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This Killer Doesn't Fit the Expected Profile
NY Times ^ | 10-08-02 | FOX BUTTERFIELD

Posted on 10/08/2002 5:32:09 AM PDT by Pharmboy

Experts in mass murder and the profiling of killers say the sniper who has killed six people in the Washington metropolitan area does not fit the usual categories, and that may make the case much harder to solve.

Most mass murderers, for example kill to settle a grudge or avenge a perceived wrong, targeting victims who are relatives, colleagues or members of an ethnic group they hate, the experts said.

The majority of gunmen committing multiple murders in recent years also used semiautomatic weapons, fired several times, and ended up either killing themselves or remaining at the scene to be captured.

But the sniper in the Washington area has picked his victims seemingly at random, firing a single round from a considerable distance and escaping while leaving behind no obvious clues. He has used a hunting or military-style rifle, leaving no shell casings for the police to investigate as evidence until one was found today.

The profilers know that this killer is cool and cautious. They do not know much more than that.

"Since there is no evidence of a motive, or evidence that this person is trying to get even with society, what is left is killing for sport," said James Alan Fox, the Lipman family professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University, who has written several books on mass murderers.

The sniper's use of a single shot also suggests less anger than mass killers normally have, Professor Fox said. "If he was expressing his anger or frustration, he would continue to fire, creating a blood bath. But this guy is coolly and calmly finding victims, taking a very accurate shot, and then escaping."

"I think he is hunting or target shooting with humans," Professor Fox said.

Raymond Pierce, a retired New York City police detective and criminal profiler, said he could think of only one similar case. In 1994, a lone gunman set up a hunting rifle equipped with a sniper scope on a tripod outside a diner, a gas station and a Burger King restaurant in small towns in Suffolk County, N.Y., firing a single bullet each time at individuals inside.

One man was killed, a woman was badly injured and a third intended target escaped harm when bulletproof glass deflected the bullet.

The shooter turned out to be a gun enthusiast, who targeted his victims "for the thrill of it," said Lieutenant Jack Fitzpatrick of the Suffolk County police homicide department. The gunman, Peter Sylvester, was eventually tracked down, convicted and is now serving a life prison sentence, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick said.

Mr. Sylvester also carried out his shootings by firing only one round each time, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick said. He carefully placed a blanket beneath his rifle, and left no shell casings at the scene.

As with the Washington-area shootings of the past week, the Suffolk County shootings in 1994 created great public unease. More than 100 Suffolk County police and detectives were assigned to hunt for the sniper. The case was solved when the police received information that a Remington .35 caliber rifle had been stolen from a gun store in a burglary and that the weapon was sold to Mr. Sylvester.

A bullet recovered from the body of a man killed in the diner matched the markings of a bullet fired from the Remington, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick said.

Professor Fox said that it was unusual that the shootings were continuing. Mass killers usually end up dead or captured at the scene of their shooting, he said, or if they are not seriously emotionally disturbed and able to plan carefully, will stop their killings when the number of police in the area increases.

"But this guy may be getting an added thrill out of continuing to outwit the police even while they are looking for him," Professor Fox said, noting that there was another victim today, a 13-year-old boy shot outside a middle school in Bowie, Md.

A number of studies of mass killers have found that they usually give warning signs to friends, relatives or co-workers, talking about their grievances and threatening to take some violent act of vengeance. These studies have shown that mass killers, contrary to popular belief, do not just snap. Unfortunately, these warning signs are usually ignored until too late.

One of the most widely publicized rampage killing involved Colin Ferguson, a black man frustrated by his failed life who blamed white racism for his troubles. In December 1993, he killed 6 people and wounded 19 on the Long Island Rail Road before being subdued by other passengers.

The bloodiest rampage killing took place at a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Tex., in October 1991. George Hennard, a delusional man who had told an F.B.I. agent that a secret national conspiracy of white women was plotting against him, crashed his pickup truck into the restaurant and opened fire. He killed 22 people and wounded 23 more before killing himself.

