Snipers in DC

There's no telling who is behind this atm, but I agree with you about wanting this person caught. It's not going to be easily done. The sniper does not seem to be careless

Could very well be terrorist related, however he (they?) did take the weekend off, which to me indicates someone with a family or family-like responsibilities on the weekends. Kill during the work week, spend the weekend with the kids... twisted. Also, this vehicle sounds like a work related vehicle, or something that they have regular access to that is too obvious for others around them to really notice. Perhaps it's one of several "rental" vehicles that he (they) has access to with which to run errands or deliveries, like laundry service or home furniture delivery. With the random times of these crimes it also makes me think that this person has access to a vehicle(s) where his employer may not notice when it's there, like 24 hour access.

However, if this is not an act of terrorism, they sure are getting some good ideas of how successful random violence can be once the mass media gets ahold of it.

Sad... My heart goes out to all of those families affected by these senseless acts.

I doubt it is al qaida. If it were the standard 7.62 AK round that terrorists are usually trained with, I would be more apt to wonder. Last time I bought ammunition 5.56mm was much less available than 7.62 rounds, mainly because of all the chinese surplus SKS rifles and ammunition that flooded the US a few years back. I would assume whoever is using this caliber is doing so both because of its ballistics, moderate supressability, and the horrible damage it causes. I have fired hundreds of rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and the residual ringing in my ears leads me to believe he is suppressing it in some way. The report should be much more prominant to witnesses than it seems to be. None of that looks like your average, box-cutter-wielding maniac.

At this point it could be anyone, but it would be a very new method for terrorists. It would be very risky, cause small numbers of casualties, and when it is over the shooter will be alive for questioning. Terrorists like their minions to be in little peices... harder to coerce testimony that way.

It would be a sad day for islamic americans if this were to be the case. We have a strong history of doing this sort of thing to ourselves, though, and considering where it is happening and the type of people they are picking, I would lean toward an American terrorist. We of the suburban middle class aren't well loved by the radical, paranoid far-right.

Just a simple by-product of liberal gun ownership.

That good 'ol 'right' to bear arms is bound to result in able marksmen psychos also owning them, as do middle class housewives with a 22 in their purse.

Every single gun that is ever surrendered to the authorities for destruction is exactly one less potential engine of indiscriminate, random murder.

Thank your Gun Lobby....but it's now too firmly entrenched into your psychy to ever be reversed.

I was just coming here to wonder in this thread because I don't understand about another couple of issues. Press coverage seems to be feeding this guy; yet it is also used to ask for public awareness and assistance. What is the right balance? Also, they are considering asking for military help... yet they hesitate because it would set a dangerous precedent. Are they thinking about a slippery-slope to a military state or something? I think I am understanding a little why it might be bad, but I am kind of confused on that one. Why would it be so bad?

What kind of military help did you have in mind?

I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and i have heard of people travelling over to my area, even Delaware to do their shopping and getting gas in fear of the Sniper.

I’m not sure how much liberal gun ownership has to do with this instance. A guy shooting an intruder in his house or a co-worker that gets fired, goes home, gets his gun, and returns to work to exact his revenge is a by-product of liberal gun ownership. I suspect that this guy has a history with guns and may even currently be required to use one in his line of work or has used one in his past during service. Either way I suspect that this guy would have passed any requirement laid in place to get a gun like this. I highly doubt that this is just some random gun owner killing these people. He’s fired one shot, and hit, every time. That is the work of a professionally trained shooter. Maybe he was in the military? Maybe he did something similar for a living (again, military) and something inside him finally snapped.

It wasn't me having military help in mind.... I was listening to a debate on the news that wasn't detailed enough for me.. I couldn't see the points of the debate. It didn't sound like a dangerous idea to me, but that was probably because there was a lot I don't get. I just heard now they are using a military intelligence plane.

