Beltway Sniper Shootings-FR Commentary-Wed., Oct. 23,2002

Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences | October 23, 2002 | Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences

[Peach]

Let's keep a live commentary thread going again today. The FBI Tip Line #1-888-324-9800.

All seems quiet since yesterday's news the shooter may target children specifically. It was released on various news outlets the shooter's 3-page letter to police was in broken English and threatened extreme violence. Police announced an electronic transfer of $10m as requested by the shooter was not possible but other options for transfer remain open. No one seriously believes police will actually give the shooter $$, but police are trying to keep a dialogue open with the shooter in an effort to capture this monster.

[wewillnotfail]

FBI says she was not assigned to the case on any level.

[Catspaw]

If he (or she) has a partner, one is the rager, the very dominant personality, and the other is the recipient of the rage, very submissive. It could be the rager that's doing the killing, or it could be the rager directing the recipient to shoot, but I don't know if the rager would allow anyone else to have control over who gives life and who gives death. It's more likely that the recipient is the one who drives, cleans the gun, procures the bullets, even scopes out the sites and reports back.

[tomkat]

most likely true, for now ...

btw, been serpentine lately ?

(but seriously, cya, ok ?)

[The Red Zone]

That may be why Moose is acting dumb. To try to rattle this conceited loon.

[Sacajaweau]

Oh, I think you're right because it makes you act too quickly many times...like posting a second note. I think he's afraid of copycats and notes will be the addition to the ballistics. He's really handing them a sh**load of evidence as he rages.

Sac

[Cold Heat]

To try to rattle this conceited loon.

Gary Condit?

[xsmommy]

if he's going to get me, he is going to get me. but i am not walking around with a sign on my back saying 'sniperbait' if that is what you are thinking!

[The Red Zone]

This is more of a seething rage, "don't mess with me" kind of rage, than explosive rage.

Moose should offer to send this guy some Valium.

[The Red Zone]

Oh, I think you're right because it makes you act too quickly many times...like posting a second note

Just like on FR. LOL

[tomkat]

I just hope the cops get him when he surfaces. My insurance will still pay off.

don't count on it.
the tightfisted pricks'll prolly tell your survivors it was an 'act of war'.

get it ?
then it's terrorism ...
fofl !

[Sacajaweau]

I'm wondering if he is on something (prescription)...and has run out and/or stopped taking his meds??

Sac

[AFPhys]

Well, I'm still holding out with the hypothesis that his notes probably say the killer started it all when he snapped because he couldn't take the NJSC decision. His demand is that the Louse resign from the race, and the Torch be forced to run. The PCers and Dems assigned to the case realize what that would cost them, and have decided that a few more dead bodies are an acceptable cost and the killer won't have any leverage or reason to kill in just a couple more weeks so they are keeping things to themselves as much as possible. This is why Chief Moose has decided to tough it out. Not much could be more chilling than the Republicans picking up a Senate seat for this crowd.

[Miss Marple]

Things that indicate a domestic shooter:

Familiarity with the area and routines (such as the bus staging area)
Anger and name taking of those who ignored him on the tip line
Desire to withhold the writings from the public
Ransom demand
Demand for wire transfer, indicating he understands the hazards of a money drop

Things that indicate a foreign terrorist:

Odd phrasology in some of the writings that have been leaked to the press
Disciplined shooting and well-planned escape
Use of multiple escape vehicles and/or methods
Avoidance of cell phones
Tightwad tendencies (give me an 800 number....toll free) consistant with other terrorist behavior
Heavy involvement of the federal government, indicating they may have picked up "chatter" that indicates terrorism
Threat against children coincident with AQ's big threat a couple weeks ago
Ransom demand goes on this list as well, because it is consistant with Abu Sayef

I believe these are the most telling things on both sides of the argument. I have deliberately left out Chief Moose's comments about groups of people and his demeanor, because he sometimes seems to me to use awkward phrases and is emotional, so I choose not to use his words or appearance as evidence.

I wrote this down to illustrate how difficult it is for me to come down on one side or the other.

[CPL BAUM]

"It's not just about violence." What would that mean if not political demands? And that means this is terrorism.

It means it's about money. $10M to be precise. I keep flip-flopping on whether this is terrorism or lone psycho. The messages etc. point so distictly to a serial killer. The selection of targets and locations points so distinctly to AQ. I'll continue taking the safe ground that this is a home grown AQ sympathizer with a good-old-fashioned American desire for cold hard cash.

[tomkat]

(i will not make any cracks here about the difficulty of eradicating lawyers ... )

how's xspup holdin' up through all this ?

[Peach]

The Washington Post (separate article from the one linked at #5) reports that when Moose steps to the podium, his words are scripted by the FBI. This has been widely assumed by Freepers. From the article, even when Moose looses his temper, it's scripted to "talk to the sniper".

[anatolfz]

I can find it later, but the gist of the Fr. story was: shortly after that false witness gave a "description" of the shooter, a composite sketch showed up in France, where the classmates of the Fr. man who had disappeared thought it looked like their classmate. As far as I can tell, his name hasn't been made public in France.

[Cold Heat]

Yah, LOL! I did not think of that. Perhaps FR can take up a collection.

Seriously though, maybe some tactic like that should be employed. I would not be afraid to do it if I thought the guy would get nailed.

[aristeides]

Do you believe the FBI would tell the truth about that?

[harpseal]

I fail to see why any of the things you stated indicated a domestic shooter are not equally applicable to a foreign shooter.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown