Posted on 10/08/2002 3:36:37 AM PDT by 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.
I agree that finding brass would make it more likely that it is a semiauto weapon we are dealing with. However, who is to say he didn't get sloppy with this one shot or that he is playing games and leaving false clues with the cops. I think the fact that he took his shot at a school indicates that he might be playing a game. It sounds like the authorities went to great lengths to assure everyone that schools are safe. He then comes along with an in your face act.
True hunting animals or people is never the same thing. I still remember the first time I got buck fever. He did miss his first shot at Michael's, maybe it was buck fever and not the glass that deflected it. I have been including my comment about the choice a .223 weapon indicating his inexperience for two reasons. If the man was truly a gun nut he would likely have read many of the gun mags. Try to find me a gun mag that talks of .224 sized bullets as anything other than a varmit round. An inexperienced person who was only exposed to what they see on tv would be more likely to think of the .224 sized weapon as a man killer. Also, if I was trying to train someone to shoot moderately well in a very short period of time I would be very likely to pick a .223 remington caliber rifle as the wepaon to train them on due to it's low felt recoil.
SLB: I think it is likely he will shoot again before the end of the work week. He may displace some. Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond are all within easy commuting distance. If the killer displaces far enough that it requires an overnight stay to get back to DC I would say we are looking at the work of terrorists.
Even a day or two would put people off guard and well conform to the Al Qaeda model.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
FReegards
Linked from WMAL.com
Specially trained dogs found a .223-caliber shell casing in a wooded area about 140 yards from the Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, Md., where a 13-year-old boy was critically wounded Monday in the most recent shooting, The Washington Post reported today.
Is it a game for single shot kills?
I'm guessing NY. The following is an excerpt from Jihad training manual (the advanced class)
"1. Follow the armed person, and kill him quietly.
"2. To be able to patrol closely.
"3. To penetrate at enemy positions with expertise."
Another Harkat class, this one 65 days long, involved instruction in such matters as "hit teams" and "hijacking of air, bus, ship." For yet another, the fourth item on the syllabus was "Movie, `Great Escape.' "
Among the students at one elite 10-day program was a Qaeda recruit named Atta al-Azdi. On his first day, a Sunday, he learned "shooting the personality and his guard from a motorcycle," his class schedule shows. On Monday, he moved along to "shooting at two targets in a car from above, front and back."
The training, which included strict limits on the range and number of bullets he could use, wound up with lessons in "killing personality using R.P.G.," a rocket-propelled grenade, and "killing personality and guards from car."
Well Iconoclast... from my experience iconoclasts are usually old fuddy duddies > 60 years or 750 moons without any imagination.
Is it so hard for you to imagine that two drinking/shooting buddies might have been in LE together. Maybe one joined in order to get on the SWAT team. 10-20% wash-out or leave one reason or another.
Now, do you need to extrapolate to argue your point or had you not thought about it more than you knee-jeck response?
This would give a much greater muzzle velocity, accuracy and range.
The found .223 cartridge could be a red herring
Remember the scene in the "Jerk" with Steve Martin clamoring to get away from "cans" when the sniper was firing at him...similar scenario...the key is to avoid park like areas.
He has NOT yet started firing at moving vehicles...but may do so in the future...
Since they aren't releasing this information, I will predict that the killer is coming from Northern Virginia, through I-95, and tooling through Maryland looking for his victims. The killer is probably a white male, in his late 20's-30's.
Good point!
Do you have access to the software or is it a hunch?
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