Armed Gunman Seen in Woods Near Mall

11 October 2002 | WJLA TV

[11th_VA]

WJLA TV in Washington DC just reported a woman called police tonight after seeing an armed gunman 'in the woods' near Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, MD.

[concerned about politics]

I find it interesting that they phrased it that way

Well, they have those new fangeled machines now. Maybe just a few scrapes on a piece of a bullet makes the bullets match. Maybe it's just so close, they can't help but assume it's the same weapon.

[poppyseed]

The area around FREDERICKSBURG, VA, while built up along the I-95/Rt. 1 corridor, is still rural at heart and I'm sure filled with people who hunt and places to hunt.

Likewise Manassas. Someone on the big big thread, I think, and I can't remember who, said, "If the sniper has a 'comfort zone', connecting the points on the map from Aspen Hill, Bowie, Fredicksburg and Manassas creates a rectangle with Woodbridge/Dale City nearly in the center, which is also between Fort Belvior and Quantico."

I think this is entirely possible. And Woodbridge/Dale City aren't known for their liberal cultural elite. That's good ole boy country as much as Fredericksburg and Manassas are.

My boyfriend's theory is that the guy lives in Spotsylvania County and works in Montgomery County, but I wouldn't rule out the killer living in Prince Bill County, either.

And yeah, there are plenty of places to shoot and hunt around here. There's the big firing range at Bull Run, and not far away, private lands (that I believe are used for hunting) belonging to the Izaac Walton League of America. There are myriad parks, nice and remote-feeling, in the south and west of Fairfax County. I live near a Fairfax County park in the middle of a city that has occasional planned hunts to thin out the deer population. There are plenty of places to hunt around here - if you have a spot or three in Fairfax County, consider the (probably larger) number of legit hunting opportunities in Spotsylvania, Prince William, Stafford, Loudon and Fauquier counties.

[John H K]

Nah, just shoot from a field/woods, conceal folding stock rifle inside jacket, go to the hotel room you already have (use your card on one of the back entrances), sit and laugh at coverage of police chasing white vehicles, rinse, repeat.

[concerned about politics]

And yeah, there are plenty of places to shoot and hunt around here.

Maybe he's a PETA nut showing humans what it's like to be hunted.

[stlnative]

I think the guy hangs around afterwards... Maybe he has a room at a hotel or he sits in his car looking just like another concerned citizen.

[poppyseed]

Thanks, ET. : )

[John H K]

My apologies, just checked the 2000 returns, Fairfax County (barely) went for Bush.

My (hunting, fishing, brother) lives in Herdon and is a dedicated Democrat, though, colors my impression :-)

[ET(end tyranny)]

Maybe he's a PETA nut showing humans what it's like to be hunted.

Maybe the media should suggest that he is affiliated with PETA. Might tick him off, and maybe he'll take out a deer instead of a person for a change.

[KneelBeforeZod]

armed gunman? does this mean he had a spear or a shillelagh along with his gun? or just a stupid reporter?

[Texas Mom]

My gut feeling is there are more than one.

[Boiler Plate]

I don't think there are any CHi Chi's in the area. They have been replace by places that are a little more authentic and the food doesn't come out of a can. However it was the atmosphere that brought people including yourself in. Oh well.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Quite all right poppyseed. You'll notice, that duh, I forgot to fix the ammunition/information thingy! lol

That was news, thought we'd have to wait until 10am to find that out.

[clintonh8r]

Quick! Somebody call Art Bell!

[bonesmccoy]

Please email said investigators with following instructions.

1. Get files of hotel occupants in ASCII, tab delimited file.
2. Import each file into Excel as tab delimited file.
3. Correct columns such that the data matches between files.
4. Integrate files into one massive table
5. Pick Data- Sort
6. In dialog box, pick column with last name and choose descending or ascending order
7. SORT
8. Look down name column for similar names.
9. Get court order for "visit" to names from #8.

[concerned about politics]

I still think it's ELF. They said they were going to create chaos unless humans put the environment first. Human lives are nothing if they crush the grass.

[Brad C.]

That's an interesting thought, but I think forensics could tell the angle of the shot from the entry wound. So if the shot came from an elevated position on the 2nd or 3rd floor of a hotel, it would eliminate the possibility of a white van.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Not if the second party were using the van to create a decoy.

[Libertina]

I heard (ex) Detective Mark Fuhrman speak on Sean Hannity's show today. He said that shots of this distance were easy ones. He said that military people qualify on distances as long os 4 football fields! Wow! I am at a disadvantage because I know little about guns. Another person I heard (ex FBI) said she thought it was NOT terrorists, but a loner. (Serial killer profile type) LOts of theories right now.

[concerned about politics]

Not if the second party were using the van to create a decoy.

It does sound like a team or something, doesn't it? Whoever it is seems to escape way too easy. Like, where'd he go so fast? No witnesses see anything!

[tgslTakoma]

There's a Gun Show next weekend, October 19 & 20, at the Gaithersburg, MD Fairgrounds.