President's bodyguards join hunt for sniper

London Times ^ | October 09, 2002 | Tim Reid

[Grampa Dave]

President's bodyguards join hunt for sniper

From Tim Reid in Washington

THE hunt for a sniper whose killing spree has been terrifying Washington was stepped up yesterday, with members of the Secret Service who normally protect the President and foreign embassies sent to guard schools and highways. After the roving marksman switched his sights from adults to a 13-year-old boy, who became his eighth victim when he was shot outside his school on Monday, the Washington region awoke yesterday traumatised by fear, increasing the pressure on the police and FBI to make an arrest.

Yesterday, a $160,000 (£102,000) reward was offered for information leading to a conviction, as President Bush described the killings as cowardly and senseless.

All school sports were cancelled, with tens of thousands of pupils locked inside school buildings, having been delivered by parents and escorted inside by security guards. Shops were largely empty and helicopter patrols were increased across the region.

Many people said that the random nature of the attacks had left the American capital more anxious than after last year’s September 11 strikes on the Pentagon and subsequent anthrax mail deaths.

“September 11 opened our eyes to let us know that we’re vulnerable to a terrorist attack, but this random shooting, you can’t describe it,” Donzell Cockrell, a Washington postman, said. “Here, we can’t say what this guy’s purpose is.”

Vast numbers of people in areas where the gunman has struck are now reluctant to leave their homes. Trips to petrol stations are being postponed, thousands are shopping for groceries after dark and teachers at some schools have masked ground-floor windows with paper.

The FBI confirmed last night that its federal agents had greatly increased their role in the manhunt. Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, in whose area six of the attacks have taken place, said that police had received 1,250 credible leads from 6,025 calls and that a police officer had been stationed at every school in Montgomery and Prince George’s County. What is most unsettling for investigators, who have called on psychological profilers, is that the sniper, who uses a .223 calibre rifle, does not fit any of the usual categories of multiple killers. While many have a grudge to settle and pick a particular group, often leaving clues because they want to get caught, this killer appears to be cool and cautious. He is the rarest form of spree killer: one who does it for fun.

The murderous spree began last Wednesday evening, when a 55-year-old man was killed in Montgomery County. Four people, aged 25 to 54 and from diverse ethnic backgrounds, were killed on Thursday morning in Montgomery.That night, a 72-year-old man was shot closer to central Washington and a 43-year-old woman was wounded near Fredericksburg, 80 miles south in Virginia, on Friday afternoon.

The killer did leave one clue near Monday’s shooting. Police found a bullet casing in woodland about 300ft from the school, from where they believe the sniper fired. The boy, who had parts of his stomach, pancreas and spleen removed, was in a critical but stable condition last night.

[andy_card]

Can't imagine a black muslim shooting a black child.

Why not?

[ET(end tyranny)]

How is that picture connected to the sniper?

[Travis McGee]

The USSS has the best tech available for locating the source of a bullet in real time. That's my guess.

[Mixer]

Could this have been deployed perhaps if a threat was made on the presidents life. I was just wondering.

[agrace]

Tracer had an interesting thought about this on another thread.

[concerned about politics]

Investigators refuse to discuss any description

Gee, wonder why? Can't be using a racial description to catch him, can we? Might better have a few more innocent people die than racially profile. Why, it would be a politically correct sin to describe the guy if he's other than white, aye? Only whites can be racially profiled.

[concerned about politics]

Do the street names where people were shot have any significance? Maybe shot FROM certain street names?
Just searching for a subconcious pattern if it's not noticably a conscience pattern.
For example: JUSTICE drive? GEORGian Woods? (I'm not from WA. Just brainstorming a simple map)

[concerned about politics]

(I'm not from WA. Just brainstorming a simple map)

I meant DC. Sorry. Gimme Java!

[concerned about politics]

Maybe he lost his job and he hasn't told his family. He feels all is lost because the marraige sucked and there's no chance it will survive if his wife finds out he's unemployed - again. So, he pretends to go to work during the week, and stays home on weekends as though everything is normal.
*sigh* I wish I were psychic.

[Grampa Dave]

re Fuqra

I'm sure before this is over and every Black Mulsim and al Fuqra member who wants to kill us is killed or arrested, there will be all types of ways to pronounce it.

Fu Cra is apparently the PC way to pronounce it.

[Grampa Dave]

I hope that process of the President selecting his set of Secret Service People has been an ongoing process since 9/12. This has been done since the days of Kennedy and down to the Clintoon. If any president is not comfortable with any agent, he should not have to have that agent around him.

[Grampa Dave]

I know that the Secret Service can get really involved in a city or community before and during a presidential visit.

Like you, I think this use of the Secret Service is a new use.

[Grampa Dave]

Our city bought some of that locate where the shot was fired tech when there was so vicious gang fights between to two gangs of illegal aliens a couple of years ago.

The sensing equipment is mounted on the top a squad car for detecting the first shot. If a second shot is fire, the location is determined to the point that car and other cars can be on that spot or covering exits from that spot in a minute or so.

It apparently worked very well as some large scale arrests were made after this equipment was purchased and installed on the cop car and the computing equipment in Police headquarters.

[rintense]

There's more here than meets the eye. I wonder what else they found at the scene other than a tarot card.

[Grampa Dave]

After you have had your coffee, and I need more.

Go to this thread for a great time line and in the indexing of threads, there is a tremendous set of overhead pictures and maps showing where the innocents were slaughtered by this pyscho.

The power of Free Republic versus just a news story is incredible.

[ET(end tyranny)]

HERE

[Grampa Dave]

I'm sure that as the evidence has been collected plus data that is never released as crimes are committed to nail the perp in later in court, some real scary stuff has come up and out.

That was my first thoughts when I was alerted to this article last night and then read it.

Then it could be as simple as Travis Mcgee has pointed out.
The local police are overwhelmed and don't have the qualified people to find and take out a sniper. Nor do they have the technology to do it. See my reply #73 re the technology my little city bought 3-4 years ago to target gang shootings. Even that tech worked very well. I can imagine with computer updating and equipment updating that this technology is even more efficient. The secret service has this tech, and its agents are traine to spot and take out sniper before or shortly after he fires a weapon.

[ET(end tyranny)]

I'm sure that as the evidence has been collected plus data that is never released as crimes are committed to nail the perp in later in court, some real scary stuff has come up and out.

Supposedly the tarot card evidence wasn't supposed to be released and Moose gave the media a tongue lashing this morning!

[Grampa Dave]

ET, thank you for providing the link that I mentioned and for all of your great work in identifying the news links/threads and indexing them. This is really a great job on your part!

Travis if your book isn't finished yet, this might be a great way of the good guys finally catching the sniper, the woman, in your book.

Unknown to the sniper, a hard working Freeper collects all the data and posts it on Free Republic. A cop who is frustrated with his PC police chief recognizes a pattern from the data posted by the Freeper. He positions himself to take her out before she kills again.

Thanks to another freeper, a former SEAL, the ATF has collected spent bullets at a former Fuqra target range. Those spent bullets show that the weapon used by the woman sniper was used in this former al Fuqra community and firing range. This brings down Fuqras all over America.

[Steve0113]

Can't imagine a black muslim shooting a black child.

Why not?

Because they are profoundly racist, and do not attack other blacks.