Sniper Killings Continue

[Ladyzekke]

Was going to bump the previous thread, but it is up to 110 posts, so just making another one, I really don't want this subject to fade away, not until the gunmen fade away, one way or another.

Had Yet another shooting once again today. Guess that makes it up to 10 or 11 people now sniper shot in the past week. Today I had hoped because it was pouring rain the sniper would take the day off, but nope, he managed to kill yet another person in Virginia getting gas, and escaped and eluded police once again. There was even a policeman across the street from the crimescene giving a driving citation to someone when the sniper shot, but the cop wasn't able to spot him. Gas station was near an exit ramp, and the police blockaded a huge amount of highway 395 in an attempt to net him in (in traffic). Another witness said they saw a white van speeding away, so the police today were pulling over any and all white vans and inspecting them on 395 and all exit/entrance ramps as well, all to no avail. The sniper probably hit 395 to escape quickly, then took the very first exit, and then travelled to wherever from there and got away. Killer took last weekend off, wonder if he will not kill tomorrow or Sunday like last weekend? Either way, it doesn't look good, and I can easily see another death in the horizon. These killers have to be stopped, but how?? I know it's only been a week for investigations, but with a killing just about every single day, a week is a long time. If they do finally catch up to these assholes (I'm convinced, at this point at least, it is two guys, one to shoot and one to drive the getaway vehicle), I bet it won't be pretty. I can't see an easy arrest, killers will probably put up a gunfight. I'd say that they'd commit suicide, but with a four foot rifle, that might not be an easy task. Either way, I just don't see the culprit(s) being captured and put in prison easy peasy.

[whacky]

Now this kind of stuff make me boil in rage. The darn sniper, cant he take his shooting to a practice range, what good is it to keep picking off innocents, if he has anything to prove why doesnt he go to Iraq or stuff like that. Snipers are good people, yet if they turn to the dark side they can be a pain in the a** since they are well trained in the art of camouflage.
What i want to ask is simple, what are they doing over there to stop it ?

[Ladyzekke]

They are doing their best Whacky, but with no witnesses as to what the gunmen look like, nor any family or friends who knows the killers calling with info, there is very little to go on. There WERE three people who were witnesses to three different shootings in a sense, as they all saw a white van leaving the crimescene quickly, that's about it. Do you have any idea how many white vans are in this area? Thousands! So the police have very little to go on at this point. The news did say that the tip hotline was getting 1,000 calls an hour! But unfortunately, the majority of those calls are false leads I'm thinking, just people calling in about people they know who own that type of gun, people they know who are violent and they think they might be the culprit, etc., which is good, maybe who knows one of those calls will hit pay dirt. The police I'm sure have other evidence that they choose not to tell the press, to not give what they know away to the public and also the criminals, who I'm sure are watching TV and all the coverage about them every day.

[*\Conan/*]

Just a quick thank you to Ziroc and Moderators for accepting important news threads in Escape. Thanks guys!

Having the exit's blocked off didn't do the trick today..the Police force is trying hard. Even having a State Trooper close by resulted in no apprehension. Where are the air patrols?

I say it's more then 1 myself also. Panel van slides door on side no windows. 1 driver and 1....
Knows the area
Tradesman
Hunter/sportsman(evil type)
Rifle mag subscriber
Mothers boy

No Fear Lady Z!

[Ladyzekke]

I'm hangin in there Scott! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Never thought of that, I BET he IS a rifle mag subscriber! Wonder if the cops have thought of that and have investigated all the rifle mags' subscriptions to people living in the area? Might lead to nowhere, but then again, might lead to somewhere, someone eh?

Also about the "Mama's Boy" part, well if he is, then *Mama* ought to call in what she knows to the cops, as she most likely knows at least something I'd think. I also think if they ever do catch these killers, and later find out that some friends, or family members, knew about what they were doing, they also should be charged, aiding and abetting!

[ 10-11-2002, 08:55 PM: Message edited by: ladyzekke ]

[whacky]

But then no ordinary rifle user can hit a person in the head ........ and then run away.
I agree with Conan, they need to have air patrols ready to be launched all the time, that way it'll be hard for the sniper to get away.

[Ladyzekke]

Whacky, the shooter(s) are pretty good marksmen. Have killed everyone with one shot, except for two who lived. He hits you in the head, the chest, the back, the face, everywhere vital. As for the air patrols, they need to have them up and about BEFORE any killings, as by the time anyone realizes another has been shot, the killers are long gone (again, as I've stated before, at first reaction most people I think would tend to focus on the person shot when it happens, and then a few seconds later look around for the shooter, by then, shooter is gone). I figure this guy has a rifle that can shoot at least 150 meters, with a scope, so like binoculars, he can see close-up at a pretty good distance. Probably sticks close to his white van as well, and aims, shoots, and runs. It probably takes all of 5-10 seconds for the killers to be off and away, and they are already a good distance away from the crimescene. Of course, unfortunately, even if there were huge amounts of air patrols buzzing around the areas where the killings took place, what's to stop the killer from finding another county or state that didn't have air patrols and killing someone there? The killers would know where there would be air patrols from the news ahead of time (as the local news blabs everything).

[ 10-11-2002, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: ladyzekke ]

[True_Moose]

It's really too bad that there are people in our society who would do this. It just sickens me. My uncle's in the army, and he took a sniper course, and he has no respect for the guy. A quote, "How hard can it possibly be to shot some guy at a gas station? If he was really any good, he'd be in the army." And I agree. He actually lives in Maryland, and is kind of scared, but he's determined not to let them get to him. My condolences to those like Magik and LZ who have to deal with a fool (I'm not going to give him the credit of being a psycho) who has nothing better to do than pick off regular people.

[Ladyzekke]

Thanks a lot True Moose [img]smile.gif[/img] I agree these killers are pusses, and remind me of PKers, just hitting innocent unarmed people for fun, like a bully who only picks on those smaller than him, but never takes on anyone on his level.

[Azred]

Sadly, many of my predictions have come true. The Shooter has not stopped and is still targeting public places.
Naturally, the Shooter (I use that name, even though there are most likely two people involved) keeps close watch of a variety of news services. Notice that the media and the investigators are carefully avoiding the term "terrorist", even though that's what the Shooter is. School events are cancelled, people are urged to duck when refueling their cars, etc. What is also scary is the fact that the Shooter could quit now and most likely avoid being caught for years, if ever.
I still say they're looking for two white male Americans who are either self-employed or have a decent stash of cash. Being a trained marksman means they are reasonably educated, have steady nerves, and are definitely functional albeit crazy (but not insane). They'll want to fit in as much as possible: short hair cuts, no facial hair, no glasses, and no normally-visible tattoos. As they leave a scene they will disobey no traffic laws (which would attract attention). By now the "white truck or van" has been described so much that they have a new vehicle; the original vehicle has been scrubbed and dumped.

The most important question is, of course, "why?". Unfortunately, I still think that terrorism is the motive--there is no link between victims except being shot in public. Public events are cancelled and everyone is afraid to go to the grocery store. I can see no way of stopping this unmentionable except a law enforcement presence of such magnitude that it equates to martial law; this goes totally against the grain of this country. Further speculation about who might be backing the Shooter is not possible.