The difficulty of tracking the Washington sniper reminded Joseph Borrelli, a retired New York City chief of detectives, of a year-long wave of killings by David Berkowitz, known as Son of Sam, who shot and killed six people and wounded seven others in 1977 as they sat in their cars.

"The complete absence of a motive is very similar to Berkowitz," Mr. Borrelli said.

"We never did establish a motive," Mr. Borrelli said. "When we caught him, he claimed it was the devil talking to him through the dog; that was his story."

Mr. Pierce, the retired profiler, said the Washington sniper seemed different from the angry, emotionally unstable type of killer. "He is a very calculating person, preoccupied with escape," Mr. Pierce said. "He is not out of touch with reality."

"He may have an antisocial personality disorder, and thrive on power and control," Mr. Pierce said. "But he is not psychotic."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; US: Maryland
KEYWORDS: beltwaysniper; profiling
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
Kim....see post this is referencing....#35, I think.
101 posted on 10/08/2002 7:47:17 AM PDT by GummyIII
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To: IGOTMINE
I remember that incident. The sniper caught the soldiers in a well-planned ambush.

I believe there was a decoy shooter on the opposite side to flush out those taking cover.

102 posted on 10/08/2002 7:48:04 AM PDT by Chapita
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To: Aquinasfan
In the military, there's nothing more unnerving than having one of your buddies fall dead and then hearing the report of the shot a few seconds later. A single shot gives very little chance to get a fix on the sniper's location, meaning there's no way to hunt him down.

Translated to a civilian setting, you have someone who is coldly efficient at murdering innocents from a distance. This person strikes randomly, killing with a single shot before ghosting away. That makes everyone look over the shoulder, question every hint of activity around them (even in what was once "safe" surroundings), and strikes fear of having the proverbial "bus" (from the old saying - no one is indispensable; anyone could step in front of a bus tomorrow) come looking for them.

I can agree to disagree with you on this point, and as a matter of fact I hope I'm wrong, but I tend to think this is terrorist related.
103 posted on 10/08/2002 7:49:23 AM PDT by MortMan
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To: Pharmboy
Or, he or they may be middle eastern Iraqui trained bin laden financed terrorists!
104 posted on 10/08/2002 7:49:38 AM PDT by wingnuts'nbolts
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To: Pete
5. The wounded:

It is my understanding that body shots kill from shock, and that is dependent on the energy of the bullet. A .223 derives its energy from velocity. A three hundred yard shot would be far less likely to kill than a one hundred yard shot.

So is the perp getting more cautious and taking longer shots?

105 posted on 10/08/2002 7:49:53 AM PDT by js1138
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To: Pharmboy
I woke up this morning thinking about this.

I believe it to be the work of two people, probably terrorists.

They are operating out of a panel truck with a sliding rear door.

Once in position, the door is raised only a few inches, just enough for a good sight picture. The shooter is in a very stable, prone position.

He fires his one shot, at the sound of the shot, his accomplice pulls away from the curb. They are half a block away by the time the victim realizes they are shot.

If they leave the motor running, anyone hearing the shot might think it just a backfire or engine sputter.

The nearly closed door traps most of the sound inside the box of the truck.

He is probably using a semi-automatic instead of a bolt action. That would explain the one casing getting away from him. It rolled out the door as they left the scene. A bolt action would have retained the casing. They may have some kind of suppressor on the rifle.

With this MO of waiting for targets of opportunity and firing only one shot, they can play this game forever.
106 posted on 10/08/2002 7:51:18 AM PDT by TC Rider
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To: joesnuffy
No offense meant Joe...

While I agree 100% That the coward gunning down innocent people would be better defined as an assasin. I don't understand the outrage at the term "sniper".

The dictionary defines it as:

snip·er

1.A skilled military shooter detailed to spot and pick off enemy soldiers from a concealed place.
2.One who shoots at other people from a concealed place.

Maybe the shooter is a former military sniper, or a wacko who fantasizes he is one. Either way, sniper describes the action not an official title.

