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.

[aj1]

Can you confirm that the pattern is accurate?

You can go to CNN.COM and click on Snipers trail to see pics of some of the victims. The only person that *doesn't* look black or white in last 6 shootings is the woman who survived on shooting last Friday. I don't know what race she is.

[dinasour]

won't = want (I hate that)

[ET(end tyranny)]

As he said. I am God.

Precisely.

[aristeides]

Can you confirm that the pattern is accurate?

Victim today was definitely black. Victim two days ago was definitely white. I believe the boy victim on Monday was black, but I do not think there has been any confirmation. I believe the woman victim last Friday was white, but I do not remember seeing any confirmation. The victim last Thursday night was definitely black (and apparently the first black among the victims, preceded by three whites, one Hispanic, and one Asian.)

What makes me suspect that the inclusion of blacks is deliberate is the shooting of that black on last Thursday night. The first five victims did not include a black, but I think the perps thought it did -- the initial reports were that the Indian cab driver was black, he was apparently very dark-skinned for an Indian, the police apparently also thought he was black, and I suspect the perps did too. I think they unusually shot the black Haitian man that Thursday evening because they had learned that the cab driver was not black, and felt obliged to meet some diversity quota.

[Loyalist]

The general assumption seems to be that domestic sociopaths and Al-Qaeda terrorists are mutually exclusive suspects.

Is it a coincidence that these shootings started not long after the Buffalo and Portland Al-Qaeda cells were busted?

Perhaps the culprits are an Al-Qaeda cell comprised of native-born American Muslims or converts who decided to act before the FBI got to them.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

I think we may be looking too hard for a specific motive. Islamic terrorists (internal or external in origin) want simply one thing: American (or Israeli, in the case of the terrorists that plague that country) "infidels" to die. The victims are random. The places chosen to perpetrate the attacks are not random, but the victims generally are.

It is obvious that someone is attempting to terrorize the "local" society. It is also obvious that we are in an international war against an enemy which utilizes terrorism as their primary "military" tactic.

Yes, we have a lot of crazies in our society, but this is the dispassionate, impersonal type of killing, orchestrated with teamwork (military-type tactics) that screams out for the perps to be tied together through religious binds. (It's hard to imagine any team being equally committed to continued killing without such a tie that binds). The choice of weapon (not the .30 calibre weapon which U.S. military training, or even avid American hunters would use) indicates third-world military-type training.

There's a lot to go on here. They even appear to be willing to take risks such as will increase their chances of getting caught (they didn't care that a cop was right across the street). If they're caught -- and they're a terrorist cell, one of ostensibly many in the nation, then the terror is merely enhanced.

I think their motive is simple: terror and dead Americans. And who has such a motive: our Islamic radical enemies. Could be Al Qaeda's revenge or Sadaam's first strike. But it's all a part of the war.

[aj1]

I think the sniper is now choosing black and white people because they are more associated with being American (as in numbers)historically up until recently.

Asian, Hispanic population growth explosion in U.S. is relatively recent in U.S. history.

[Elenya]

v

This one, if it's the one who survived, is white and blond from what I could see from the picture on TV. So can we recap?

[Elenya]

Oops. Looks like some of my post disappeared... I was talking about the woman in the parking lot. And from everything I heard, the little boy was black.

[dinasour]

The general assumption seems to be that domestic sociopaths and Al-Qaeda terrorists are mutually exclusive suspects.

A very good point.

[aj1]

Black <-> White pattern being established?

(last 6 shootings)

12 Next - White?
11 Fri. - Black Man
10 Wed. - White Man
9 Mon. - Black Boy
8 Friday - White Woman (shot in Michaels parking lot)
7 Thur. - Black Man(last victim on rampage that day in DC)
6 Thur. - White Woman

1-5 Thur. - (initial killing spree with little time to think about race)

[rwt60]

What if the guy sits in his car and waits for the police response, puts on his baclava and walks up to assist. Looking at today's event, how the h--- would anyone know whether any particular hooded guy was a cop or not?

[livius]

I think there is a specific motive: terror.

Everybody this person has shot was clearly an American (native born or immigrant) just going about his or her daily business. The Indian cab driver, btw, had two American flags on his windows, probably because he was afraid of being thought Islamic by potential passengers.

The tarot card made me think that this was some random teenage nutcase, but now it seems too targeted for that. Like the Black Muslim Zebra killers of SF, these people have been picking out the innocent and indefenseless. I think, in fact, they decided to shoot a few blacks because they may have overheard earlier speculation about the fact that no blacks had been shot; and I'm sure they shot the child because they had heard (on radio and TV) that schools had not been targeted.

I don't think they're going for any race in particular, but just for average Americans in general. The Zebra killers sought out whites, but I think that even Black Muslim extremist groups have moved beyond race and now simply hate all non-Muslims. Since the chances of hitting a Muslim at random are pretty slim (they're a tiny minority here), I think they're pretty safe in their targets.

Granted, it could be a nutcase, but it's beginning to look less and less like that, despite the Tarot card (the authenticity of which has still not been firmly declared, to my knowledge).

[Scott from the Left Coast]

We don't know anything for certain about the Tarot card. There has probably been a lot of disinformation purposely sent out, by the police/government over the media. That is a common tactic when dealing with this kind of serial crime event. Communicating with the enemy, if you will.

Has anyone actually seen the Tarot card, or has is merely been referred to? We can't really be certain of any such kind of fact until after this is over.

I believe that terror is the motive as well. And I really don't think the motive goes any deeper than that. But then, I'm not a professional, just a casual commentator on the web (which ain't worth a hill of beans...)

[md2576]

Some think it's not video games, but similated military games on closed cources where ammo is airsoft. www.airsoftplayers.com

[md2576]

In late Aug. there was a story posted on the airsoftplayers.com site that talked of death tarot cards and snipers. Too close for cumfort I say!

[Sacajaweau]

The target is the least important...black, white, male, female...whatever is available after he positions himself in a pre-determined spot.

Time seems to be a factor and I'd look at sunrise/sunset times. There appears to be few people in these plazas at the time of the hits. How much traffic is on the highway?? How does it deflect the "sound"?? Do we ALL drive with our windows closed?? Why aren't more people hearing this sonic boom??

Sac

[Elenya]

Checked the CNN site you mentioned and saw the pictures. I might be confusing woman #8 with woman #6. #6 definitely looks like that picture I saw on TV.

[ET(end tyranny)]

The blonde...think she was a nanny, 25? was in the first 6. I'll go take a look at CNN (holding my nose)

[ET(end tyranny)]

Looks like the blonde lady was #5