are long range shots that require real skill, it wouldn't need a trained marksman to pull it off. We're talking rifle, not pistol, and almost anyone with the right demeanor could do this with a rifle at moderate ranges. This puts it within the capability of almost any extreme group or person, or it could also be some highly organized terror group. There just isn't the information available to speculate accurately yet (if ever). What happens if he/she/they are never caught? That could be even more interesting than if they are.
Happiness, as we say in the trade, is a belt-fed weapon
You are sooooo easy to please!
We needed immigration controll ten years ago. But we're jsut speculating that foreign terrorists are involved at this point. Heck, for all we know, it could be some gov agent off on a binge for some wierd reason.
A sack of shit has substance..
Lon Horuchi was a wasted lay, with the best part running down his momma's thigh. No substance there.
Semper Fi
Maybe I've missed it, but has anyone found out the range of these shots? The contender would have limited range, even with a really good shot, and should have been heard (and located) by quite a few people.
Great sense of humor... LMAO!!!!!
The skin of most of these trucks is of a light weight aluminum. It's light to lessen the weight of the truck so it can carry more weight in cargo. It can be easily penetrated by a rimfire 22, most pistol rounds will go right through both sides (.45 excepted, as the 45 doesn't penetrate well on hard objects)
Maybe one smart enough to take out the one person he wanted to and then make it look like something else entirely with a few calculated random shootings?
Maybe, maybe not if one considers OKC, some of the outside TWA800 possibilities, WTC-93, etc.
Seems to me that the locus of the problem centers around the FBI itself, which I would break down into two components: leadership, and the troops (e.g. special agents, profilers, etc.). The latter (troops) I have seen in and observed in action a few times, and I hope no one is offended if I say (as a just a civilian observer) that the output leaves something to be desired. To a certain extent, that is excuseable because at least they are trying to the best of their ability and training. The leadership (starting with Freeh, etc. and continuing up through at least the end of the Clinton era) however seems to me a different story.
In this particular case it has me wondering if there is something in the FBI procedures book that goes like follow Occam's Razor. The most handy folks to hang a given random terrorist act on in the U.S. has been the typical militia type, since (I guess) at least Ruby Ridge (circa 1992; note: pre-Clinton). Whether through sheer laziness, lack of training material upgrade or some valid reason, that still seems to be the case today. There probably are more militia types with the appropriate firepower than anyone else out there, so the numbers alone, all other factors being equal, would seem to favor the militia nut or militia cell scenario. I don't buy it but this is just the numbers.
A possible contributing factor: if one steps through the various online applications for various low level fed. gov. positions, including FBI, one eventually comes to a form which IIRC requires inputting one's race and gender as a prerequisite to submitting the app. What is this info used for if not to screen for (or alternatively, somehow, "against") "racial and gender diversity"? The implication (to me) is that race, gender, and potentially other irrelevant factors such as sexual orientation seem very much used as part of the federal hiring screening and selection process. This if correct would leave open the possibility that the goal of "diversity" is rampant throughout the organization, including downplaying racial profiling of potential suspects. In turn, that if true could lead to omitting or de-emphasizing certain race-oriented clues via institutional bias...
Again, GIGO and/or Peter Principle in action.
The timing is right and the motive is similar to what the Palestinians do...kill innocents in retaliation for a hit or capture of their people.
It may be the particular forte of the Oregon cell.
Now, I'm guessing...but every cell has a second (or next) cell attached.
The capture or activation of one activates the second....
The parachute scenario in Carolina might have been activated by the capture of the Buffalo cell.
One of the Oregon guys was a USA soldier w/ administrative discharge.
Some of the guys in Buffalo trained at the camps in Afghanistan.
Lot of questions, lot of dots...somehow, they're connected.
Everything always occurs in eastern time zone during daylight savings time in broad daylight AND IMMEDIATELY makes NATIONAL NEWS.
Highway 1-95 is also in play again as it was when Atta was running up and down the coast.
But don't forget the BIG picture...these terrorists operate like dominoes...These hits may be a diversion similar to Anthrax...not a lot of deaths but chaos and fear. (Don't forget the UN shooting this week in NY also). Despite the propaganda he tossed about (which I believe was just a farce), the guy was a postal worker .
Sac
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.