[MeekOneGOP]

Makes me want to go GRRRRR too.......

[GRRRRR]

Thanks for the TOSS, GRRRRR! I see you're still as handsome as ever...

[Lion's Cub]

Thanks for starting this thread.

I'm flagging Peach because she may or may not want to use this for the daily, since it's titled for the Ashland shooting. I hope that there aren't any more today, but I wouldn't bet on it. They had 5 days to map out their sites.

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you for putting this up this morning. I couldn't stay awake any longer last night and FR is the first place I look to every morning for the news and there you were.

Does anyone know what time they let the traffic loose on I-95?

[TERMINATTOR]

Was listening to FNC and Major Garret was driving south on I-95 and giving a rolling report of where the roadblocks were. VERRY irresponsible IMHO. He could be helping these murderers to escape.

[twntaipan]

On the monster thread someone mentioned a report that cell phones had gone out. Any truth to that? If so, sounds like that Clancy novel about the special terrorism response unit and how they shut down cell systems to remove that communication means from the perps.

[D. Miles]

oh goody GRRRR feeling good enough to post...keep up good work!

[foreverfree]

How did the victim's age drop from 60 to 37? Can't the press get anything right?

foreverfree

[Momaw Nadon]

Is it time to bring in psychics to solve the DC area sniper case?

[Huggy]

To all of those closely following "The Beltway Sniper", I would like to know how many believe the shootings have a direct link to ME terrorism (i.e. done by a Muslim trained in urban warfare vs. no connection whatsoever). Anyone have any ideas (or desire) for a sort of informal poll that could be taken?

FWIW, I changed 180 degrees since day one. Based on the evidence presented in the press, public forums, and a few LE contacts I have, I believe that this is related directly to ME or Islamic terror by a single cell to assess the reactions of LE and people.

[dennisw]

Reason the shooter missed this time:

His base is the Wash DC area. This is where he does best, blends in and knows the lay of the land. Exit roads, back roads, parking lots to sneak across, main high ways etc....... 
Many Muslims are in the taxi, courier and limo business.

He headed south to show the media that he is capable of striking outside the area they were defining him by. His reconnaissance was not so good in Ashland. He is a  stranger there and does not blend in since he is Islamic. Plus he/the crew had to drive down from the DC area. He did not set up as well as he could have. 

This is why he messed up. The victim is doing OK. Sniper was too cowardly to take a head shot 'cause he couldn't get close enough and he wanted to get this one right since it's his first action in a week. So he went for the torso and missed ...missed killing thank G_d.
He shot at night since brown skinned folk are more noticeable in Ashland than in DC area

Sniper has been quiet for a week. Why? Because he has been doing recon the past week and has been re-evaluating strategy since the police have come close to nabbing him right after his last few kills.

[rface]

I think the "News Channels" are are leaving some speculation unsaid for a change. Maybe I am wrong..

Ashland, Missouri

[fight_truth_decay]

All the news can be sumed up: Innocent victims are being shot..the Killer or killers run free..all the eye witnesses have given nothing that the media is allowed to report on..Thus no story past a headline.Can beat the story til you are blue in the face but all theories have been repeated over and over..pretty sad when one or only a few can cause this much terror and thousands of Think Tank Specialists can't catch this sniper..and every time some newsman or specialist gets on cable,network or satellite news and makes "some personal attack" on the sniper, he or she or they turn around and attempt to kill again.(example the other night one said.."wouldnt be surprised if it is over now..9 shootings 11 days ... 9/11) They need to keep their mouths shut!!!Just my opinion.

[Ligeia]

Oct 20, 2002

Ashland shooting

BY MARK HOLMBERG, PAUL BRADLEY AND REX BOWMAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

Hanover County and Henrico County Authorities stand watch at the Ponderosa Steak House, where a man was shot while returning to his car after eating in the restaurant. (Dean Hoffmeyer)

A man was shot in a restaurant parking lot last night near Interstate 95 in Ashland, sparking fears that the sniper who has terrorized the Washington area for nearly three weeks has moved farther south.

Police quickly descended on the area and began closing certain roads around the Ponderosa Steak House on state Route 54 just off Exit 92 of I-95. Three hours later, a limited amount of traffic was being allowed through.

"Right now, we can't confirm that it is related to the sniper shootings, but we are working it as if it were," said Doug Goodman, a spokesman for the Hanover County Sheriff's Office.

The 37-year-old victim's identity was not immediately available, but Ashland Police Chief Ric Pleasants said the man was taken to Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in Richmond with a single gunshot wound to the lower abdomen.

The man was conscious and talking at the time he was transported, and he was able to speak with doctors before surgery, Pleasants said.

He arrived at MCV about 8:30 by ambulance, said Pam Lepley, a hospital spokeswoman. He was in surgery for several hours, she said late last night. She would not reveal his condition.

