If they use walkie talkies, the one in the vehicle could be giving directions as to what is arriving at the scene and which way the guy should walkout to avoid witnesses. The guy in the vehicle has several choices. If he gets trapped, the sniper just keeps walking. The vehicle is for lookout more than transportaion.
It's really several minutes until people get their senses about them and their concentration is on the victim.....Again the sniper just keeps walking....He might get a glance but he is doing what most are doing...getting away from there.
Sac
I don't think that is the case at all. This pair (if it is a pair) needs mobility, and concealment.
It is too early in the cold season for a person to be moving around with an overcoat to conceal a long gun.
Then again are we even looking for a long gun? It could be a single shot bolt action handgun, in the Thompson Center Contender class.
Consider, rifle cartridge, long range capability, concealable, single shot.
This shooter, is not disciplined, or if a team, the shooter of the last two victims is not that good, or is not comitted.
Next shooting is a kill, they won't wait to get it done, news hour (4:30) ET Tuesday, possibly earlier, probably in a semi-suburban area, High-way close with multiple inter changes near by. Not in Maryland, possibly Penn. or W Virginia. my bet would be Penn.
You can become familiar with a large neighborhood by #1. living there for a few years, #2. working there for a few years, or #3. traveling through the area frequently.
If Sacajaweau qualifies under #1, motexva qualifies under (and is on vacation) #2 and HiTech RedNeck qualifies under (works nights one month, days the next)#3 then consider this.
Sacajaweau retired and moves 20 miles away, meets motexva his new next door neighbor who is friends with HiTech RedNeck. motexva and HiTech RedNeck have been discussing something like this killing plan for a few months when they meet Sacajaweau who owns a .223 and an illegal silencer. He was fed up with his old neighborhood because of _ _ _ _ _ and is wanting revenge. Sacajaweau is the shooter, motexva and HiTech RedNeck are his intelligence agents and target area selectors. Each one of them feels very comfortable with their knowledge of a particular area.
So now we have three different adjoining areas that they feel quite comfortable about and select these areas to do the killings in. As a team they go and perform murderous attacks but none of them live anywhere close to the area, 20 miles not being close.
I don't see how this geographic profiling plan will do a bit of good, but the fact that the police now have a plan should keep the locals from carrying guns and disobeying the laws. I think this is the kind of situation that will be solved when the locals sit down and think, "yes, I should have told the police what I saw even though I don't want to become involved with them."
However, our society has become one where we can have a neighbor live next door for a decade and we are never invited into their home or we never invite them over for a barbecue during the summer. Basically the family or individual next door are strangers to us. We don't know where they work, what religion they are, even what political party they belong to. By all appearances they are good people, we just don't know a darn thing about them, whether they are good, bad, sick minded or terrorists. All we know is what they show us and we don't have reason to investigate any further, do we? It's not like the old days anymore, that's for sure.