Posted on 10/07/2002 5:42:23 AM PDT by DCBryan1
13 year old boy shot infront of school. Police scanners on!
A weapon specifically intended for this mission could be quite compact. Judging by the quality of the work, I would say that it is a good bet that the perps ARE using a platform optimized for their intended use. I certainly wouldn't expect the weapon to be longer than 30", and 24" is probably closer to the truth. If they had a bottomless budget and access to really nifty toys, they could do this in 18" or so, but I doubt it in this case. There are too many variables and not enough information to say for certain. I'm guessing that a compact AR-15 is fairly probable, and those can be made to be quite small and inconspicuous with ease.
Howard County Death Probably Not Related to Sniper Shootings
(Highland, Maryland) -- Police say this morning that a body found Saturday night in Howard County probably is not connected to a string of sniper shootings. Howard County Police Officer Denise Walk says the 26-year-old D.C. man died from a gunshot, probably on Friday.
But she declined to give further specifics on his death, citing an ongoing investigation.
Walk says officers from Howard and Montgomery counties and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agreed that the death does not appear to match the Montgomery County shootings.
A fisherman found the man in a heavily wooded area near the Patuxent River and the Montgomery County line.
AND
Man Shot in Southeast
(Washington) -- D.C. police are investigating a shooting in Southeast.
Police say a man was shot in the head after 12 p.m. on the 1200 block of Stevens Road.
The wounded man was taken to a local hospital.
Police say they could not say for now whether it is related to the sniper attacks in the Washington area.
Sac
Despite the gravity of this thread...I just HAD to chuckle at that one.
Think Ted Kaczinski. Being a nutjob does not rule out an ability to construct a rational plan.
You have some good points, especially this one. There's been much talk from TV "experts" about the shooter having to know traffic patterns to get around so quickly during the Montgomery county shootings on Thursday. Someone who's worked as a cab driver, or a delivery or service company person is capable of figuring out shortcuts and "best routes" in a given area quickly. The concentration in Montgomery County may have simply presented the best opportunity, or simply an area familiar to the killer, but not necessarily his residence.
Looking for someone who's been absent from work at the times of the shootings is also a bit simplistic, given the killer's obvious diabolical cleverness.
Boy howdy, you got that right. The cartridge they have showed and identified as a .223 appears to be a .308. One "expert" this morning concluded we should be looking for a moose hunter. I wouldn't hunt moose with anything smaller than a .300. I also agree with your BAR assessment since not one casing has been found.
I wonder if he had Chief Moose's name on his mind.
I disagree. All of this assumes a set plan, when it really only requires a desire to inflict harm without being noticed. If you can take the shot and then join normal traffic, odds are you're going to get away.
If a guy wants to hit a school, he could pick a school from the phone book and head on over. (Or, he could simply see the school from the road, and decide to hit it on the spur of the moment.) Pick a time where school traffic isn't heavy (as with today), case the joint for 15 minutes to find a decent spot, take the shot, and then make the quick right turn into traffic.
It'd be simple.
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