Sniper Attack Yields Detailed Clues

AP ^ | October 15, 2002, 3:46 PM ET | Allen G. Breed

[Scalia Rules]

Sniper Attack Yields Detailed Clues Tue Oct 15, 3:46 PM ET By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - An FBI (news - web sites) analyst who assessed terrorist threats was identified Tuesday as the ninth person killed by the Washington-area sniper, shot in the head in an attack investigators say has yielded the most detailed clues yet in the hunt for the gunman.

For the first time, witnesses were able to give information about license plates on vehicles seen fleeing the scene, including a light-colored Chevrolet Astro van with a burned-out rear taillight.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said another witness gave a description of a dark-skinned, possibly Hispanic or Middle Eastern, man in a white van.

"There was some additional information that we were able to get from last night's case, and I am confident that that information is going to lead us to an arrest in the case," Fairfax County Police Chief Tom Manger said.

Law enforcement sources said there were no indications the sniper targeted 47-year-old Linda Franklin because of her job. She worked for the FBI's Cyber-Crimes Division, created last year to focus on computer crimes as well as intellectual property cases.

Montgomery County (Md.) Police Chief Charles Moose, the head of the investigation, emphasized that Franklin was not working on the sniper case.

Franklin, a 47-year-old mother of two grown children, was killed Monday night as she and her husband loaded packages into their convertible in the parking lot outside a Home Depot at the Seven Corners Shopping Center. Ballistics evidence Tuesday connected the sniper to the slaying.

"Linda was a dedicated employee, and she will be missed," said FBI Director Robert Muller. "All of us are deeply shocked and angry over this tragedy."

An FBI chaplain at Franklin's Arlington home said Franklin and her husband were planning to move Friday to another home in the area and were at Home Depot to buy supplies for the move and the new house.

Robert Young, a Washington construction worker, returned to the shopping center Tuesday to talk with police. He said he heard a muffled gunshot and saw a white van.

Young said as he backed his truck out of his parking spot, a white Astro van with two men inside tried to turn into his lane. He said the driver appeared very agitated to find his way blocked and instead drove by a neighboring Chinese restaurant and out of sight.

Young described the driver as a short man of slight build who appeared to be Mideastern. He said, "I got a good look at the guy."

The driver "seemed to be excessively irritated because he couldn't pull into my lane," he said. "I thought this fool was going to want to get out of the van and duke or something. But he didn't. He kept on going."

Since Oct. 2, nine people have been killed and two others wounded, all of them cut down by a single bullet fired from a distance with a high-powered rifle as the victims went about their everyday tasks. The sniper's only apparent communication with investigators has been a tarot death card inscribed, "Dear Policeman, I am God."

In a continuing appeal for the public's help, Moose released composite images of a white van with roof racks that witnesses saw after Friday's slaying of a man at a gas station near Fredericksburg, Va.

Moose said there appeared to be similarities between the van seen at Friday's shooting and the light-colored van from Monday night's attack.

Manger would not say whether the witnesses to the latest attack were able to give complete license plate numbers to investigators.

"Each shooting has revealed more to this investigation. We're encouraged every day," said Michael Bouchard, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent.

The sniper escaped a huge dragnet that closed down a tangle of highways around Falls Church, 10 miles west of the nation's capital. Traffic was backed up for miles as police surrounded and searched dozens of white vans.

Tod Burke, a former Maryland police officer who teaches criminal justice at Radford University in Virginia, said the killer is either escaping before the dragnet comes does or has some kind of hideout where he can watch the chaos that erupts.

Outside the Home Depot, shoppers tentatively returned while officers made a last sweep for evidence and towed the victim's car away.

"Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place," Lorraine Burns said as she walked up to a Barnes and Noble bookstore.

___

[_Jim]

According to FNC, she wasn't working on this case. Probably mere coincedence, if you start shooting people at random in the Washington suburbs,

You mean the parking decals in the window weren't a giveaway?

[SCR1]

NBC reported today that an eyewitness to the Home Depot shooting stated that they saw the shooter with an AK type weapon. NBC reported it as an AK-74 and that some AKs come in .223.