MORE ARTICLES

• Region awaits sniper's arrest
  
• There's a killer among us, but we are going on with our lives
  
• Sniper on the loose makes the routine a matter of debate

The victim was leaving the restaurant and walking to his car with his wife when the shooting occurred at 7:59 p.m., Pleasants said.

Pleasants said they were travelers.

The two were near a rear corner of the building and were approaching their car in the back parking lot when the man was struck in the abdomen and fell to his knees, Pleasants said.

"She did not see anything," Pleasants said of the victim's wife. "She did not think she heard a shot."

Other witnesses, though, reported hearing a single shot, Pleasants said.

At least one person who works at a nearby fast-food restaurant said the shooter seemed to be in a wooded area behind the Ponderosa's rear parking lot.

The restaurant is about 300 yards west of I-95's Exit 92 interchange on the south side of state Route 54. The steak house is in a row of businesses that also includes two fast-food restaurants.

All three restaurants are bor- dered to the rear by woods.

Police helicopters and a search plane were in the air, and police canine teams combed the woods.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any credible sighting of a person or vehicle," Pleasants said.

Pleasants said traffic was shut down on all area roads "based on a step plan set up last week" in case the sniper attacked in the area.

Early information gathered at and near the steak house provided nothing to conclusively link the case with the sniper shootings, Pleasants said.

"Caution dictated we make this response," he said.

Agents for the ATF, FBI and other members of the sniper task force were either on scene or on their way late last night.Continue

[Scott from the Left Coast]

The "other thread" of 2800 posts has very little info about the shooting on it -- but a lot of ranting and raving .

I came in late last night and checked the headlines, seeing that thread, and in a half hour of perusing that thread, I could hardly figure out what was happening. It was really a lame thread, totally off topic.

I hope this thread fares better. A fresh start is needed.

[ScottLA37]

Just a thought on the motive.
Michaels craft stores: Michael is Jesus the Arch Angel, Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1; Jude 1:9 and Revelation 12:7 mention "Michael" in this context
Virginia: Virgin
Maryland: Mary
7 shootings with the seventh shot at a Michaels store.
7 deadly sins
Glutany
-- 6:04 p.m. Wednesday: James D. Martin, 55, of Silver Spring, Md., killed in Maryland grocery store parking lot.

Pride
-- 7:41 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3: James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, of Arlington, Va., killed while cutting grass at Maryland auto dealership.

Greed?
-- 8:12 a.m. Thursday: Taxi driver Prem Kumar Walekar, 54, of Olney, Md., killed at Maryland gas station.

Sloth (lazyness)?
-- 8:37 a.m. Thursday: Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring, Md., killed outside Maryland post office sitting on a bench.

Envy?
-- 9:58 a.m. Thursday: Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring, Md., killed as she vacuumed her van at Maryland gas station.

??
-- 9:15 p.m. Thursday: Pascal Charlot, 72, of Washington, D.C, killed while standing on a street in the nation's capital.

??
-- 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4: 43-year-old woman wounded in craft-store parking lot in Fredericksburg, Va.

Maybe its a reach, but it makes some sense with the tarot card stating "I am god"

---

[concerned about politics]

Multiple LEA's are now in Ashland, VA located about 80 miles south of DC to begin more site investigations at first light of dawn.

Terrorist experts today said it could very well be Muslim Extremists. They said this may be a diversion. All LEAs are on the sniper case, but in the background, terrorists may be working on something very big - much bigger - for the DC area.
Reports say Al Quata has sad big attacks, equal to 9/11, are still on their way.
How did that NY ship become radio active in the first place, and where is it now? The "something" Senator missing since 9/10?

[WarSlut]

Just reckless speculation on my part, but...

I'm thinking we'll see another assassination south of Richmond before the shooters (or another cell altogether) head back north, maybe north of Baltimore. Their pattern appears to be that they're moving south. Their patterns never hold.

Within weeks, after a few more strategically placed killings (North Carolina or Delaware, maybe) the affected area will include the entire Balto/DC metro area and all of Virginia, as well as Delaware, Philadelphia, South Jersey, and North & South Carolina.

After that, they'll widen to include New York/North Jersey, Boston, Florida (three Islamist hot spots), and ultimately, the entire eastern seaboard. Before election day, the entire east coast could be paralyzed.

I'm also guesing that somewhere along the way, an arrest will be made, and with the suspect in custody, the killings will continue.

[jdontom]

Sniper Watch

[AntiDemocrat]

Too many escapes from the police dragnet to be anything but a decoy. Throw the white van story out.

Look at the victims: Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Children, Men and Women.

Only one group of people seem to be escaping the sniper(s) attacks >>> Muslims.

Is that merely a coincidence, or should investigators now wonder if nearby mosques are being used as a "safe house" for the travelling sniper(s).

Somewhere, "safe houses" seem to be available for the Sniper(s). Police need to find out where they go.