Beltway Sniper Shootings-FR Commentary-Friday-Oct. 18, 2002

Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences | October 18, 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.

[aristeides]

Or the story about going to Gitmo may just be a cover (whether they actually go to Gitmo or not) for their getting information from some other source.

[ARCADIA]

MAYBE it is the "sniper" who made it OBVIOUS that the "witness" at the scene was lying...maybe the sniper and police have been in communication???

Good point!! He's got total contempt for the police. He may have sent a note to that PO Box telling them they are fools.

[aristeides]

If I can't catch you, please leave my jurisdiction.

Gov. Glenspending's shooting ban may have the opposite effect, and encourage the shooters to stay in Maryland.

[SarahW]

Latest reports are that there is no suspect van from Monday's shooting To the contrary, there is a white work van that is suspect, and there are reports that partial plate info was obtained. This is a different vehicle than that described by the discredited witness. You are mistaking the retraction of the "cream" van bolo with a retraction of any suspect vehicle or vehicles.

[eno_]

It would take some moderately fancy image processing, but if they got, say dozens of frames containing plate numbers off the security cam, they HAVE the plates, even if the tape is too blurry to read the numbers from any one frame.

So I am beginning to think the "white truck" think is bad witnesses, clutching at straws, etc. - basically worthless. The shooter could easily be 300+ meters from the victim, not 50-150. With a little concealment (or not - standing on pavement would leave little or no sign of exactly where you were) and a lot of nerve, it is entirely possible this is not a sniper team in a truck but, in fact, a lone nut, and that the police have literally NOTHING but the bullets.

[ARCADIA]

I went over to the Home Depot yesterday to take a look.

Thanks for the going and the informative on-the-scene report/post. BTW, I agree with you completely.

[cajungirl]

Thanks for your incredible eyewitness report,,it helps to be able to visualize. And the dogs going miles, that is just amazing,,were they air sniffing dogs? Wonder where they lost the scent. All the high tech gizmos, the airplane looking out at everything, and all the cops,,and now the dogs give us the best info. Actually if he had shot as close as said in the reports, it would not make sense to me.

[aristeides]

If the sniper went as far as the Beltway on foot, and then entered or got on a vehicle, one can understand why the hounds would have lost the scent there.

[ARCADIA]

Also remember it was reported the night of the shooting that the bloodhounds took off from the Home Depot parking lot to that dark area directly across the street near the school.

I'd trust a bloodhound over an excited witness any day.

[eno_]

The one reason I don't think the shooter was in woods is that the police would then be comparing shoe-prints from more than one shooting site. They might have an approximate height/weight.

In general, I amazed at how powerless the police have been to find evidence.

[ARCADIA]

should believe the (perhaps merely alleged) sniper and not the witness, exactly why?

They would know it's the sniper because, if in writing, the dogs would pick up the scent on the paper. Then the information would be taken in context and be determined to be more credible than the witness.

[valleygal]

And if you meet OJ Simpson on the golf course, I'd be careful. He's now saying he's not 100% sure he DIDN"T kill his wife. LOL! Really, there is a story at msnbc.com.

[angkor]

Back to the COVER of BRUSH and WOODS...this PERP is NOT shooting from a vehicle

See my post 92.

The school parking lot has an almost ideal line-of-sight directly into the HD parking lot and in fact to the main entrance/exit of the store.

No need for cover, no need to walk. The parking lot is in complete darkness.

[mystery-ak]

daily press conference coming up in a few minutes....

[ARCADIA]

I amazed at how powerless the police have been to find evidence.

It's obvious the police are not prepared for this type of investigation. Look at the Chandra Levy investigation.

[politeia]

I watched an amazing story about a bloodhound finding a kidnapped infant recently. The baby was snatched from the mother and the car they got away in was described by the mother (no plate information though). Blood hounds were given the infant's scent from clothing and from the kidnapping scene the dog tracked the VEHICLE onto a freeway.

They got the dog out at each exit ramp until the dog picked out the ramp the vehicle took leaving the freeway. This was about ten miles down the road! Then the dog continued tracking on neighborhood streets! Police saw the vehicle described and followed it to a house and found the baby. The dog handlers said even if they hadn't seen the car, the dog would have taken them to the door of that house. I was amazed!

[valleygal]

Going to Gitmo to question the prisoners about the shootings to see if they know anything about these being planned by ME (from what I heard :).

[xsmommy]

there is no way that the sniper could get to the beltway on foot. it is at LEAST two miles on a busy highway, passing strip malls, gas stations and numerous traffic lights in between. Pedestrians would be extremely obvious. clearly the shooter had his vehicle in that parking lot across from HD, and where he took the shot.

[Route66]

" I saw the live video of the bloodhounds crossing over Rt. 50 to the school parking lot, but lost sight of them after that. I had no idea they actually went 4 miles down Rt. 50 (all the way to the Beltway). Is that true!?!"

I heard that report from Rita Cosby of Fox news. She said contacts within the investigation had told her this. I wondered that night if he could have been on foot and still think it could be a possiblity. Though many others here have told me bloodhounds have been known to actually follow someone in vehicle, I still think on foot makes more sense.

Is it possible to walk that highway? I am assuming it is since you said it was not a freeway.

[aristeides]

WMAL skipped the conference a couple of days ago, when it was Capt. Demme and Chief Moose was at his strategy meeting.