There are basically three off the shelf AK calibers:

AK-47 - 7.62x39 - The original
AK-74 - 5.45x39 - The Soviet response to Nato 5.56x45(.223)

and now AKs can also be had in 5.56x45 (.223)

[John Jamieson]

What does this mean:

"(Stations: Please substitute the following for V3619, slugged Sniper Shootings: Vans, which moved at 1:43 p-m Eastern time. The new version removes reference to composite photos.)

(Rockville, Maryland-AP) -- Authorities searching for the Washington-area sniper have released two composite images -- not of a suspect, but of two different types of vans.

One of them shows a Chevy Astro van. The other is a Ford Econo van."

Weird.

[Alouette]

Maybe some confederates were in the van.

So, are they investigating Civil War reenactors?

[lonestar]

I thought it was a blue man in a white shirt.

[Miss Marple]

Annie,

The speculation on who the perpetrators are comes from the natural inclination for many of us to solve a mystery. I am ambivalent on this, as I principally care about stopping this slaughter, but at the same time I am trying to be pro-active in my own community about preventing terrorism. This is why I am looking to see if this is terrorism that could be expanded to my own city.

The hysteria about "white male" is from those who are certain that at every turn the federal government is going to come after them. They were that way during the Clinton administration, they were that way now, and I imagine if Buchanan or Keyes got elected they would still be that way.

When reading the threads you have to wade between the people who are interested in the case, those who are trying to promote a certain point of view on the case for their own purposes, and those who are truly and totally distrustful of anything the government does.

Personally, I am thinking that this may be a sleeper cell, but the tactics to catch this person will be the same whether it is terrorists or a nut job. If it is a domestic nut case, I will be relieved, because I don't like to think that there are malevolent people like this all over the country.

I hope this helps a little bit.

[Peach]

CNN and Fox reporting tonight that 2-3 witnesses from two different shooting locations have seen dark skinned men driving off quickly. Police are working on composite drawings now.

[JackOfVA]

There are so many avenues of escape (or hiding out) from that location. I think he could get to DC in well under 15 minutes. Monday Night Football was on and traffic would have been fairly light. He could have taken Route 50 to 110 and headed to 395 south or north. He could have headed to Carlin Springs Road and out to Columbia Pike in little or no time.

Lot of ways out of Seven Corners. Might be wise to avoid 110 though, as I believe the Va State Troopers and Pentagon Police are still stationed on 110 to enforce the "no trucks" ban. Have not been on 110 for some months though, so perhaps someone that travels that route more frequently can comment.

Jack

[who knows what evil?]

The investigation itself hasn't said word 1 about a white male suspect. Or any descrption of any suspect at all.

The investigation itself? Indeed. But the media has run amuck with tales of gun-toting white males running amuck...check the Marine story last night, for example.

The media is taking GREAT CARE not to mention descriptions of ME men? The AP just mentioned it and they're the largest freakin' wire service in the world?

The AP JUST mentioned it...after nearly two weeks. Even then; the ONLY network to report this was FOX, and THAT was only 30 minutes ago. Up to now, ALL other media sources have buried the account of this witness (Robert Young.)

Let's face it..what people are upset about isn't that the only thing mentioned are white male suspects instead of ME suspects, they're upset that white male suspects are mentioned AT ALL...because they're so terrified that the shooter might actually BE a white male who went to a gun show sometime or something.

It's also quite clear that the media, along with many others who proclaim that "Islam is a religion of peace", are equally terrified that the shooter(s) might actually be Middle-Eastern terrorists. Whoever they are, I want them behind bars or dead before any more of my fellow Americans are hurt or killed.

[F.J. Mitchell]

LOL, and with pits or pimento core????

[bvw]

"Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place," Lorraine Burns said as she walked up to a Barnes and Noble bookstore.

Famous last words category. And as a matter of fact -- a place that is hot by lighning is likely to be hit again. Ask anyone who has had to replace equipment again and again in lightning hot spots.

[Sabertooth]

And what's with the nonsense about how government officials hate white males and are somehow covering up for ME terrorists in this case?

I haven't read the whole thread, but I think a lot of the skepticism about what is being said about the ethnicity of the perp stems from the behavior of the Feds.

Take the case of Hadayet, the July 4th LAX shooter who was a deportable Egyptian before he married a woman who got lucky in the diversity lottery. A moslem kills a couple of Israelis at one of the world's busiest airports on an American holiday with terror alerts all over, and the standard line is "we have no reason to believe he is a terrorist."

