[Dianna]

Instead of endless speculation, lets see if we can reason this out.

We have two options, the witness reports are either credible or they are not. If the witnesses are NOT credible how would that be? Well, eyewitness accounts have proven to be wrong on numerous occasions. Ok, problem number one. What do the police know which leads them to believe that the accounts are inaccurate?

Perhaps the witnesses all gave such varying descriptions that it is impossible to know which, if any, might be correct. This doesn't seem to be the case, unless the weight given the descriptions in the first place was overblown. *I think this is a distinct possibility given how our media reports in a crisis.

Now lets look at it as if the reports ARE credible. If the reports are good, why would the police retract them? First idea, perhaps they are afraid of a backlash against innocent ME's? I don't give this much weight, more likely to have had that problem after 911 than this instance and it didn't happen much then.

Second, perhaps the shooter(s), once they think they have given enough information away to get caught, will disappear. The police want the shootings to end as much as everyone else, but they want it to end because the bad guys have been caught, not simply run outta town.

Any other ideas?

[Alberta's Child]

Maybe the perp has been caught and the police can't announce his arrest because he won't be standing trial. He would be treated as a foreign combatant and would be dealt with by a secret military tribunal.

See Post #71 for Step 2 in the process.

[Explorer89]

What do the police know which leads them to believe that the accounts are inaccurate?

Well, suppose the witness gave a description of where the alleged vehicle and shooter was, but then analysis of the crime scene (ie. victim) showed that the bullet had come from a different direction?

[Alberta's Child]

Also with regard to my Post #71, keep in mind those media reports today about the FBI questioning detainees in Guantanamo today -- I would not be surprised if one of the detainees they are quesitoning is one they brought down with them from Washington, D.C. yesterday.

[Kerberos]

"Instead of endless speculation, lets see if we can reason this out."

I thought that is what we were trying to do here.

"Well, eyewitness accounts have proven to be wrong on numerous occasions"

That's a given that eyewitness accounts are often fraught with inaccuracies for a wide variety of reasons, but if anyone should be aware of that I would think that it would be LE. So that being true why did they release the composite of the white van unless they were sure that it was credible information? Would that not seem to be somewhat irresponsible on the part of LE.