Beltway Sniper Shootings-FR Commentary-Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002

Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences | October 20, 2002 | Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences

[Peach]

To avoid multiple vanity threads regarding any news from press conferences, let's keep a live commentary going today. FBI Tip Line: 1-888-324-9800

[nicmarlo]

I agree.....just doesn't seem that's possible.

[Sacajaweau]

All the "talkers" on Russert this AM gave the opinion that this is a "homegrown" nut (or two).

I don't think these desk jockeys realize how much "energy" this shoooter is using during his scenarios and after, absorbing everything he is hearing in the media. We're talking a two week time span. Just don't think they are considering the "energy" factor and "keeping focused" factor. That's why I think there is a group or two groups.

Sac

[angcat]

oh your a slick one, I was just thinking this morning if this is not Islam then it must be a person in a high position who nobody would think could do this? Like a senator, sounds crazy but this is a crazy country.

[mississippi red-neck]

I'm thinking the same thing. Or maybe an RV park they're everywhere and would be out of the way most patrols. Some of them close their gates at 10 pm. or so. Just a thought.

[Lion's Cub]

I agree with your 60, except for

The cops are clueless and over-matched. They can only call for an ambulance and hold a press conference.

I wouldn't rule out their eventual capture just yet. We've got military sniper teams of our own. They'll figure these guys out.

[Sacajaweau]

Again and again, I try it...I look into a parking lot. The outstanding vehicle is white. It almost glows. The next color I see is red. The rest of the vehicles are dark and relatively indistinguishable.

Whether it is "tunnel vision" created by the report of a white van/truck or the norm, I don't know.

Maybe there is a dummy "clean" van at each site or....it is just the "odds" of a white van.

Sac

[Under the Radar]

No.

[antivenom]

CLICK here for larger Mapquest  MAP
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		. It was 10:10 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14.  Hillandale Beer and Wine store sits in a shopping center off the New Hampshire Avenue exit, the first exit off the Capital Beltway west of Interstate 95.
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP CLICK here for a MAP of all Michael Stores in the DC area.  CLICK HERE		- 5:20 p.m. Oct. 2: Windows shot at craft store in the unincorporated Aspen Hill area of Montgomery County, Md. No one hurt.
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		- 6:04 p.m. Oct. 2: James D. Martin, 55, of Silver Spring, Md., killed in grocery store parking lot in Wheaton, Md. (Montgomery County)
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		- 7:41 a.m. Oct. 3: James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, of Arlington, Va. Killed while cutting grass auto dealership in unincorporated White Flint area. (Montgomery County)
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		- 8:12 a.m . Oct. 3: Taxi driver Prem Kumar Walekar, 54, of Olney, Md., killed at gas station in Rockville, Md. (Montgomery County) WENT back to FIRST shooting area in ASPEN HILL
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		- 8:37 a.m. Oct. 3: Sarah Ramos, 34, of Silver Spring, killed outside post office in Silver Spring. (Montgomery County)
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		- 9:58 a.m. Oct. 3: Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, of Silver Spring, MD slain as she vacuumed her van at a gas station in Kensington, Md. (Montgomery County)
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		- 9:15 p.m. Thursday Oct. 3: Pascal Charlot, 72, of Washington, D.C.,  killed while standing on a Washington street.
		CLICK here for a MAP of all Michael Stores in the DC area.  CLICK HERE - 2:30 p.m. Friday October 4: 43-year-old woman wounded in craft store parking lot in Fredericksburg, Va.
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP Dear Policeman, I am G-d.		- 8:09 a.m . Monday Oct 7 2002: 13-year-old boy wounded as he is dropped off at school in Bowie, Md. (Prince George's County)
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		Battlefield Sunoco 7203 Sudley Rd  - Manassas, VA  20109 Oct 9 2002 - 8:15 p.m . Wednesday: Dean Myers of Gaithersburg killed after paying for gas at a station in Manassas, Va. Possible link to previous shootings under investigation.
Friday October 11 - 9:30 AM Kenneth Bridges - From Philadelphia PA
CLICK here for larger TERRA MAP		Linda Franklin 47 yr old-  shot 9:15 pm at 6210 Arlington - Falls Church, VA In the covered parking area of a Home Depot store
Latest victim 37 yr old male shot in the abdomen - Saturday night ~8:46 pm Ashland VA feeder road at a Ponderosa restaurant parking lot...shot rang out from the woods behind England Street.

[tomkat]

Maybe there is a dummy "clean" van at each site or....

unless the entire van thing has been a herring from the git,
there's really no other way a 'white van' would have escaped detection this far into the game ...

[Sacajaweau]

Can anyone tell me what the weather was on Friday AND Saturday in Ashland AND Fredericksburg? We're pretty close to a full moon, yes??

