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Maryland. A sniper is randomly killing civilians as they go about doing their everyday chores.
How would you feel if when you bent over to put something in that 95 Civic of yours, someone shot you in the back? Well, it happened to one lady.
Now, five or six victims have been shot.
I feel whoever could live with doing this is a real nutcase. State your opinions if you've heard the full story :what:
Regards,
Silentstalker
Thats one of the more screwed up things I've heard lately. I'm a little unsure as to wether "sniper" is a good term to use though. Is the shooter making shots that look like they have had training, or is he/she just poping people? Are the shots center-body-mass or head-shots, or just where ever kinda shots? I've always thought that it took a rather off and somewhat messed up kind of individual to be a sniper in the military, but to do something like this really shows how sick people can be.
it seems the sniper is now in virginia.
whoever is doing the shooting is a marksman. all the shots were fired from a great distance.
why did you pick the term "civilians"?
Because they're innocent people.. I dunno I just like that word ;)
Silentstalker
cool! i was wondering if you thought it was a taliban shooter, hence the term.
could be a lot of thnigs. like x-mil or swat whose concience ate his mind out.
these been a few cases of mil personal comming back from afgan. and shooting people. 4 murdered their wives. thier were many cases like this after viet nam.
if he shot me, id have to hunt him down.
Syini666 the term sniper applies here. hes been dropping them with 1 shot each from a distance, i think they were all heart shots.
The sniper term can apply...but I doubt in the world of "Snipers" they would agree so. He hit a lady in the lower back with a .223 round. Snipers do not use .223 caliber bullets. .308 to .300 win mag is the preferred caliber of snipers...even .50 caliber can be used. The reason being...is that they can carry over longer distances with the same accuracy...the guy is using a .223 so he is probably shooting from about 100 yds...maybe 200 yds.
He would probably be considered a shooter...before he is considered a sniper...as snipers have a higher skill level than this guy.
All in all...pretty disturbing... kind of strange that he has gotten away so easily...as rifles aren't the easiest to hide.
I live in Northern Virginia and work about 5 minutes from the area where the five people were killed. These are definatly sniper attacks as it has been stated by the police that the shooter is hitting his targets from 200-300 yards. Apparently there are 2 people involved, a shooter and a driver. They park, shoot, and get the heck out of there. I surely hope these people are caught quickly because I am definatly looking over my shoulder a lot more these days.
Yeah. The prevailing theory is that it is done from the inside of a van or covered pickup, and they just drive off with the evidence (shell casings, etc.)
Pretty damn scary, from a random-victim point of view.
What are the odds that two ppl could have the same sick opinion of sniping ppl. Usually crimes involving cars are easy to solve...since it would be kind of obvious if you heard a loud bang and saw a car pull away.
Any implications to this being terror related?
tommyboy2034 > you cant rule terror out, but I seriously doubt it. By now america is used to people being shot randomly, so I don't think terrorist would go this route, simply because it wouldnt be as effective as the hijackings were. Its probably just some whacked out people riding around poping innnocent for their own sick kicks.
i gotta agree Syini666, an act of terrorism would be pointless with out an announcement by the perps. its more like 2 sickos that walked out of a james patterson novel.
Actually just because he's using a .223 round means very little,because the AR15 is one of the most common assault rifles in the US.Therefore it would be very hard to trace the sales back to a suspect,and very easy to get rid of when he's done with it.I personnaly have a CAR15 and with 5 custom made 45 round mags,an excellent scope top mounted,a laser site mounted on the bottom of the barrel,and a custom fit hard case it ran just short of $2000.My rifle obviously isn't that great for long range shots because it's a carbine,but having shot a standard AR I know it's very accurate at long range,can penetrate any body armor on the market,and the .223 round starts to wildly spin and bounce around the inside of your body when it comes in contact with bone making it very devestating.Hence the reason it was used for the standard military issue M16 A2.I feel this guy has definately had quite a bit of training,because the shots were taken from a distance where wind and leading of the target would play a huge factor in wether the person was even hit,not to mention that all but one died.And being able to pop off shots with an assault rifle without drawing the attention of tons of people to your location isn't too easy.A terrorist?I doubt it,because most middle eastern people prefer the Kalichnakov or AK 47 because of the fact that they're accurate,durable,and relatively light weight,and that would likely be what a terrorist would've used throughout his training so he would be most comfortable with one of those two.The AK47 is the most common rifle in the world on top of that.I think it's probably an ex-sniper with a grudge,and he just lost it.Wether that's military or swat I don't have the slightest clue,but I'd venture to guess military war veteran,because SWAT members don't get that emersed in warfare,and always have the proper back up and supplies making their conditions for battle as ideal as such a thing can get.On the other hand soldiers in war often have to go on very little food and water,don't know when or if they'll ever get to see their families,don't have enough ammo in some cases,and don't know when or if relief is coming.From those facts I'd say the life of a soldier is much more traumatic than that of a SWAT member making a soldier more likely to lose it.Then again most SWAT snipers have spent a good deal of time in the military,so who knows.
