Gunman Doesn't Conform to Usual Patterns (Maryland Sniper)

Washington Post ^ | October 9, 2002 | Patricia Davis, Carol Morello

[pttttt]

No ****, Sherlock! Thank you Washington Post for pointing out the all too obvious several days late.

And is a .223 - lethal as it has been - considered "high powered"?

Their use of "weapon" instead of "rifle" is interesting here, suggesting they may be thinking Contender or the like. It would throw things off if the killer is switching barrels.

[Vidalia]

Patricia Davis and Carol Morello need to return to the educational system and pass third grade...

[RAT Patrol]

His motive is to instill fear in the community don't you think? It's a power issue. He is random for a reason, so in that sense he is not random.

[Shermy]

"and no exclusive geographic area for his killings."

What the heck? Of course he does - that area in Maryland. His first shot was a "miss" at a Michaels store. Just hit a window. The only "outside the geographic profile" incident "just happened" to be another Michaels store, in Virginia. Out of some twisted purpose, to settle accounts in his mind, to give himself a sense of completion, to correct a sense of failure, he looked up Michaels in a telephone book, or on line, and found the Virginia store. Or perhaps he remembered it from driving past it.

He's from that Maryland area.

But, hey, what do I know? I thought if the Anthrax letters were mailed in Princeton NJ, and showed a return city address and zipcode from central NJ, the perp would have a familiarity with the area that could only be gained by residing there for a time. Turns out the perp was a middle aged guy in Maryland named Hatfill. < /sarcasm>

That being said, the sniper may now expand his area due to surveillance pressure. that maybe where he makes a getaway mistake, and gets caught.

[white trash redneck]

And is a .223 - lethal as it has been - considered "high powered"?

Their use of "weapon" instead of "rifle" is interesting here, suggesting they may be thinking Contender or the like. It would throw things off if the killer is switching barrels.

I guess it's fair to call a .223 "high-powered" since they do pretty well at HP rifle matches.

I think you're reading too much into the word "weapon." I think the reporters used it since it sounds more sinister than "rifle." Given the lack of firearms knowledge that these newstwinkies possess, I think that the idea of a switch-barreled firearm is beyond their comprehension. Except that they are evil assault weapons used by crazed NRA members to kill innocent children. <\sarcasm>

[Plutarch]

Terrorism cannot be ruled out, but there is no evidence that it is the motivation, Fox said. Terrorists generally advance an agenda, and "we don't know what his agenda is," he said.

How 'bout having terrorized the entire National Capitol region?

[elbucko]

Are the areas where the sniper has shot been areas that limit or forbid CCW's? Is he shooting in places he knows no one will (or can legally) shoot back?

[Dead Dog]

Even the NRA considers the .223 to be "highpower", which includes almost any centerfire rifle.

[CHICAGOFARMER]

Show me the text where NRA says a 223 is a high powered bullet. It may be higher fps, but not elephant gun power.

[CHICAGOFARMER]

This state does not allow CCW. The sniper knows that honest american citizens in this state do not carry arms.

[wku man]

No, the .223 is not "high powered", and the killer is not a "sniper". I've seen PAC clerks, cooks, linguists and other REMFs hit targets consistently at 140 yards, which evidently the shooter hit the kid from. Start hitting your target from >600 yards, and then I'll start using the term "sniper".

Scouts out! Cavalry Ho!

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Show me the text where NRA says a 223 is a high powered bullet. It may be higher fps, but not elephant gun power.

So I guess you wouldn't mind being shot in the foot with one, right? ;^)

dan

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

seen PAC clerks, cooks, linguists and other REMFs hit targets consistently at 140 yards, which evidently the shooter hit the kid from. Start hitting your target from >600 yards, and then I'll start using the term "sniper".

sniper

n.

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.

[jim_trent]

I read that they found a tarot card with a message on it and a shell casing. It is more than obvious that the tarot card was deliberately placed there for the police to find. Seems to me that the shell casing would also have been placed there for the police to find. If he did that, it makes me think that he is not shooting a .223. There are a LOT of cartridges that shoot a 0.224"OD bullet other than the .223. They just probably jumped on that one because the .223 is chambered in dreaded "assault rifles".

[Cicero]

I agree. If you are basically coordinated, it doesn't take that much expertise to hit things with a rifle. I've only tried clay pigeons a couple of times, but I hit about half of them the first time I tried. With a stationary target, all you do is get a bead and squeeze the trigger.

When I went through basic training, most people figured out how to fire their weapons after a time or two at the rifle range even though they'd never fired anything before. It isn't rocket science.

[Hobsonphile]

Ping!

[Freedom2specul8]

maryland watch ping.

Lots of pings today...if anyone wants on or off the maryland watch ping list, let me know.

[Shooter 2.5]

.223's are used in NRA High Power Rifle Matches and they are listed in the rule books.
The targets are at 200, 300 and 600 yards. I use the same load at the 200 as I do at the 600 yards. This is all done with iron sights and the x ring at 600 is only 6 inches across.
In the service rifle category the other rifles that are legal are the 1903, the M1 Garand and the M14/M1A.

[Shooter 2.5]

The amount of damage to the victims may be consistant with a .223 Remington. The 13 year old was shot in the left side and the bullet stopped just under the surface of the right side. That sounds like a .223.

[archy]

Start hitting your target from >600 yards, and then I'll start using the term sniper.

A real sniper is better defined by the targets he selects: high-value enemy personnel or equipment, preferably at a critical time. Taking out a key officer, a satellite dish or other piece of commo gear or crew-served weapon is the mark of a sniper, not the distance from which he engages his carefully-selected targets or the equipment he uses.

A trained sniper with the average grunt's issue weapon is still a sniper; an untrained rookie with the sniper's weapon is still just an amateur, though he may learn. But by picking unarmed ant-people not even trusted by their own government with weapons with which to fight back, the Maryland shooter has shown he's not much of a real sniper. He's shooting drones and pawns.

-archy-/-