Read this while you wait: ANDREW SULLIVAN: Did PC policing extend the snipers' range?
Raymond Pierce, a retired New York City police detective and criminal profiler, said he could think of only one similar case. In 1994, a lone gunman set up a hunting rifle equipped with a sniper scope on a tripod outside a diner, a gas station and a Burger King restaurant in small towns in Suffolk County, N.Y., firing a single bullet each time at individuals inside.
One man was killed, a woman was badly injured and a third intended target escaped harm when bulletproof glass deflected the bullet.
The shooter turned out to be a gun enthusiast, who targeted his victims "for the thrill of it," said Lieutenant Jack Fitzpatrick of the Suffolk County police homicide department. The gunman, Peter Sylvester, was eventually tracked down, convicted and is now serving a life prison sentence, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick said.