Well, I work and live in the vicinity, and I can tell you this - people were leaving work early and calling their families when they heard the news. Even more were so paranoid that they were afraid to leave work without the company of others - which, I guess, wouldn't have done them much good since this guy is sniping people from such distances. I tell you, there are some sick people in this world! :(
yeah like the person that was shot while mowing there yard.. kinda freaky broad daylight, makes me worry more about my mom out mowing while im at school.
Folks....it could be anyone. It could be an AR-15, a Ruger Mini-14, an M-16...you get the picture. While it may be someone with formal training, it may not be either. I myself have no formal training, but can provide you with witnesses that have seen me take an open site Remington Nylon 66 (.22 cal.) and drop the "O" out of a stop sign (I live out in the country) at almost 300 yards. The guys who watched me do that can shoot rings around my ass, and none of them have formal training either. The only thing we can say for sure is that we are dealing with one sick mother*****er with a good aim...
Hey at least you have stop signs to shoot at.The closest one to me is about 15 miles away.I have to shoot at empty beer cans most of the time.
Sorry Syini666 but I take a little offense at your comment... :D (I used to be a military sniper...:p) It takes an individual with a strong mind, courage, and great deel of self control to be a military sniper... Unlike most "Line Grunts" who only see an outline at 250 meters... You can see the color of a mans eyes at 800 through a sniper scope... You can tell if he has zits and how many... And I can tell you that this guy or girl is not a sniper... He/she is a shooter... Snipers have gotten a bad name because of jerk wads like the person cappng people off in MD and VA...Quote:
I've always thought that it took a rather off and somewhat messed up kind of individual to be a sniper in the military
While 7.62 (.308) is the most common round used by snipers the 5.56 (.223) is widely used by police departments throughout the US... The reason being it that the average shot taken by a police sniper is about 70 yards and the energy delivered by the .223 at that range is more than enugh to do the job without a significant risk of over penitraion (shooting through the target and into someone/something else) The average range for the military sniper on the other hand is about 650 meters (around 800 yards) so the round we used has to deliver it's energy at a greater distance... from what I heard on the news here (I live about two hours from where the shooting happened) most of the shots were head shots... the person doing this crap is sick in the noodle to be sure but whoever it is can shoot...Quote:
Snipers do not use .223 caliber bullets. .308 to .300 win mag is the preferred caliber of snipers...even .50 caliber can be used.
The term sniper has been used for any people that shoot out of hiding. For
example many vietnamese snipers were kids, pre-teens and teens.
If you've ever shot anything with a rifle, you'll know that this isn't something
that just anybody could do. Training, yes. Eastern, why not, they buy western
weapons as well for missions? It would be too obvious to have people in the
U.S. shot with guns only made in Russia?
Hope the bas**** gets caught soon.
Yea the shootings are happening in my old areas in montgomery county. They're now up to 7 victims the last being a 13 year old boy in Bowie (PG county). Hope they catch him.
It isn't really a laughing matter, but I take some offense to military snipers being termed off or a little messed up. On the contrary, a sniper has to be "with it" mentally, emotionally, and physically. He has to be above average almost across the board to do the job. I can understand why people would think an Army or Marine Sniper would be a little twisted. How many people could sit in a hide and wait, maybe for days, for a single clean shot?
That's beside the point, though. The characters doing the shootings aren't snipers. They're thrill killers who just happen to have a well sighted in rifle. I'm guessing there are two. One to drive, one to shoot. These folks are twisted and the best thing that could happen is that they die before getting to trial. I'd really rather not see taxpayer dollars wasted on creatures like these, so some shyster lawyer can talk about how abused they were as kids, because mommy or daddy made them mow the lawn for their allowance.
