MD shooting update: Shell found in VA is a .223 caliber, shooting in DC now linked too

CNN

[newsperson999]

A shell was found near that shooting this afternoon in VA that was found to be a 223 cal fired from a high powered rifle..also test confirm that the man that died in DC last night also died from the same type of ammo..

[Catspaw]

The last report I heard about the Virginia victim is that she's in stable condition. She may be one of the lucky ones.

But I think about the victims doing the most mundane things of life--getting gas, going to a mall, mowing a lawn, vacuuming out a car, standing on a street corner, sitting outside of a post office--and gunned down without warning, murdered by some maniac who's getting his thrills terrifying communities, and I think of their families, in shock, grief and pain...It's incomprehensible. I hope they find him soon so no more families have to suffer.

[philetus]

I'm kind of partial to a 22-250.
You load a Hornady 50 grain boattail with IMR 4350 1grain over max and you get 5000fps muzzle velocity.
The crows would literly explode.

[AnAmericanMother]

I think he's probably using a bolt action, because they haven't found any brass before, and because somebody using a semi-auto would probably have pulled off an extra round at some point in this whole thing. And semi-autos spit brass a considerable distance and in unpredictable directions . . . there's no way this b!@#$!#$ has had the time to police for brass.

Probably he just forgot and cycled the bolt (which becomes pretty much a reflex after awhile) and didn't even notice the brass flew out the truck window. Hopefully they'll be able to catch him from that. It's not just the firing pin imprint. . . they should also be able to trace the ammunition by the "turnings" on the sides of the brass, from manufacture through point of sale. That was the key evidence in the re-investigation of the Sacco & Vanzetti case, BTW.

[MichiganConservative]

Watch the Democrats try and make this a campaign issue.

In Jamaica, the political candidates for prime minister (I believe), or the parties, used to hire street gangs and give them weapons to cause trouble or just have an all-out war with the opponent's political-party-subsidized street gang. I'm not sure if they still do that. But it's an interesting thing to think about.

[Robert_Paulson2]

It looks like the .223 is NOT high caliber, but it IS high velocity.

correctomundo...

[dts32041]

I resemble that.

That is why I want to buy my very own bushmaster.

[supercat]

What are the odds that the casing that was found is from a rifle that was used in some/all of the shootings? The shooter obviously is planning on one-shot=one-kill, and thus would have no need for a semi-auto (esp. since a bolt rifle would tend to be more accurate). The idea that a shooter with this level of planning would accidentally leave behind a couple of cartridge casings is absurd. Obviously the shooter wanted to leave behind casings. Given that to be the case, why should one believe the shooter left casings from the murder weapon instead of some other firearm?

[AnAmericanMother]

Clearly this guy is a whack job, and one with ice water in his veins too. I don't see how anybody could get up the next morning and keep at this without getting the yips. Of course, the fact that he forgot his brass indicates perhaps some nerves dawning on him here.

But if he's an Islamicist we'll never hear about it. (Of course, if he turns out to be some deranged home-grown hunter the loony left will be rounding us all up . . . )

[bonesmccoy]

Interesting observation. CNN Connie Chung tonight has a female reporter stating, the assailant is using a "high-caliber assault rifle or hunting rifle"....

Holding up a round, the reporter states, "it's a high caliber weapon"

[suijuris]

Yeah baby, a Daewoo! One of the best .223s out there. Extremely reliable and accurate. Liked em so much, got two. Compared to Daewoos, ARs are crap.

[dcwusmc]

HURL... barfing is sure not enough for this MIS-reporting and obvious barbra streisand... Except for the .17s, a .223/5.56 is the SMALLEST caliber you can get in centerfire. A .22 magnum might do the job from close enough, but reading through this transcript made my already-abused stomach want to hurl my dinner across the room... I mean PROJECTILE vomiting. SOmebody needs to take these airheads to a range and show them the difference. Which might also change some stances on victim disarmament... it's been known to happen!

[Mariner]

"locate a truck the size pictured"

I bet it's rented and they'll find it abandoned on a back road somewhere. Or they'll find it's been stolen.

The MOST interesting aspect of this story is 2 suspects, not one.

Surely this is the only way to pull this off unseen in a suburban area........shooting from the back of a truck. Nobody sees a perp running from the woods to a car with a rifle......or carrying a rifle from the car to the vantage.

These actions are those of paramilitary agents or people driven by an ideology, but certainly not that of "some nut".

[bonesmccoy]

OK...so that being the case, I hope that the woman shot this afternoon will make it. If she was shot in the lower back, it is possible (hopefully the assailant didn't shoot through her spinal cord or abdominal aorta) that if she got to a hospital within 30 minutes, and they could infuse LR/NS/or plasma fast enough and she's lucky...then she might live. I sure hope so...

[AnAmericanMother]

I think it's fair comment that the reporter "doesn't know the nice end from the naughty end," as they say. It isn't an assault rifle (unless the perp has a Class III license, which I doubt), and it isn't really a hunting rifle either, because .223 isn't a good caliber for anything larger than varmints . . . marginal on deer and I think it may be a prohibited caliber for that use. Probably it's a "varmint rifle" but the reporter will fly to Jupiter before she understands that.

[Lion Den Dan]

. when do we get a description of the suspects?****

You don't. They are black and as a result, any description would be politically incorrect. We will have to find a white and an oriental to suspect and then line them up with a Mexican and an Arab.

[arkady_renko]

"What are the odds that the casing that was found..."

I've not seen clear evidence that they actually have a casing, have you?

The reporters don't know the difference between a "shell" and a bullet. Sort of like the cartoons that show an entire cartridge flying through the air at a target.

AR

[AnAmericanMother]

Amen, brother! Preach it! :-D

I get so frustrated with these reporters! Didn't somebody ever tell them about RESEARCHING a story before they make fools of themselves on the air?

[wcbtinman]

"I hope these guys don't come to California. It's illegal to buy body armor."

If this guy show up, body armor won't make much difference. .223 zips right through most armor, and the guy will just go for head shots, or a larger, also common caliber. Like .308