I hope this kook gets caught before anymore lives are lost. I also hope that this assasin gets exactly what he's dishing out.
107 posted on 10/08/2002 7:51:32 AM PDT by NewsFlash
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To: Tis The Time''s Plague
I agree bigtime with you.
108 posted on 10/08/2002 7:51:41 AM PDT by oceanperch
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To: js1138
So is the perp getting more cautious and taking longer shots?

That was my thought. It would make sense that a shooter would aim for the body rather than the head as the distance increased.

109 posted on 10/08/2002 7:54:08 AM PDT by Pete
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
FYI..#94.
110 posted on 10/08/2002 7:55:19 AM PDT by GummyIII
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To: Oberon
***********"The casing could easily be a plant."*******************

Ha! Right!

That's an old trick. Pick up a few casings from a rifle range and plant them at a scene to throw off the scientists and investigators. Kinda screw with their heads!

111 posted on 10/08/2002 7:59:54 AM PDT by Chapita
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To: 2banana; dd5339
The case was solved when the police received information that a Remington .35 caliber rifle had been stolen from a gun store in a burglary and that the weapon was sold to Mr. Sylvester.

Can someone explain to me how a gun that was stolen in a burglary from a gun store was then sold on-paper to Mr Sylvester?

I can see how the cops could've matched ballistics once the rifle was recovered, but not before (at least in 1994)since I don't think NY was tracking the ballistic record of longarms sold in the state back then.

112 posted on 10/08/2002 8:07:22 AM PDT by Vic3O3
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To: Vic3O3
****************"Can someone explain to me how a gun that was stolen in a burglary from a gun store was then sold on-paper to Mr Sylvester?"*******************************

Probably the burglar was caught and told who he sold the rifle to!

113 posted on 10/08/2002 8:09:54 AM PDT by Chapita
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To: Damocles
Why are they afraid to mention that possibility??

Because then that would give the terrorists what they want. Further terrorizing the people will not help matters. Most sane people know that there is a good possiblility that the shooter or shooters are muslim terrorists.

114 posted on 10/08/2002 8:14:07 AM PDT by Snowy
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To: Chapita; dd5339
That's a reasonable scenario...but if so, I wonder why the cops didn't visit Mr Sylvester and repo the gun as evidence in the burglary?
115 posted on 10/08/2002 8:16:29 AM PDT by Vic3O3
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To: myrabach; Pharmboy
I originally thought perhaps a terrorist, simply because it fits the threats. And I assumed that we would never really know if it turns out to be a terrorist. However, it seems to me to be too localized for a terrorist. More effective would be for this to be happening in other areas.

Here's the reason why I don't think that.

This could very likely be just one terrorist cell doing this on its own.

Remember how the US cells were reported to be no longer in contact with ObL after he died/went under cover and were to go ahead anyway with their plans without his permission?

This could be the mission of just one cell, planned and executed by them.

116 posted on 10/08/2002 8:18:06 AM PDT by texasbluebell
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To: Pharmboy
I think they are "testing the water". They are creating these scenarios, watching the reaction and the procedures taken. They are watching response time, community reaction, investigators, the public responses to different victims, etc.

Maybe I'm paranoid. I hope I am.

Becki

117 posted on 10/08/2002 8:21:39 AM PDT by Becki
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To: Becki
Or, this could be the action of a "leaderless cell." It will be interesting to see if a similar MO happens in other cities, NY, LA, etc.
118 posted on 10/08/2002 8:24:18 AM PDT by Pharmboy
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To: Pete
Very well thought out and detailed.

I've been thinking much the same since this started. If I had to guess, I'd say this is a probing attack to see what the response is.

1. How do the local authorities react?
2. How do the state/federal authorities react?
3. How does the media react?

It's going to be interesting to see what finally happens with this.

Semper Fi
119 posted on 10/08/2002 8:26:54 AM PDT by dd5339
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To: Pharmboy
He fit's one profile guite nicely--terrorist.
120 posted on 10/08/2002 8:27:31 AM PDT by 5by5
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