Maryland Sniper Shootings Update Thread

CNN, Fox, Local Radio and Television | October 8, 2002 | CNN, Fox, Breaking News

[Peach]

It's 6:30 a.m. EST and we're waiting to go to the second press conference providing media and local updates on the Maryland sniper shootings. To date, the 13 year old boy has survived the evening and seems to be improving. Fox News mentioned that his aunt is a nurse. The police briefing at 6:15 a.m. mentioned Todd Beamer's Let's Roll comment and police are urging people to use caution, good judgment, but remain strong and try to continue with everyday life as much as possible.

Police had a search warrant last night (didn't say for who or where) related to the sniper shootings, but the search did not provide any information to LEO.

[GirlNextDoor]

Oops...

No problem, I got them both. :-)

I think FR is good at reminding us all of the larger picture.

[OReilly]

Yes, I did...that was in reference to a shooting on Sept 14, I think in front of a liquor store, can't recall exactly where.. He was playing dumb....

Thanks... The Sept 14th shooting was in front of a liquor store. An employee was standing around outside (probably grabbing a smoke) and was shot. That happened in PG county.

[GirlNextDoor]

LOL, the roads around Mongomery/PG Counties are permanently blocked most of the time anyway

*L*

Really? (Not familiar with the area personally.)
That would make it even easier...

[areafiftyone]

Fox news reported after the press conference that they found some shell casings (hopefully that will help) and that apparently the sniper was lying in wait on the grass to shoot. This is the first time he got out of his car. He is going to make a mistake soon but let me tell you he will not let the police catch him alive.

[GirlNextDoor]

Re white box trucks.
There are so many of them, that it is like searching through a haystack for a specific piece of hay.

Right! I never noticed them before but while out and about the past few days suddenly there everywhere!

[chriservative]

Your theory is ridiculous. Two teens could not pull this off, from strictly an evasion standpoint. And BTW, video games don't influence people to kill people, nor does heavy metal music, MTV, or anything else. The way that they were raised, their lack of morality, and their chemical make-up determine this.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Middle Easterners hate Jews like Lieberman and Diane Feinstein.

Certain Middle Easterners hate AMERICANS and Jews, amongst others infidels and in some cases even those of their own ethnicity that they perceive as not being 'devout' enough.

[antivenom]

Go to any gun range...pick up handfuls and handfuls of "others" spent shells...leave one behind for the convenience to "mislead" the authorities...and always, always, always, LOAD your own shells with gloves...keep your prints OFF of the round.

[harpseal]

The problem with any so called database of firearm fingerprints is that it will not work for its intended purpose. If the firarmn is repeated shot the wear alone will change the fingerprint from what left the factory and the result is a database that will exhonorate the guilty and waste police resources. The net result is a national gun registry which has no law enforcement value.

I for one would oppose such a registry as it will do nothing to stop crime and will do something to infringe on the right of people to keep and bear arms.

[Elenya]

No adjustments were made to the scope between shooters and it worked just fine for all of us.

Then it doesn't give us any clues as to the number of rifles used by the 2 (IMO) teens/young adults.

[VRWCTexan]

It's a sad situation to have this happen at all, - but like you, I believe it will prove to be a middle-eastern connection - hopefully someone directly tied to Iraq's Saddam secret hit squads.

[Dante3]

It was mentioned that Moose was appointed by Verna Katz.

[blau993]

I can assure you they are still looking for the white box-style truck. As I drove in from Annapolis to DC this morning (on Route 50, which passes through Bowie, where the teenager was shot yesterday) I saw one that had been pulled over by a police officer. No indication that it was anything out of the ordinary. My guess is that any truck of this type gets pulled over on sight. Not a good time to be driving this particular type of truck.

[OReilly]

How inpracticable would it be for an armed citizens/authorites combo to be prepared to block roads within a reasonable circumference of the next shooting? Allowing no exit or enterance while the search is conducted.

I'm sure this type of tactic is already in the Montgomery county Police playbook, and has been briefed by the Sergeant's at rolecall. The thing that I am beginning to theorize is, does this guy have a mole (maybe unwitting) in the police force. He seems to be at least a step ahead of them at every turn and was really in their face at the Glenmont Station.

[twigs]

No Olympics training here! Nor any tin-foil either. However, I do believe that anyone who has written a doctoral thesis on a program that intervenes and substitutes for parents has very different ideas about the role of government vs. the role of parenting than I do. And personally, I am not all that comfortable with the fact that the police chief of a major suburban area has that kind of background.

That said, I've read here that a lot of people have more confidence in Chief Moose than I would have thought from Saturday morning's press conference, the one that I saw.

[Peach]

Good point re the license plates. The feds should set up a specific tip line for those whose plates have been stolen in the area; otherwise they are weeding through thousands of tip line calls.

[Peach]

Re not catching him alive - that's okay with me, as long as he isn't a Muslim extremist type terrorist. If he's an Islamanizi, I want him alive for torture for info.

[Dead Dog]

They just lack the numbers necessary to moniter every possible target, however they could utilize the 230 million of us that are the targets.

[Elenya]

The way that they were raised, their lack of morality, and their chemical make-up determine this.

I totally agree: if they are raised properly, I can't imagine kids having fun shooting at very realistic virtual people with very realistic bloody wounds...

[5by5]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

We can help catch this guy. He only fires one shot. So if you happen to hear a shot and you're still standing, someone else was fired upon and you're likely to be safe. Observe the scene around you. Try to absorb everything you can, particularily vehicles leaving the scene. If you have a video camera, carry it with you and video the scene.

There's far more people than snipers. So far that's been the sniper's advantage. But we can turn it into a liability.

When a shot is fired, and someone is hurt or killed, the first instinct is to focus on the victim. The sniper knows that and uses the confusion to flee. If you turn your attention to the scene, we'll get info on the sniper and catch him. Potentially, many more lives will be saved that way.

If you find yourself in the vincinity of a shot--keep your head and use it.