Chief Moose Press Briefing: Sniper says "Your children are not safe - anywhere, at any time"

FOX News Channel | October 22, 2002 | FOX News Channel Staff

[Fred Mertz]

This is a LONE NUT...

I doubt it. I've been thinking about where this lone nut's calls to Chief Moose originate from - possibly Yemen, Iraq, the Philippines or North Korea...those come to the top of my mind.

[RSM]

As a veteran of foreign wars, I am completely astounded at the lack of courage being displayed in the Washington Metro area. I don't think the majority of the people who live here share these views (of cowardice) but none the less, it's very disturbing.

After the press conference today, I sat my 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter down and explained what was going on. I told them the history of this country and how we are thankful to live here. I told them of the suffering of the people of Israel and how they live with this everyday. I explained how the woodsmen, hunters and fishermen of the American colonies stood up for our independence. How their Grandfather, their Uncle and their Father had all served in combat and believed in a code that stated they were "an American soldier and serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life and I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

Today I see some Americans who count on others to protect them, all the time. They are giving up on our way of life. Why? Because some nut is killing people at random. I don't want to diminish this loss of life, but we are the greatest country in the world! This is like a gnat on an elephant's rear end and like some have said, we have a greater chance of being struck by lightening.

Be cautious and be vigilant. If there is no specific threat, I refuse to have my children live like cowards. They will go to school and enjoy the life that some have fought for. UBL made the same comment this nut did and I don't see the rest of the country acting like this. I use to drive defensive, now I'm on the offense. In order to hear better, I don't have my radio on and I keep my window down. I have devised an immediate action drill that if something happens wherever I am, I am dropping the kids off and I'm turning my automobile into a 2-ton cruise missile. I am still prepared to give my life for my country. I just wish all Americans felt the same way. Like Lee Greenwood said, "I'm proud to be an American…" I live in the Metro area.

[E.Allen]

Flash suppressors on .223 will decrease, but not usually eliminate the signature. Sometimes they even enhance the flash by sending a bright jet out all vents in a large star shaped display.

I've only seen them practically eliminate the flash when using military surplus ammo (military uses flash suppressants in their powder).

Commercial ammo usually flashes much more. I would presume he's using commercial ammo because the bullets are repeatedly reported as fragmenting in the victims. This would indicate hollow point or soft point ammo, those are commercial types, military would be FMJ (full metal jacket)

These are observations from being on a night firing line with about 20 .223 shooters, the short barreled 11.5 inch
AR type gave a pretty good flash even with military ammo and a flash suppressor.

.223 out of a short barrelled pistol (flash suppressor unlikely on a pistol barrel, they're made to fit threaded rifle muzzles) would have a HUGE muzzle flash.

[aruanan]

There are no witnesses...that's why they want to use "psychics"...NO WITNESSES.

Hmmm, this is why they've been on the lookout for white vans/trucks with possibly Hispanic or other "non-white" occupants?

[bonfire]

Yikes! You've got to stop watching Jerry Springer!! :)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for your reply and your analysis! I agree!!!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you!

[wonders]

Thanks for the info. Fair enough.

But the VA LE should not have "leaked" to the parents, IMHO.

SERIOUSLY, the object here should be the protection of children, not the covering of adult butts.

IMHO, here's what SHOULD have happened: VA LE informed VA school officials that a specific threat had been made against children. (I have myself been involved in such situations and know that it takes time to develop a strategy to protect the kids, assign LE personnel, etc. to carry it out, so it makes sense to close the schools for a couple of days until this can be worked out -- I can find absolutely no fault there!). Fine and good.

But the school officials, had they really put the kids first, SHOULD have simply said: "This is our decision. No further explanations at this time." Then worked with LE to find a way to make the kids safe(r) with whatever time LE needed to put it in place.

Instead, the school officials chose to "cover their butts" and put any kids at home or in daycare at risk. But those kids don't pose a lawsuit risk to the officials, now do they?

I call those school officials craven and cowardly for doing what they did, in the way they did it. And I despise the officials' cowardice. Period.

[cake_crumb]

"Today I see some Americans who count on others to protect them, all the time. They are giving up on our way of life."

Yep...and EVERY DAY, some PC representative of the Maryland political machine reassures the public that the perp is about to be caught, and INSISTS that the public does not change their behavior ONE BIT and basically insists that the public go on about their lives like good little sheep and let the professionals handle this for them, because the professionals are TRAINED to handle it.

TOTAL FLIPPING BS. IF THE MARYLAND POLICE WEREN'T SHAKING IN THEIR BOOTS, AND/OR PLAIN BLIND GREEDY, THEY WOULD HAVE HANDLED BOTH THE INVESTIGATION AND THE PUBLIC TOTALLY DIFFERENTLY!!!

Instead, they're screwing and leaking left and right, while TURNING THE ENTIRE COUNTRY INTO A HYSTERICAL MASS OF...MASSES!!!

Hmmm...I wonder...cound Kathleen Kennedy "Third Way Honoree" Townshend be behind this? Just kidding. HALF kidding. She IS trying to turn it to her political benefit.

[timestax]

da dingo is gonna eat ur baby!!

[Alamo-Girl]

An excellent observation at #462! Thank you!!!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply!

You may be right, Luis! I don't know for sure, but when I add it all up it looks like research to me.

[FootBall]

Commercial ammo usually flashes much more.

If I heard correctly a few days ago on TV one time. The sniper is making his own .223 bullets. He could be incorporating the anti-flash powder in bullet when he makes it.

Disclaimer: I'm not sure if I heard this correctly or not.

[cake_crumb]

Uh...make that "screwing UP right and left"...sheesh.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for sharing your views, maestro! I am also expecting more assaults; IMHO, the war on terror is going to take a good amount of time to "smoke" 'em out.

[Alamo-Girl]

That's a very interesting observation. [Does it strike anyone odd that the "anywhere, anytime" phrase is common in the demands for Iraq weapons inspections?]

As aristeides pointed out, it all began after the Ari remark about a single bullet taking out Saddam Hussein.

[cake_crumb]

"An excellent observation at #462! Thank you!!!"

Thanks for the fact that your post to Aristeides made me go back and check to see for myself what I missed!

"And the sniper started his spree of single shots on Oct. 2, the day after Ari Fleischer made his statement about one bullet getting rid of Saddam Hussein."

Whoa, Ari...good observation. Glad I saw it (a TAD late, sorry - I are sumtimes a little slow...especially this time of the evening)

[Alamo-Girl]

I'm sorry - I should have copied it in. On long threads like this, I tend to over-conserve for bandwidth and create unnecessary effort in the process. My apologies.

[cake_crumb]

Uh...sorry. Bad choice of ways to shorten your screen name. I'm still doggedly trying to finish the very tedious task I've been at for the past couple of hours...it's obviously wearing on my brain cells.

[cricket]

"Anyone making this statement would have never said "our" children. . .That would be really weird."

Yes, but he could have said. . .'no child will be safe'. . .anywhere, anytime. . .

. . .do agree, that the message does resonate with a foreign voice, however, and since they have had other writing samples and have had them for a number of days, would think they already have a reasonable idea just where this style originated.

. . .then again. . .