Would Saturday evening be the least conjested "traffic" day at the time of the shooting?

At that hour, I'd guess the majority of folks at the Ponderosa were tourists or is it always the case?

Sac

[Cold Heat]

....it is just the "odds" of a white van.

This is what I think the problem is.............

[1234]

PUH-LEEZE, all this graphic archive NOT NEEDED now or HERE, IMHO. it's clutter.

[Sacajaweau]

After doing these little "homemade" tests, I think it is bad info also. The problem is, you can't erase it from everyone's mind. Geez...ain't that a b****.

Sac

[antivenom]

IT will last only 25 more posts...thread cop...here is a LINK to TERRA GRAPHICS (yes complete with TREE LINES!!!) and mapquest maps...

CLICK here if you have a REAL computer and a REAL ISP service...all graphics have a thumbnail and a larger PIC if you decide to click and VIEW...

[Sacajaweau]

Why not put the graphics on another thread. They're great but I'd look at them later when I'm in map mode.

Thanks/Sac

[tomkat]

a couple more thoughts ...

all the wailing/gnashing of teeth about this guy's complex 'scouting of the area' is playing right into his plan, to wit:

a) a shooter who's quite familiar with his weapon and general tactics will need to expend little mental effort to keep those aspects squared away during/after a shoot;
b) relative familiarity with road layout would only be necessary in high population urban areas if he/she planned on e&e via side streets/back roads;
c) given that most major highway commerce interchanges such as that in ashland are relatively similar, short-term memory of where one is/needs to go afterwards would well suffice to e&e;
d) a non-local would be wisest, in a relatively rural setting such as ashland, to avoid back roads, as the chance of standing out would be exponentially higher than on, say, a side street in falls church;
e) especially in light of (a)&(c) above, our boy needed only to toodle on down 95, pick an exit based on whatever criteria is floatin' his boat and, esp. at night, spot a good shooting stand in less than five minutes of recon;
f) imo, this guy was back on 95 within one minute of taking his shot, and halfway to dc by the time the local roadblocks went up around ashland;
g) bottom line here is that it's not taking him nearly as loong to scope these sites out (pardon the unintended pun) as the 'accepted wisdom' seems to believe;
h) if there's a 'white van' involved, it's merely as a completely clean diversionary tactic, while the shooter slides on through in a totally non-descript sedan ...

$0.02

[antivenom]

Have done so... here is a LINK to TERRA GRAPHICS (yes complete with TREE LINES!!!) and mapquest maps...

CLICK here ...all graphics have a thumbnail and a larger PIC if you decide to click and VIEW...

[Maximum Leader]

That guy sure gets around!
:o)

[Route66]

I noticed it was raining in the area of the shooting last night. Could someone from the area tell me if there was any substantial cloud cover in the last several days prior to the shooting or was the weather clear?

[nicmarlo]

Sac, here's what I put together, re weather and moon. Full Moon is 10/21. You can get more info from this site: weather:

Richmond (Ashland area) County:

Friday, October 18

Temp:

Mean Temperature 50.0 °F / 10.0 °C
Max Temperature 62.0 °F / 16.7 °C
Min Temperature 38.0 °F / 3.3 °C

Length of Day 11:08
Sunrise 7:20 AM EDT
Sunset 6:28 PM EDT
Moon Rise (10/18) 5:41 PM EDT
Moon Set (10/18) 4:41 AM EDT

Saturday, October 19

Temp:

Mean Temperature 55.5 °F / 13.1 °C
Max Temperature 68.0 °F / 20.0 °C
Min Temperature 43.0 °F / 6.1 °C

Length of Day 11:05
Sunrise 7:21 AM EDT
Sunset 6:26 PM EDT
Moon Rise (10/19) 6:04 PM EDT
Moon Set (10/19) 5:38 AM EDT

Fredericksburg, VA

October 18:

Temp:

Mean Temperature 50.0 °F / 10.0 °C
Max Temperature 64.4 °F / 18.0 °C
Min Temperature 35.6 °F / 2.0 °C

Length of Day 11:07
Sunrise 7:20 AM EDT
Sunset 6:27 PM EDT
Moon Rise (10/18) 5:41 PM EDT
Moon Set (10/18) 4:40 AM EDT

October 19:

Mean Temperature 54.5 °F / 12.5 °C
Max Temperature 66.2 °F / 19.0 °C
Min Temperature 42.8 °F / 6.0 °C

Length of Day 11:05
Sunrise 7:21 AM EDT
Sunset 6:26 PM EDT
Moon Rise (10/19) 6:04 PM EDT
Moon Set (10/19) 5:38 AM EDT

Moon Phase (for both areas):

Oct 18, (almost full)
Oct 21 Full
Oct 29 Last Quarter
Nov 4 New
Nov 11First Quarter