Angry Missive Complains of 'Ignored' Calls (Details of Sniper Letter)

The Washington Post ^ | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 | Sari Horwitz and Carol Morello

[kristinn]

An angry letter found tacked to a tree behind a restaurant where the sniper wounded a man this weekend complained of six failed attempts to reach police, and threatened more killings -- of children in particular -- if millions of dollars were not deposited in a bank account within two days, according to law enforcement sources.

The letter listed half a dozen calls that had been "ignored" by operators answering phones at the command center in Rockville, the Montgomery County police station and the FBI. It even named some of the people who had answered the phones.

They had hung up, the letter stated; that was "incompetent."

"Five people had to die" because of it, the letter said, according to one law enforcement source who has seen a copy of the letter.

The letter gave a deadline of Monday for the money to be deposited in a bank account, the source said. Several sources who had seen photocopies of the letter said the amount demanded was $10 million.

The letter warned investigators that if they were more concerned with "stopping" the killings than making an arrest, they should follow the orders precisely, or else there would be "body bags," said the source.

And it ended with an even more ominous postscript, officials said:

"Your children are not safe anywhere at any time."

SNIP

[pgkdan]

To my ears it sounds like a possibility of multiple deaths at once---like a bomb.

That's exactly what occurred to me.

[Let's Roll]

Me too - this is just as likely to be a crank or an opportunist who thinks he can get his hands on some big money as it is to be from the sniper.

[MTCJK]

That having been said, I wish them all the luck in the world as they go about their work--they are obviously doing the best they can

[Dianna]

The reporters certainly are in a twit now that they are having to deal with what the real world deals with, aren't they?

I think this is getting to all of us. I have Fox on now, the Cavuto re-play. I was reading here and not paying attention, suddenly heard something about "there is going to be a press conference". My heart jumped and it took a few minutes before I realized it wasn't live. Geez...

[Shermy]

"Please don't believe this article. Use your instincts, because the truth (serious and foreboding) is too difficult for the sheeple to digest."

The turth may be in the parts not released. and if the complaints about LE is the lesser evil...

[Fred Mertz]

LE hasn't caught him. The perps are playing LE like a fiddle.

Of course, it goes much higher than the local law enforcement community.

[WRhine]

I wonder what country this account would be based in?

Good question. All the "civilized" nations I know of would never honor the secrecy of a serial killer anywhere around the globe.

[Shermy]

It's much higher. Moose, who gets too much criticism, is just the chosen face for unity - his county was the first hit, and no need for 5 or 6 sheriffs talking to the press.

BTW, any followup to the white truck seized at the rental agency last Friday? The one with the shell(s) that on Saturday our press said were larger caliber, 7.62mm, but which the FBI guy on Monday clarified was a .223, the same as the sniper's weapon caliber?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Since you say you've, er, rubbed elbows with felons, maybe you can explain something more about this game. But this money has not gone into the washing machine yet, let alone emerged. Innocents might be duped into accessing it, but it does the sniper no good unless he can get them to pass some of it on somehow; how can they do so without scrutiny?

[Luis Gonzalez]

We'll give him the $$$ and he'll stop shooting people, just like North Korea quit building nukes after X42 gave them money to stop building nukes.

Yeah, right.

[virgil]

I think what is raising frustrations is the lack of information people are getting from the police. The telephone receptionists probably don't know whats in the letters and would not know how to authenticate these calls from the shooter based on the letters. Also, the part in the letter about shooting more children and then the police not telling the public is pissing some people off because a lot of people feel its up to the parents to decide what is safest for their children since the police or the teachers can't protect them. I agree. I think its socialist "we know whats best for your kids" B.S.

[TexKat]

". My heart jumped and it took a few minutes before I realized it wasn't live. Geez...

Funny, I just did the same thing.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Yeah, they would waste time on a lot of crank calls if they engaged in conversations with everyone who said he was the shooter.

[Dianna]

BTW, any followup to the white truck seized at the rental agency last Friday? The one with the shell(s) that on Saturday our press said were larger caliber, 7.62mm, but which the FBI guy on Monday clarified was a .223, the same as the sniper's weapon caliber?

Determined not to be related.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Yeah, they would waste time on a lot of crank calls if they engaged in conversations with everyone who said he was the shooter.

BUT! -- could they somehow set up a system that would tie the call in to a powerful computer that would look for a voice match, as best as possible, with the earlier known calls. Even with distortion applied, a match may still be possible (the computer models the distortion instrument and applies it to the incoming voice before doing the match). Then they would know what is a crank call and what is the shooter.

[cricket]

"They had hung up, the letter stated; that was "incompetent."

. . .seems like getting to the heart of this problem sould be easier than it is. . .

. . ."incompetent" and in broken english, so we are told. . .

. . .YES, deposit the money electronically and then 'follow the money'. . .

[truth_seeker]

"Why would anyone risk so much and create so much havoc, for a measly $10M. There's easier and safer criminal enterprise for this killer to get that much."

For instance, one could start a "dot-com" company shell, with just a business plan. Get Arthur Andersen to bless the figures, get a big investment bank firm to underwrite millions of shares, register with the SEC, and do an IPO.

You don't even need to wear a suit and tie anymore, to get rich. No spent shell casings. Not much mess afterwards, either.

Get your picture on the cover of "Business Week" and maybe an article in the WSJ.

[ARCADIA]

The sad part is that this may only be a test of our LE system. Our little friends in the ME might have hundreds of these guys on standby all over the country.

The only sure way to get this guy is to actively involve the community. When people start going around with cameras rather than hiding in their homes; when they start running towards the sound of the gun fire rather than away; only then will we be able to end this. We have a couple of snipers surrounded by millions of people. We can choose to behaive like cattle being led to slaughter, or, learn to fight back as a community.

[patriciaruth]

The only sure way to get this guy is to actively involve the community. When people start going around with cameras rather than hiding in their homes; when they start running towards the sound of the gun fire rather than away; only then will we be able to end this. We have a couple of snipers surrounded by millions of people. We can choose to behave like cattle being led to slaughter, or, learn to fight back as a community.

Bump!

[ARCADIA]

A further thought on the kinds of "weapons" available to the community.

If the police really wanted to catch this guy they could simply lead the community into action. For instance, they could instruct all citizens within hearing range of a gun shot to immediately go out and block all available avenues of escape. Just park your car in the middle of the street. In this way all of the escape routes are blocked within a couple of minutes, rather then the half-hour or so that it usually takes the LE task force.

Simultaneously, local LE could activate the Emergency Broadcast System, to keep everyone informed and garner even greater community participation. We all want to catch this guy, and if they do it right they can have each community vying with each other to see who can secure the streets the fastest.

There are ways to catch these sniper(s), and to catch them quickly; but, it is probably not going to happen with the Keystone Cops routine we have been witnessing.