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To: Pete
Just some thought on how your questions might apply to non-terrorist leads.

The school - Taunt the police, more fear in the public both appeal to a lot of serial killer, the ego driven ones. Also, a serial killer usually needs to "up the ante" to keep feeling the same rush. That can be: more frequent attacks, more heinous/shocking attacts, more high risk attacks. The choice of a child/school target fits this. In this case I would expect the next attacks to continue to be more provocative - kids, outside a church, traffic cop. Or he will get the thrill by communicating with someone. I just have a feeling that if this is a serial killer, we are going to start seing letters.

No shots on weekend- A serial killer may have a family to be with on the weekend, may have a job that takes him out of town on the weekend. However, that indicates a level of social contact that makes you wonder what people that know him thought he was doing on those weekdays. If he was supposed to be at work, would he be noticed to be gone? He could live outside of the area, and has a low level blue collar job or business that gives him a reason to go into DC. He could be telling his wife he has to be in the DC area during the week for some painting or contracting job he is working on.
If this is the case, eventually friends or family will start to put two and two together.

One or two shooters – Although most serial killers do work alone, I think there are enough example of partners that this cannot be used to discount the possibility of serial killers.

Single shot- Although your analysis may be right, let me suggest one other possibility. The shooter may still be “learning the ropes”. Right now they may not feel confident in being able to get the second shot off and still get away. With success, eventually he may be confident enough in his ability to escape that he will try a second shot. Or maybe his death rate is good enough for him.

Head shot versus body- this is the most intriguing. I can’t think of a good reason to switch for a serial killer, with one possible exception. Is it possible that he has shot at twice as many people as he has hit, and no one knows it? Could he have decided that body shots were easier, that a lower kill rate was a good trade off for a higher hit rate. I don’t know enough about shooting to say, but it seems plausible, especially if one of his “misses” was part of a close call as far as getting caught.

121 posted on 10/08/2002 8:28:42 AM PDT by NCLou
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To: NCLou
Head shot versus body- this is the most intriguing. I can’t think of a good reason to switch for a serial killer

His first day was planned, and executed carefully. He probably half expected to be caught.

Having been successful, he's being very cautious, increasing his standoff and thus his ability to remain undetected, while "planning as he goes". As a result, with the apparently self imposed single shot limit, he may not get the hits he was able to make earlier.

134 posted on 10/08/2002 8:51:54 AM PDT by xsrdx
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~; Pete; xsrdx; longtermmemmory
I just have a feeling that if this is a serial killer, we are going to start seing letters.

Megolomania - at some point I would expect him to either try to communicate with the public or press

In light of the tarot card, I guess I hit this one on the head.

As far as the tarot card, I suspect the police leaked this, meaning they have no good leads whatsoever. It's a subtle plea to the public, without coming out and saying they are stumped.

If this is the case, I bet the message was either different, or more, than what was released. Possibly more like "I am the Devil." Or something much more rational than "I am God." If the shooter believes he is being misrepresented, either by being made to look like a "nut" or by confusing his allegiences, it may prompt him to step up communication. He may make the next one to the media in an effort to get his "story" out. That can be helpful in catching him, or at least getting a better profile. Remember the Unabomber.

198 posted on 10/09/2002 5:23:58 AM PDT by NCLou
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