NEWSFLASH: Another shooting, approx. 9 AM, this time near Fredericksburg

The Free Lance-Star ^ | now | Jim Lakely

[seamus]

I work in a newsroom in Fredericksburg, and they heard on the police scanner that a person has been shot at a gas station at "Four Mile Fork" which is a neighborhood just south of the City of Fredericksburg.

No details yet, but I wanted to let y'all know -- and keep up the tradition of FReepers getting news first.

Pray for the victim, and pray that this is a random shooting, and that this monster's terror has not widened yet again.

[Joe Hadenuf]

I don't know why the don't send up a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft with wide angle, high resolution camera's and have it orbit for a few days. When the next shooting occurs, look at the images....

I am confident, that if this continues, they will do this, if they are not already....

[madison10]

Take panoramic photographs immediately of all the surrounding areas. What we "see" and what is really around is two different things This seems an exellent idea. Wonder if they are doing it already. Back to the everyone in D.C., Maryland, Virginia should carry a camera.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Little things: 1. Wherever the cop was this AM, the sniper couldn't see him.

What makes you think this? The closeness? I think that was the whole point. That the shooter could kill under the cop's nose. That LE cannot protect people.

[Merovingian]

I will eat my computer if it's anyone in the 14-25 age group who get their jollies playing video games

ouch...crunch crunch...

This is NO kid 14 to 25.......There are ALOT of adults who play these interactive games.

I am told that this is how the sony playstation works:

You go to the GAMESERVER, which is an online site. You pick a region in the world in which you want to find a player..you then get a LIST of all players currently ONLINE, you pick one of those names, then you start the game...

I am also told that a gamer with the name "I am God", or a name with 'GOD' in it has been seen on the sony playstation site.

He has to be online for you to see him, was seen last about a month ago..that does not mean that he has not been on since then, since there are SO many regions one can be on..regions all over the world..

[Milwaukee_Guy]

After over a week of this I'm dumbstruck a passerby hasn't seen -something- or -anything- relevant.

This isn't the rice paddies of Vietnam or a deer hunter hiding alone in the woods with no other human around.

I've read every theory possible the last week but one fact remains. Somebody is firing a very loud "high powered" rifle in a busy suburban/urban area and ........just walks/drives away?

What other scenario comes close? The sniper duels in Stalingrad. Lebanon, Serejevo?

[Kip Lange]

I will eat my computer if it's anyone in the 14-25 age group who get their jollies playing video games and have decided to expand a bit. I think it's either AQ or domestic paramilitary guys. I don't think these shootings can be pulled of alone without help and it's hard to imagine a domestic lone nut being able to elude police.

Speaking as a 27-year-old guy who likes Quake, thanks. :p The gaming thing annoys me -- okay, on that logic, let Homeland Intelligence lock up ANYBODY with a copy of Risk! ;-)

As for who it is, the truly scary thing is: We don't know. There just isn't enough information yet for anybody here to definitively be able to say much of ANYTHING...we know some limited, non-useful information, like it COULD be a paramiliatary type, but an amature who has spent some time at a gun range COULD PULL THIS OFF WITH A SCOPE. Easy. There haven't been any headshots, and there are some people who've survived -- I'd say paramilitary would have left a bit more gore. But that's just my opinion -- I don't know a darned thing. I WILL, however, argue vehemently against anyone who wishes to advance the "videogames and tv led to this" idea. ;-) Things like that can be triggers, but you have to be already dangerously psychotic to no longer be able to draw the distinction between a game and life. Again, a trigger if you're ALREADY a dangerous sociopath. It doesn't MAKE people dangerous sociopaths. No more than collecting guns makes that person a "whacko gun nut" who's on a mission to form his own militia. :p

--KL

[madison10]

The problem may be that people HAVE seen activities/actions that are relevant. How would they know? The snipers are blending in either on foot or in the vehicle(s)

The whole thing DOES remind me of "Enemy at the Gates" and the building to building scenes. (Heaven's Gate Cemetery? Nevermind.) It's not possible these/this goon(s) is trying to pull our military into this is it?

I'm not just trying to throw out wild ideas. Not having a conclusion is unsettling, like trying to find one's way out of dark room.