Jafo: i think that when all is said and done, we'll find that the weapon he is using is a bolt-action hunting or target rifle. The only spent case they have found, as I understand it, is the one that was with the Tarot card. That would classify as a 'non-self-loading' hunting firearm. That type rifle is legal in many countries with harsh gun laws (inclduing Australia, if I understand your laws), and would be one of the last ones to go if our nation adopted stronger laws. All those sold here are registered, and have been for a long time. This is something I refuse to debate here, so I'll just thank you for the input

goodmorphing: The press can keep people aware of things without disrupting the investigation. Mentioning the leaked Tarot card didn't help protect anyone, it was just a sensational detail and I hope they find the guy that leaked it and put him/her in jail. The Tarot card has been the only irresponsible thing I have considered out of line.

As to the military, I am under the impression that there are stern laws here as to how the military can operate inside the US, much like the laws that prevent the CIA from spying domestically. Maybe someone needs to declare a state of emergency or something. Doesn't seem like a hard thing to overcome, unless their use in an investigation violates the suspect's rights in some way. No one would wanna see a revolving door trial after this.

If anyone knows more about the laws in question, pipe up, i'd be curious to hear.

Hmmm! 40 million handguns in Texas. And when I awoke this morning, my yard and my street were not strewn with corpses every 5 feet. Amazing!

HaHa

My deepest condolences and thoughts to all of the families that have lost someone to this monster(s).

Sorry Not funny anymore!

Bangkokboy-
I find it ironic that D.C. has the most strict gun laws in all of the US (I believe) and this is going on there, so I get where you were going with the first post… heh… This guy was gonna do this regardless of any gun law that was in place.

There is a fantasic film on the subject called "It's the Rage".A very good and thought provoking movie.I think it would be a good idea to fly drones to gather info.Also I remember some technology that helped the LAPD locate where a gun was fired with amazing results,,I dunno but this has to stop,,at any cost I think.

In what counties have the shootings occurred? I have a seminar in Fairfax County, VA. in December - is that where we're talking about?

Fairfax is one of the counties that surround D.C. On the west side.

At the ripe old age of 16, and with a bolt-action 7.62mm target rifle [open sight, of course, not telescopic] I placed 11 successive shots through a blob the size of a chest from a third of a mile away...first sighting shot would have been a shoulder...

32 years ago, I had the 'ability' to do what this guy is doing....doesn't make it any less or more wrong/right/whatever....just means I know how 'easy' it is, and how reliant society is on the moral responsibility of its subjects.

It's not a difficult equasion.....IF there were no guns there would be no shootings.
Pure, clear, irrefutable logic.

Think about it....

Grrrr....'equation'....

The so called sniper is not a sniper. Distances from the targets are being estimated at around 50 meters. Not a hard shot without a scope. If you are inside of a van with the window rolled down while keeping the weapon indide the vehicle, you will not hear a loud bang. You will hear a crack of the bullet piercing the air if you are in the area of the bullet itself. As far as Jafo what do cops, police, bobbies say if there were no guns where you are from? "Stop or I will stop Again?" How about this? If there were no knifes there would be no stabbings. if there were no clubs or sticks, there would be no beatings. If there were no rocks, there would be no stonings. If men had no penis, there would be no rapes. Is this your mentality? Wake up.
In my opinion, this kind of stuff would stop if this happened--" When they catch this guy, execute him right on the spot on live television, and then tell the viewers, this is wrong and this will happen if you do the same thing."

That's nice. Who needs the court system to prove someone guilty, when you can just kill them right on the spot? With any luck, you'll even kill the right guy!

Thanks, bakerstreet, for the explanation. I know there must be strong laws about that, but I hope there might be instances where some action can be taken regardless if it is to save a life...

Did a bit of research. It seems to be The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878:

"Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of
Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to
execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

I'm not sure how Kent State could have happened in light of that. Pehaps Viet Nam era scholars could clarify. The only exception to this seems to be in cases of nuclear material.

Jafo: I wish you were right. It would be nice to think no one would want guns if they were hard to get. Perhaps we should outlaw drugs... or even alchohol, too...

oh, wait...

p.s. in reference to the terrorism thing, I just heard on the news that a witness identified a "dark-skinned" shooter, in the words of the reporter "arab or hispanic, but not black".

this troubles me. Can a white guy not have a tan? I would really find it hard to believe that any arab terrorist would leave behing a Tarot card (which is a no-no itself) inscribed with the words "I am God".

ignore me, I'm rambling. I've been staring at .maki files too long... like I needed another scripting language..