Police blame single sniper in killing spree

[achtungbaby]

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/South/10/04/maryland.shootings/vert.gun.ap.jpg
"Please do not play Grand Theft Auto 3."

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- Police said Friday they believe a single sniper using a high-powered hunting or assault rifle is responsible for killing five strangers picked at random in a 10-mile radius of suburban Washington. But they had no suspects in the case.

Investigators also said there was "there is no conclusive evidence at this time" linking those shootings with a sixth killing Thursday night in Washington, D.C., just over the border from Montgomery County, but they haven't ruled out the possibility.

Pascal Charlot, 72, was shot in the chest as he was walking along Georgia Avenue about 9:15 p.m and died less than an hour later at the hospital. Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said a bullet was taken to the ballistics lab at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for comparison.

In addition, Maryland investigators were en route to Fredericksburg, Virginia, less than 60 miles away, to look into reports that a woman was shot and wounded in the parking lot of a Michaels Crafts store in Spotsylvania Mall. A spokeswoman for the mall confirmed that there was a shooting, but would provide no details.

"We're trying to do our job here and keep our eye on that and see what the relation might be," Moose said.

The string of Maryland shootings began Wednesday evening with an incident at a Michaels Crafts store in Wheaton, but nobody was hit in that case.

full story (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/04/maryland.shootings/index.html)

[angel nympho]

Wow. I was just about to post this article up.

[raacluse]

Probably some deluded nutcase, who ought to be sent to Iraq to take out Saddam.
He should be killing those dumb white-tail deer instead of people!

(Come to think of it, I do have a gun-happy friend who lives in Montgomery County... Nah, it couldn't be him. Don't think his marksmanship is good enuf. He hasn't gone to the firing range in years. :confused: )

[AliBabaIncorporated]

oh sure, a "single nutcase sniper acting alone" ... where have we heard the FBI exposit this theory before ...

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Oct 5 2002, 06:41 AM
oh sure, a "single nutcase sniper acting alone" ... where have we heard the FBI exposit this theory before ...
Then what is your explanation?

[raacluse]

Right now, it looks like it's a single gunman... at least all those killed were hit by bullets from the same gun, or so they say...
caliber is .223 which means that the weapon is likely a hunting rifle, like that pictured above...

Of course we probably shouldn't restrict the perpetrator (or perps, if you wish to believe that there may be more than one) to being male.

In trying to figure out who the marksman is, the police are using a technique called "geographic profiling". It was developed in Canada about 12 years ago. I'm curious what it's all about and what the algorithm that drives this method is borrowed from.

Meanwhile, I suppose the best advice for people who have to be out and about in the DC area:
keep moving and don't let yourself be an easy target.
(And time to dig out that bulletproof vest and helmet that you'd bought for the Y2K Armageddon.) :ph34r:

[optiontoo]

Originally posted by raacluse@Oct 8 2002, 03:39 PM
caliber is .223 which means that the weapon is likely a hunting rifle, like that pictured above...
Actually most "hunting" rifles are .308 caliber and larger. .223 isn't even allowed for hunting purposes in some states because it's too small a caliber to make a clean kill with larger game. (Legal for small game, defending cattle against predators and what have you.)

.223 is mostly used in weapons of war such as the US military's M16 and its variant, the M4 carbine used in Afghanistan. If the weapon is indeed a bolt-action rifle (as shown in the photo) then it's probably one of those $200 varmint rifles.

What doesn't make sense to me is that a shell casing was found in the woods ~150 yards from where the 13 year old boy was shot. A bolt rifle won't drop a casing unless the operator does so consiously. (A semiauto will drop the casing each time it is fired, leaving the operator to pick them up or catch them.)

Maybe leaving the casing behind didn't matter to the shooter. Shit, they already have a ballistics profile on the rifle, I suppose a shell casing doesn't matter that much. Hell, maybe it'll have fingerprints on it. ;-)

[ren28]

Originally posted by optiontoo@Oct 8 2002, 05:50 PM
Originally posted by raacluse@Oct 8 2002, 03:39 PM
caliber is .223 which means that the weapon is likely a hunting rifle, like that pictured above...
Actually most "hunting" rifles are .308 caliber and larger. .223 isn't even allowed for hunting purposes in some states because it's too small a caliber to make a clean kill with larger game. (Legal for small game, defending cattle against predators and what have you.)

.223 is mostly used in weapons of war such as the US military's M16 and its variant, the M4 carbine used in Afghanistan. If the weapon is indeed a bolt-action rifle (as shown in the photo) then it's probably one of those $200 varmint rifles.

What doesn't make sense to me is that a shell casing was found in the woods ~150 yards from where the 13 year old boy was shot. A bolt rifle won't drop a casing unless the operator does so consiously. (A semiauto will drop the casing each time it is fired, leaving the operator to pick them up or catch them.)

Maybe leaving the casing behind didn't matter to the shooter. Shit, they already have a ballistics profile on the rifle, I suppose a shell casing doesn't matter that much. Hell, maybe it'll have fingerprints on it. ;-)
Wow, was it a very recently fired shell casing? There should be a stamp on the bottom telling the manufacturer of the casing on the bottom. Powder type may be able to be determined since there are always remnants inside. If not, there should be a used primer which may yield some clues like the brand and therefore the origin. The type of scrape on the casing may tell if the rifle is bolt action or semi-auto. I'd check if it was a hand-loaded bullet too. The person could have a lot of experience or be associated with someone with a lot of experience if it is a hand-load. Turning around the neck of the bullet would indicate a hand-load.

I don't think the person would use a bolt action rifle like you said since they would have to open the action to eject the casing. Unless they were preparing for another shot, it would make no sense (besides to throw off authorities). A shot at 150 yards at a moving target implies that this shooter or shooters has some training or is a practiced individual. Leaving a casing behind does not make sense

[optiontoo]

Originally posted by ren28@Oct 8 2002, 10:23 PM
...there should be a used primer which may yield some clues like the brand and therefore the origin.
Hmm, interesting point. I roll my own ammo for longer range target work, and I can tell you that not many people will use the same brand combo of powder, case, bullet, primer and case crimp. (Possible exception of the case - those can be simply picked from trash.) If the police raid a house and find the same exact brand of bullet/powder/primer I think that'd be much stronger evidence than finding boxes of the same brand of factory ammo used in the killings. (There's what, like 10 different brands of factory ammo?)

[ren28]

Originally posted by optiontoo@Oct 8 2002, 11:45 PM
Originally posted by ren28@Oct 8 2002, 10:23 PM
...there should be a used primer which may yield some clues like the brand and therefore the origin.
Hmm, interesting point. I roll my own ammo for longer range target work, and I can tell you that not many people will use the same brand combo of powder, case, bullet, primer and case crimp. (Possible exception of the case - those can be simply picked from trash.) If the police raid a house and find the same exact brand of bullet/powder/primer I think that'd be much stronger evidence than finding boxes of the same brand of factory ammo used in the killings. (There's what, like 10 different brands of factory ammo?)
Yes, the combinations of hand-loading would be more damning in court as evidence than a factory load. It would also narrow down the group of people that is capable of making a decent hand-load. I'd say less than 5% of the public knows how to do this. Factory ammo is all over the place by comparasin and it would not be as conclusive as evidence.

[ren28]

I just heard they caught a suspect! I hope it leads to something.

Nevermind. I heard incorrectly. :angry:



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