How about all the questions still surrounding Flight 587? The Muslim bus stabber? The whole, nonsensical "Islam means peace" tripe.

Lots of hush-hush surrounding busted terror cels, much of it perhaps justified, but curiousities are aroused.

Then there's the FBI's "domestic terrorist" anthrax letter scenario that has not a shred of evidence supporting it and massive circumstantial evidence pointing to Iraq.

All of these things contribute to a natural skepticism when the government seems to be backing away from acknowledging possible Islamic terror episodes here. If the sniper turns out to be Caucasian and have no Islamic connections, folks will move on from this case, but the skepticism will remain.

[Miss Marple]

Looking at your list of incidences similar to the obfuscation about the sniper, I have been thinking.

If we treat these incidences as criminal acts rather than terrorism, at least initially, could the purpose be to both rob the terrorists of their PR ploys in the Arab world, and also to draw them out into claiming responsibility?

As we know, al Qaeda doesn't normally claim responsibility. However, if the USA acts clueless about the perpetrators, do you suppose that AQ may be drawn into a public statement?

Only a possibility, of course. It is also likely that there are terminally clueless PC people in the LE sector, and that is why there has been a delay. I only offer another theory to for consideration.

[_Jim]

However, if the USA acts clueless about the perpetrators, do you suppose that AQ may be drawn into a public statement?

Ya think?

In the court of public and world opinion, which form do you think works better: 1) USA places blame or 2) al Qaeda claims responsibility?

[Righty1]

In case you haven't noticed the FBI has been less than truthful with the public for the last 10 years at least. i assume that you know what a fib is?

[Miss Marple]

Well, when WE accuse them, it seems like everyone asks for evidence. When THEY claim responsibility, there really isn't any argument, is there?

I think you agree with my hypotheseis.

[nvcdl]

If the shooter used an AK-type weapon in last night shoooting that may explain why he left the truck and got close.

It would seem to me that many of the shots would have been difficult to do with an AK, at least repeadedly hitting with the first round. Most AKs are about 3-4moa weapons, I would expect that they would have winged several people rather then hit center mass at 100yards.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

"We've been using that phrase of FR"...

I am part of the "we" I guess? I've been using both terms all along too. In fact, I went as far as using it for my new FR screen name. Beat that!:)

[Sabertooth]

Looking at your list of incidences similar to the obfuscation about the sniper, I have been thinking.

If we treat these incidences as criminal acts rather than terrorism, at least initially, could the purpose be to both rob the terrorists of their PR ploys in the Arab world, and also to draw them out into claiming responsibility?...

Only a possibility, of course. It is also likely that there are terminally clueless PC people in the LE sector, and that is why there has been a delay. I only offer another theory to for consideration.

There are probably some good law enforcement reasons for some of this, beyond my paygrade of course. And there is definitely a problem with political correctness everywhere we turn.

But I don't really think we're trying to draw Al Qaeda out, for the following reason:

It seems to me that a major component to the Administration's strategy in this war has been to contain the conflict to one major target at a time.

I believe bin Laden's goal with 9/11 was to inflame the Moslem world and establish a new Caliphate with himself installed as the ruler of Mecca. Pakistan was the other primary goal, that way he'd have nukes and oil. Then, between them, Osama and Saddam would instigate the Clash of Civilizations.

Given that, I believe many of the Administration's tactics become understandable. If Al Qaeda doesn't want credit for something, that suits us just fine. Also, consider the impact on the American "street" if it turned out terror cels aren't uncommon in Mosques here. At some point a backlash would occur, which would likely inflame Moslems abroad.

That would make the strategy of going after one terror state at a time far more difficult, if not impossible.

Since I support that strategy, I'm OK with some information being a bit tardy, as aggaravating as that sometimes can be.

Where I differ with the Administration is that I truly do believe we are in a Clash of Civilizations, whether we like it or not. This isn't merely a War on Terror, it's a death struggle against a jihad, which is the Moslem form of evangelism. As I've said elsewhere, though, I think that point is moot in the near term.

One terror state at a time, with Iraq in the crosshairs... we'll see what shakes out after that.

Hopefully success in this war won't mean Israel has to give more land to terrorists. But I've rambled.