Posted on 10/08/2002 5:32:09 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Experts in mass murder and the profiling of killers say the sniper who has killed six people in the Washington metropolitan area does not fit the usual categories, and that may make the case much harder to solve.
Most mass murderers, for example kill to settle a grudge or avenge a perceived wrong, targeting victims who are relatives, colleagues or members of an ethnic group they hate, the experts said.
The majority of gunmen committing multiple murders in recent years also used semiautomatic weapons, fired several times, and ended up either killing themselves or remaining at the scene to be captured.
But the sniper in the Washington area has picked his victims seemingly at random, firing a single round from a considerable distance and escaping while leaving behind no obvious clues. He has used a hunting or military-style rifle, leaving no shell casings for the police to investigate as evidence until one was found today.
The profilers know that this killer is cool and cautious. They do not know much more than that.
"Since there is no evidence of a motive, or evidence that this person is trying to get even with society, what is left is killing for sport," said James Alan Fox, the Lipman family professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University, who has written several books on mass murderers.
The sniper's use of a single shot also suggests less anger than mass killers normally have, Professor Fox said. "If he was expressing his anger or frustration, he would continue to fire, creating a blood bath. But this guy is coolly and calmly finding victims, taking a very accurate shot, and then escaping."
"I think he is hunting or target shooting with humans," Professor Fox said.
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.
Mr. Sylvester also carried out his shootings by firing only one round each time, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick said. He carefully placed a blanket beneath his rifle, and left no shell casings at the scene.
As with the Washington-area shootings of the past week, the Suffolk County shootings in 1994 created great public unease. More than 100 Suffolk County police and detectives were assigned to hunt for the sniper. The case was solved when the police received information that a Remington .35 caliber rifle had been stolen from a gun store in a burglary and that the weapon was sold to Mr. Sylvester.
A bullet recovered from the body of a man killed in the diner matched the markings of a bullet fired from the Remington, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick said.
Professor Fox said that it was unusual that the shootings were continuing. Mass killers usually end up dead or captured at the scene of their shooting, he said, or if they are not seriously emotionally disturbed and able to plan carefully, will stop their killings when the number of police in the area increases.
"But this guy may be getting an added thrill out of continuing to outwit the police even while they are looking for him," Professor Fox said, noting that there was another victim today, a 13-year-old boy shot outside a middle school in Bowie, Md.
A number of studies of mass killers have found that they usually give warning signs to friends, relatives or co-workers, talking about their grievances and threatening to take some violent act of vengeance. These studies have shown that mass killers, contrary to popular belief, do not just snap. Unfortunately, these warning signs are usually ignored until too late.
One of the most widely publicized rampage killing involved Colin Ferguson, a black man frustrated by his failed life who blamed white racism for his troubles. In December 1993, he killed 6 people and wounded 19 on the Long Island Rail Road before being subdued by other passengers.
The bloodiest rampage killing took place at a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Tex., in October 1991. George Hennard, a delusional man who had told an F.B.I. agent that a secret national conspiracy of white women was plotting against him, crashed his pickup truck into the restaurant and opened fire. He killed 22 people and wounded 23 more before killing himself.
The difficulty of tracking the Washington sniper reminded Joseph Borrelli, a retired New York City chief of detectives, of a year-long wave of killings by David Berkowitz, known as Son of Sam, who shot and killed six people and wounded seven others in 1977 as they sat in their cars.
"The complete absence of a motive is very similar to Berkowitz," Mr. Borrelli said.
"We never did establish a motive," Mr. Borrelli said. "When we caught him, he claimed it was the devil talking to him through the dog; that was his story."
Mr. Pierce, the retired profiler, said the Washington sniper seemed different from the angry, emotionally unstable type of killer. "He is a very calculating person, preoccupied with escape," Mr. Pierce said. "He is not out of touch with reality."
"He may have an antisocial personality disorder, and thrive on power and control," Mr. Pierce said. "But he is not psychotic."
Fits the profile of a trained Islamic terrorist - wonder why that was not mentioned?
Because everybody knows that Madelyne Toogood is much more of a threat than a trained Islamic terrorist sniper.
"I think he is hunting or target shooting with humans," Professor Fox said.
There is only one other plausible explanation for the single-shot MO. Some people have suggested that firing a single shot prevents triangulation of the sniper's position. But then, how important is that to police?
The single-shot MO seems to contradict the theory that these are terrorists. OTOH, the cold-bloodedness seems to indicate terrorism since Prof. Fox could only name one similar case.
So these seem to be the only two possibilities.
They should be talking with special ops personnel (not university professors) to get an accurate profile.
Why are they only taking one shot at their victims?
Interesting. So that would indicate a thrill-killer too nervous to reload? That would point away from terrorists.
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