I just hope that there isn't a copy-cat shooter out there. I have been following this and not all of the rounds came from the same kind of weapon as far as I can tell. The fact that this is covering three states (if you count DC as a state) is a little un-nerving for me, so I have to wonder if this person is in this alone.
Chuck56 > i think i did a bad job of stating my oppinion about snipers. The way I see it, you either have to be really sick and enjoy it, or be really dedicated to serving your country. I don't have anything against snipers, actually I admire the work they do, because its not a easy job. Sitting days without moving takes a lot of discipline.
Syini666> I know you posted your response to Chuck56 but thanks for the clarification... Laying in a hide for a week just to get a shot IS a real pain in the a55 to say the very least... You don't get to go out to answer the call of nature, you stink, even the smallst movement can give away your position... If you are trying to lose weight I highly recomend it:D I never came back, even in training, that I didn't lose 25-35 pounds in just a couple of days... :)
I should have added 'LOL' or something to signify that I wasn't really offended by your comment, Syini666. Patience and marksmanship is only a part of the skills they need to develop. A good sniper, besides everything that's been mentioned here, needs a vast number of other skills. My manual, TC23-14. Sniper Training and Employment is an antique. I'd be interested in someday seeing the new developments in the field.
This is definatly not terrorism related. It is most likely some ultra-right militia whack job. The point of terrorism is to get people afraid unless something is changed. There is no obvious issue driving these attacks besides the sick wilingness of the individual to do it. :mad:
Actually, I agree with whoever already ruled this out. I don't think that terror is the cause here. The reason for this is because I mean come on guys, no terrorist would risk the death penelty for the killing of six or seven americans.
I heard that Islamic Terrorists think (Ok, I'm talking about the Taliban and Al-Quaida, I'm not trying to offend Islamic followers) the more Americans they kill, the closer their place will be next to Allah. And if this is so, and the supposed terrorist is Islamic, they wouldn't kill 6, they would kill 6,000.
And as stated, America is used to this kind of crap. But also as said crimes do not usually escalade to this extreme before they are solved and gotten rid of, so we don't have to see any more of this tale on the news.. yet, this particular case has gone on and inclined to a point where even I had to make a thread regarding it ;) and that's a damn big crime lol..
But anyway, I don't want to get into a 'funny' mood because really, this is seriously no laughing matter, as pointed out. Someone has the insane build-up to pick up an AR36 Sniper or a 9mm Handgun or whatever they have, put a scope on it, ask someone to drive them in front of a 'MarketPlace', and shoot innocent people. Then, the driver pulls over, the sniper gets out with his gun, picks up the shells, ignores the serverly traumatized victim, and tires screech as they roll away. I mean, wow.
In my opinion, whoever did such big crimes like this deserves the death penelty, what do you think would be an appropiate punishment?
Silentstalker
- [email protected]
Dictionary.com defines a sniper like this:
So I think this person fits into the category. Shall we just agree to call the person "a sniper", it's the smallest problem of them all.Quote:
sniper
n.
*A skilled military shooter detailed to spot and pick off enemy soldiers from a concealed place.
*One who shoots at other people from a concealed place.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sniper
n : a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University
This is just like the Silence of the Lambs come to life, pretty damn mean...:(:(:( I'm pretty sure the police already knows what kind of a gun/rifle was used.
I, too, am amazed how no one ever notices the shot nor anything. If they're using a silencer it can't be a very long range shot, someone else can tell better than I. I did got the picture that they're shooting at places where there aren't many wittnesses, so if you are in a crowd you're safe. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Also the car-and-a-driver -theory was new to me in this thread. I doubt those kinda persons work in groups. Maybe someone could tell how fast one can deassemble a decent rifle (to be put into a suitcase and walk away as nothing)?
Yet, has it been confirmed that the shots were taken from the ground level, not from the top of a building? That could be instantly seen of the bullet hole and its angle/location. Would make more sense to me, roofs are usually quite empty and undisturbed places...
There is nothing wrong with being an ultra right winger just because someone is right wing does not make them a whack job any more then being a left winger makes someone a dope smoking, lying, draft dodger... I am not sure just how old you are Xenon but tecchnicly speaking if you are able bodied and between the ages of 16-45 you are in the milita... There is much debate on what consistitues a milita but if you go but what the Framers meant by the term militia... It is every able bodied male between 16-45...Quote:
It is most likely some ultra-right militia whack job.
