The Monday night shooting was definitely out of whatever pattern was being theorized; it took place fairly late (altho one other shooting was equally late), on a holiday (Columbus Day), when there was no rush hour traffic, and presumably he wouldn't be working, etc. Now they suspect that the sniper is not living in a cave but actually sees TV, hears the radio, maybe even surfs the internet, and got wind of the various theories and patterns ... and deliberately took a chance to do a killing outside the pattern that would seem to blow away some of the theories. (Maybe it doesn't, maybe he had to make special efforts to do it on Monday night).
What is pretty clear is that this sniper is deliberately using the same weapon. You'd figure someone this savvy with guns - and especially since the newspapers are full of talk about the ballistics tests - would have a collection or at least access to other guns, and would realize that ever being found with the hot gun would be an open and shut case. So he is deliberately doing something very risky by keeping the same weapon ... maybe to enable the ballistics tests to prove it is the same sniper over and over, no copycats.
I am still wondering if the business about the white truck is not a mistake. There are thousands of them in use (they come off the assembly line of every manufacturer blank white so the purchaser can paint and letter them for his business easily), and driving around - especially around shopping malls where the sniper usually strikes - you can see another one every minute. So maybe it's pure coincidence that a white truck is seen at so many of the shootings.
Considering the sniper picks places with active parking lots, maybe he has parked (a very ordinary car -- not a white truck) in the lot, takes his weapon and finds his spot, then immediately dumps his weapon back in his parked car and gets lost in the confusion of all the other people in the parking lot who mill around the scene and then leave in a panic. The cops aren't stopping or examining ordinary cars, they're focusing on white delivery trucks.
so your cop buddy is saying it's for sure the same particular weapon ?
or merely the same caliber weapon ?
relevance notwithstanding, there's a big difference there ...