[OKSooner]

No, this isn't a sniper duel. This is someone who's acquired, or made, a suppressor for a .223 caliber rifle, which makes more sense than attempting to suppress a bigger caliber like a .308 or some kind of magnum. (You're looking at a logarithmic function, iirc, as the caliber increases.) Add to that the probability that they're firing from some kind of truck with sound deadening material, or from a position with natural sound deflection, and that's it. It goes POP one time, and that's that.

The guy or guys just slither, or drive, away. Or maybe they don't even move at all for awhile, and leave after it gets dark.

[texasbluebell]

The Tarot card in my opinon, would have been better used if the handwriting had been left off. The wording tends to point towards someone translating or is using Engish as a second language.

Agreed. The "Dear Policeman" part sounds a bit stilted to me.

[Elenya]

Again, a trigger if you're ALREADY a dangerous sociopath.

I'm sure we all agree on that, but it's worth repeating...

[Alas Babylon!]

Well, I saw an interview with a construction worker who was checking into the hotel next door to today's shooting. He said, "It sounded like a bomb going off." If the sniper(s) using a supressor, it ain't suppresing enough.

[valleygal]

I remember alot of that, too :) (only no snakes and drunk hunters!)

[OKSooner]

Whatever. Point still remains that they've all been one shot. It's hard to tell exactly where a shot is coming from when it's only one.

[Elenya]

Agreed. The "Dear Policeman" part sounds a bit stilted to me.

I'm just catching up and noticed many people assume the perps are ME because of the message they wrote. They could be ME, but if they are, it won't be because of the message. So I'm reposting the following:

-----------------------------
Check out the Google result for "Dear Mr. Policeman" + "I am God":

The whole page is quite interesting, but go to the 2 highlighted parts, both further down the thread. I think the perps are too smart to leave the police a message with stuff they wrote on the internet, so I'd assume the perps have been lurking on that site and got the idea for their message from the posts . They could be trying to set them up too...

**SNIP**

I've said all along "Dear Mr. Policeman: I know where you live, where your wife shops and where your kids go to school. Have a nice day!" ......

Do ya'll remember Detective Mark Fuhrman during the OJ Simpson trial? (He's the one who lied about saying the "N" word)...Remember what he said? "Out there I AM God!".... ALL cops think alike. Those who don't, quit.....

**SNIP**

LINK

-----------------------------

Once again, it doesn't rule out ME, but the message is NOT why we should suspect they're foreigners...

[dinasour]

However, if they said it was AQ/young Middle Eastern males, in white trucks or vans, what do you think would happen?

They would just disappear. Just another isolated incident. Islam is peace.

Yep, agreed, as someone remarked a while back about the state of affairs lately, this is crowd control.

Just where are those anthrax terrorists these days. They just disappeared Just another isolated incident. Islam is peace.

Removing tin foil hat

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Quote I read today said it was louder than -expletive-.

I think we all want to bring our own backround and experience into this event as a way to offer advice and rationalize what's going on. Fine.

My point is, someone is firing a very loud gun in earshot of dozens of people, numerous times and we have no leads?

Something very important is missing from this equation. I admit to having less and less of an idea after a week of this crap.

Someone else said it - Time to think out of the box!

[valleygal]

I think you're right. One has to be a little over the edge for video games to be the reason for this. My son (almost 13) loves to go play paintball with his dad and his youth group and he is a pretty gentle soul. Males (boys and men) are just "Wild at Heart" according to a book my husband and I just read recently. I already knew that though. :)

[dinasour]

That the shooter could kill under the cop's nose

Prediction: If he's not stopped, the next victim will be a policeman. God forbid.

BTW, in all the excitement. I forgot to say, "Good Morning". I trust you had a good nights sleep.

[Elenya]

I admit to having less and less of an idea after a week of this crap.

The good news is that LEO have a better and better idea after a week and especially after today...

[ET(end tyranny)]

Prediction: If he's not stopped, the next victim will be a policeman. God forbid.

I didn't want to be the first to say it. But, I think it's coming. I think that was the bigger message today. That it 'could' have been the cop, but the sniper 'chose' the other guy. Sniper gets to choose who lives, who dies.

Got a little rest, but will probably turn in fairly early tonight. Thanks for asking.