[livius]

"Things that indicate a domestic shooter:
Anger and name taking of those who ignored him on the tip line..."

Relating to Atta's rage, does anyone remember the account of Atta's visit to a federal office down here in Florida when he was trying to get a loan to buy a cropduster? He raged at the woman loan officer (after first refusing to even be interviewed by a woman), pointed to a picture of the Washington Monument behind her desk and asked her how she'd feel if it was gone, and then suggested that it would be very easy for him to strangle her. At that point, she informed him that she had a security call button under her desk and terminated the interview, fortunately after having denied his application.

He was a very unstable, hate-crazed man, perfectly open about it, too. And that didn't stop him from being a cold, calculating planner of mass homicide.

[Miss Marple]

I did not know about that incident with Atta and the loan officer. I would say that rage itself must be taken off the list, then...except that the expression of rage, as wewillnotfail says, is more American.

These are not hard and fast rules, but only the way I sort the evidence in my own mind. Others may have different criteria.

[CougarGA7]

A couple of other things that make me think that this is a domestic nut job.

If it is organized terrorism, wouldn't it be happening in more than one major city?

If it was organized terrorism wouldn't they want to do the shootings directly in the D.C. metro to make a stronger point rather than shooting in the suburbs?

[wewillnotfail]

good point. The third scenerio..a psycopathic AQ