Beltway Sniper Shootings-FR Commentary-Tuesday, Oct. 15

Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences | October 15, 2002 | Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences

[Peach]

To avoid multiple vanity threads regarding any news from press conferences, let's keep a live commentary thread going again today.

Note: This is the graphics-free thread. Graphics can be found under the thread titled "Beltway Sniper Shootings-Graphics Only"

[Kip Lange]

I think the shooters' spree is going to end in some kind of firefight soon...I'm just saying, better 100% offense and 0% defense for now, the stats (yes, I know, it's stupid to quote them, but...) are with LE...shooter is getting more bold; pattern is changing; so on. I can't see it going on much longer with the amount of pressure that's being brought to bear.

[Sacajaweau]

For all we know, there's a couple of more in the van, handling communications, plotting escape routes, etc..

Sac

[Skywalk]

Actually, the majority of video game(IF you include PC gamers) purchasers and players are men between 18-35.

That's not to say 14 year olds aren't into it, but it's not NEARLY dominated by children and adolescents as previously believed.

[Kip Lange]

1st part -- Possible, but too paranoid for me. :p I have to live my life, I can't be thinking all day like that, you know? Heh. Which begs the question: Was FOX inaccurate in its report about the Box truck being dumped, or were they asked to squelch the story?

Your guess is as good as mine...we only have 1 POSSIBLY attached white vehicle right now; I think you're going too far in one direction. The movement in and around the highways is much more important -- making it vanish in a lot...there *may* be dupes, but until I see evidence pointing towards it, I tend to doubt it, etc. But there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in my philosophy. ;-)

[jacquej]

I saw him, and wondered why on earth he was saying that! Next thing I thought he was gonna say was that they "couldn't jump" either!

This is getting loony, if you ask me! The longer it goes on, the harder it is going to be to get people to say such stuff on TV with a straight face...

[Peach]

It could be gamers, but you're right - they almost have to be older to pull this kind of operation off repeatedly. And there have to be at least 2, possibly 4, gamers who are psychotic. How unlikely is that? And the detective thinks it's a lone gunman. We might be watching too much news on FR, but he's watching too little if he still thinks it's a lone gunman.

[aristeides]

Reporter on Chris Core's show on WMAL says the police are not dropping the case of the guy in Baltimore. They're keeping their eyes on him.

[OReilly]

Heck, behind a strip mall is perfect. Just drive maybe a 1/4 mile or so, zoom into the back of the big rig trailer...

Hope they are watching the 7 Corners area and following every trailer leaving today.

[WillVoteForFood]

You could be right. I'm wondering if taking some defensive measures could be part of the offensive strategy. Make future attacks more difficult to execute, limit the number of favorable targets, force the attacker(s) to make mistakes, thus bringing what you have talked about to bear sooner.

[aristeides]

That could explain why they use a van instead of a car: they need space for the equipment the other members of the team use on a mission.

[ET(end tyranny)]

So far the black/white is holding.

[aristeides]

And that suggests to me a possible tactic. Might there be a way to jam communications to and from the van?

[areafiftyone]

I can believe it. I even play games on the internet if I am bored and I am over thirty (but I am not saying how much ;-) If you get one psycho who in his demented mind decides he is going to re-create a video game scenario - you will have him doing this until he is wiped out by the cops. It only takes one person to create a living hell in a community as we have seen from previous serial/sniper killers. But again, I could be wrong.

[browardchad]

How does the story linked on post #1067 of this thread mesh with your escape theory?

[ml/nj]

So where was the shooter's nest for this Home Depot murder? TIA

I see you haven't gotten any replies. I'm just joining this thread at 515PM EDT, and I was wondering if anyone besides the shooter knows the answer to this question. I certainly haven't seen it.

But given all the other information that is supposedly known about this incident, it would seem to have to be known. I heard there were several witnesses who saw the guy get into his car. If they did, then they certainly heard the shot too, and know how much time elapsed between that shot and the the entry into the car. It would seem like a clue to me. I've heard that some have reported the color of the guy's shirt. Give me a break. And then there's all the stuff about the white van. If I had a white van I might get the hell away from a shooting scene too for fear of being lynched.

There's other wierd stuff. I heard that two Home Depot employees who have First Aid training heard the shot and rushed outside to help. By the time they got to the victim, she had already been covered with a sheet and there was a policeman standing over her telling the First Aiders that there was nothing for them to do. Something is wrong with this picture. How did the policeman get there so quickly, and why would he stay there even if he did get there that quickly? He must have heard the shot too. Wouldn't he be looking for the perpetrator? And why did he have a sheet with him? Did the news media just make this up?

ML/NJ

[barker]

Stay safe. I live half way across the country and this morning I stopped at a Home Depot. When leaving I looked around and there were several white box type trucks and white mini-vans with ladder racks in the parking lot. Even this far away from the killings it gave me a very, very uncomfortable feeling.

[ReadMyMind]

I admit I'm no expert on ME Terrorists, but hasn't their MO to date has been to claim they're doing it?

[tomkat]

took me a while to get that - needed a nap first

[Sacajaweau]

I'd guess that they are working on something like that and tried part of it last night.

One of the AQ manuals say no communication during the operation. I don't think that would necessarily rule out two way radios though.

Sac

[WillVoteForFood]

With 911, there was no immediate claiming of responsibility from Al Qaeda / Bin Laden. There were a lot of groups ready to say "We didn't do it", including Al Qaeda. However, Bin Laden was very quick to praise the attacks even though he said he had nothing to do with them.