Right, 4M. I'm about as far to the right as I can get without bumping the wall, and I haven't fired a gun in anger since my time back in 1968 in the SE Asian War Games.
I'll be glad when it's politically correct to be politically incorrect again.
4MidgetHitmen > I take it you know about the Virginia Defense Force ? There was an article about them in the newspaper a while back, detaling some info and stuff. I think as far as actual government recognized militias go, they play support roles mainly to the National Guard, at least thats what the VDF does. I don't think the shooter has any affiliations with either the left or the right, but instead with just being generaly sick in the head.
Me too! The fact is, when there's a big crime like this, their will be some crazy, insane, mentally deranged pyschopath who decides that his mission in life is to copy the crime. For example, when the nine eleven tragedy so sadly occured, some madman crashed a Cessna into a building and killed no one but himself. Hopefully only a small percentile of this world have minds that were twisted upside down.Quote:
Regards,
Silentstalker
It truly is disturbing. It makes you wonder at the state of society in general.
Raven
I have a question, this guy must buy the munition in someplace , the police didn´t find any bullet. Is a normal munition ?
Here in europe, its no normal to buy and automatic rifle. I hope that the police catch him and make him pay, but i´m really afraid the way you talk about guns, it´s so naturally. I don´t want to offend anybody, but here is not really usual.
To the people that leave near or in the zone that insane man take care.
Glaimus.
Every gun nut(and there are quite a few of them) in the US has at least one assault rifle.It'sd not at all unusual.
There was an interview on Fox News Channel,and it seems that the weapon has been narrowed down to a Mini 14 or an AR 15,both of which are far from rare,and with the size of the black market for guns in the US I don't see anyone being able to trace the sales.The brand of ammo,although it wasn't specified,was said to be common.
To me this has terror written all over it. Think about it, most serial killers tend to work alone. Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy the list goes on. The possibility that this killer is part of a team points to a conspiracy and to terror. The tarot card reeks of misdirection. It is almost like someone read a book of serial killers and said this will throw them for a loop. Think about it...What do terrorists seek to do but spread fear and intimidation! Is it any coincidence that this is happening while our War on Terror is in full swing? I think not. Al Qaeda shows no distinction between civilian and military targets. The question becomes how do we combat this new trend and how do we prevent these heinous crimes in the future? What if suicide bombers start blowing up banks, malls or other public places? What do we do then? Is this just the beginning? The possibilities are frightening!
IMO they probably wouldn't release all details to the public, of course,
because copy-cats might use them.
Well, this sniper got their 8th victim now (6th dead), a man fueling his car...
The police found the shell, it was for a .233-caliber rifle. I think it was about 130 meters away. They're searching for a white car with two men in it, it has also been seen near the places where the other killings took place. They also found a tarot-card (the Card of Death, btw) with a text something like "Dear police: I am the God!". Sick... :(
Edit/Add: Or I can't even count the victims any more... Guess it was 7th then. Here's a link to the Google News search:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=sniper
I don't think this is a terrorist in the manner of which you speak captfb... This has all the trappings of a home grown nut case... This guy is probably going to say that he was abused as a child, poor, and his mommy and daddy didn't buy him the GI Joe with the Kung-Fu grip when he was a kid as his reasons for shooting these people...Quote:
To me this has terror written all over it.
4MidgetHitmen perhaps you are right. It strikes me as strange though that this killer could be operating with an assistant. Most serial killers operate alone. So if the killer is part of a group it is possible that he is part of a home grown plot ie Tim McVeigh.
It seems to me that this is part of the more random terror plots that have been happening recently ie Kuwait attacks and bombing in Philippines. From the investigating I have done on-line the Al Qaeda terrorist have been instructed in a variety of techniques. Couple that with a scattering of leadership and interrupted communications these killings could very well be the doing of a sleeper cell operating on its own. Just a thought!
As far as I've found they haven't got them yet (I think there are 2). I saw where the police are looking for a light Chevy Astro van with a dent in the rear and Maryland plates. If there are two of them and they follow the news, I'm sure they'll trade vehicles now. It's almost a given that they watch the news after their shooting. It's part of the trip they're on.
I think they're going to have a tough time finding these nuts. They aren't following any real pattern that I can see, other than the first few shootings.