Posted on 10/12/2002 9:01:01 AM PDT by forest
Someone once said something like 'in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.' Most government officials on the far left do not want to legislate us blind, of course. They are, however, illegally handicapping millions of American people.
For urban dwellers, one handicap is a natural hearing problem. That is, when someone is startled by a loud noise they often become a little disoriented. Quite often, because of echoes and other ambient noise, it takes a few seconds to figure out exactly where that loud noise came from. And, even after consciously thinking about it, they could still be wrong.
That problem is useful for snipers like the one harassing the suburban D.C. area. Whoever it is seems to be a rather good shot with that .223 rifle and can usually accomplish the dastardly deed with but one shot. Which means, by the time would-be witnesses in the area decide where to look, the shooter is hidden.
Nasty business that: snipers. Police believe the sniper has already shot nine people -- maybe ten. Consequently, the whole area is in a state of fear. Even the area's government schools have curtailed functions.
Maryland's governor called the shooter "a coward" during a news conference. The media also uses all sorts of unfounded descriptions, even though no one has the slightest idea who is doing the shooting.
There are a few very important things we know for sure, though. Perhaps these few things tell at least part of a story, so let's list what we know.
The shooter has little or nothing to worry about in that area because gun laws are draconian. So, unless the shooter happens to stumble upon an off duty police officer who is armed, no one will be shooting back. At least, that was true until last Friday. . . .
In nine of the ten cases, the sniper or snipers struck at a busy time of the day. Every shooting victim was in public, doing everyday things when shot. Again, the shootings were in daylight, usually during the busiest time of the day for that area. The locations chosen for the shootings were near major roadways, some of them at busy intersections.
We have, it appears, a sniper who knows how to play the environment. Some report that it is a coldly calculating sniper, shooting to kill. That seems obvious. But, there could be more to it than that.
It appears the sniper also knows the area. Proper cover is chosen. A good escape route is always available. Police never seem to be around the area at the time of the shooting. Ambient noise and the local environment help to "cover" the actual location of the shooter. And, also very important, the shooter is practiced enough that only one shot is necessary. The need for only taking one shot prevents witnesses from easily pinpointing the location of the shooter.
So, what we have here is a sniper who is either well trained at this or a natural at urban terrorism. It is not likely that a local nutcase with a gun would get the situation right so many times in a row. He may get lucky a couple times, but nine? Nope.
Chances are great that there are some similarities among the victims. This would be important but we do not know that yet. The sniper could be just taking any opportune target, but even that subconscious choice could offer a clue to the perpetrator's personality. The choice of shooting over an officers head to kill an innocent victim, as was done last Friday, certainly does. The officer was an easier target.
Now back to our problem: The armed sniper is allowed free shots in that area. He can take his time and acquire a target. He can take the shot, duck out of sight and vacate the area with impunity. Even if spotted, no one can do anything about it. He is armed, they are not. Odds are better than one-hundred to one that no citizen in the area is also armed. Even if spotted by police, the officer's handguns and shotguns are a poor match for a sniper with a rifle.
Such is the shame of the politicians of that area. They have caused the citizens to be totally defenseless. Like a shooting gallery, any nut with a gun may do his will with near impunity.
Because, in the land of the unarmed, one man with a gun can cause all sorts of havoc.
I think a good example is one I get almost daily here in Scotland. We have fighter jets that fly over all the time here. On a partially cloudy day, which is pretty much the norm here, you hear the jet, you know it's overhead somewhere. The sound itself doesn't lend itself to a specific direction though and you find yourself trying to look in a dozen directions at once and trying to home in on a direction (from the sound) that is in itself misleading (not to mention the jet is a good bit behind the sound.
I think in an urban environment, it would be extremely hard to home in on where a rifle shot came from. Throw in the adrenalin and the panic situation, it would be a very daunting task indeed. That's if you're on of the survivors. How you're supposed to know the sniper's there before hand- I don't know. You either need to develop "Spider Senses" or get yourself a jacket that has a big target on it- kind of a "shoot me motherf--ker!" statement.
This is the truth. I enjoy shooting, and I can make nice 1" groups with my .243 at 100 yards. Problem is, that's with a 12x scope, off a bench, with sandbags or a bipod with a sandbag under the stock, and plenty of time to think about it. At the same distance, I'd be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn offhand, or maybe a little better resting on a car door. If this creep is making these shots at 100 yds, he's got a good rest or he's just a dang good shot. And as far as bystanders being able to tell where it's coming from, that's nothing but confusion. They're going to hear that crrrrrack! of the bullet being supersonic, followed shortly by a boom! from the muzzle blast. But seeing a person go down seriously wounded and unexpected in their everyday life, it's no wonder they can't really tell where it came from for sure. Whoever is doing this is both slick and extremely sick. I also don't doubt LEO is appropriately armed to counter this, if they can get a bead on him. Or her.
Learning to shoot and operate under demanding circumstances is called training. When under stress you will revert to training, as opposed to panic.
While you may be right about a team of shooters being involved, one person can most certainly be carrying out these shootings.
No, he's not exagerating at all. My 13-year-old daughter would have no problems hitting a man-sized target at 200 yards with a scoped AR-15, as long as she's shooting prone.
Ok, maybe slightly.
I'm sure the FBI and the BATF know.
Were they just practice for something larger?
*I* don't think so.I think it was nothing more that what it appeared to be,feral police that are out of control and in full "closet commando" mindset.
Maybe a now retired Lon Horiuchi is out to hone his skills.
I don't think he is retired. Last I heard,he was working as a instructor at Quantico. Besides,none of the shooting done so far has required any special shooting skills. The average person who has never shot a gun in his life could hit a torso-sized area on a human target at 100 yards with a properly zeroed rifle.
Remember that story?
Yup,I remember that. I'm thinking she is most likely going to take that "deadly sniper rifle" back,and publically turn it in for destruction. She literally can't afford to stay silent when gun control becomes the public topic. It's how she earns her living.
Stay Safe !!
But, but the laws mom Brady pushes apply to "the little people." Surely you see that? Not!!
Ms. Brady no doubt regrets her purchase of that rifle was publicized.
Two of the shootings were in Virginia--a "free state" when it comes to gun laws--so not a true statement. Maryland's gun laws are stiff though--but even in Virginia (like anywhere else I know of) folk's aren't brandishing guns while at the fillup station...
You forgot to mention that your shot was timed and the target was only available for 2-3 seconds.
Our guy here can pick someone who is refuelling and standing still for a couple of minutes.
IMO, this person IS a terorist. We do not yet know his motivation, but he is using criminal force (and the threat thereof) against civilians to promote an agenda that is yet undetermined.
Who knows when he'll ask for ransom or if he is mid-eastern or if he is an operative for gun control? At any rate, he is preventing normal habits in the area and promoting fear.
Yes, he's a terrorist.
That info should never see the light of day "during " the investigation IMO. If such is the case.......
Stay Safe !
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