Posted on 10/15/2002 4:52:49 AM PDT by twntaipan
Local psychologist believes sniper kills done by terrorists By J.J. Stambaugh, News-Sentinel staff writer October 15, 2002
The recent sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area are probably terrorist attacks rather than the work of a traditional "spree killer," according to a local psychologist who specializes in violent behavior.
Dr. Helen Smith, a forensic psychologist and author of the book "The Scarred Heart," earned her doctorate from the University of Tennessee in 1994. She often is called to testify as an expert witness in Juvenile Court proceedings; in "The Scarred Heart," she dedicated a chapter to the 1997 Lillelid murder case in Greene County, and she is currently making a documentary on the slayings.
"This is most likely a terrorist act, that's my take on it," Smith said of the D.C.-area shootings, which began Oct. 2 and have claimed the lives of eight people so far. "It's not typical, it just doesn't really meet any of the profiles we look at."
While law enforcement officials say they aren't releasing detailed information about the shootings because of concerns about tipping off possible suspects, Smith said the very nature of the attacks sets them apart from other instances of mass homicide.
"It looks to me like there's more than one person involved, and spree killers generally act alone," she said. "They will normally be in their thirties or forties, male, unemployed - a loner type. Usually, there's also a divorce or other relationship problem.
"But my guess is that there's more than person operating here, a driver and the person doing the shooting. There might even be different teams."
According to Smith, the apparently random nature of the shootings may provide clues as to the shooter's motivations. Serial killers, for instance, tend to single out people of a specific gender, age and ethnic group and often try to strike up a rapport with their prospective victims, Smith said.
"Serial killers are usually practiced and accomplished at what they do, they have normal and acceptable social behavior," she said. "They are usually sexually motivated. They'll get into a fantasy world where they fantasize about a certain kind of person: co-eds, (Playboy) Bunnies, or even homosexual boys, as in the case of Jeffrey Dahmer.
"But spree killers are obviously not getting to know their victims. It's a distance thing - they're disassociating themselves from their victims."
Smith mentioned the 1966 case of Charles Whitman, who shot and killed 14 people and injured dozens more from the top of the University of Texas Tower in Austin as an example of a traditional spree killer: someone who engages in a short, violent killing spree that generally ends with their own death or capture.
According to Smith, the real target of the sniper or snipers in the Washington area is the larger community rather than individuals.
"The anger's not toward the victims, it's toward the community," she said. "People use guns because you can step back, make it impersonal. They're probably not even seeing these people as actual people, but as things or objects used to further their goal, whatever their goal is."
Smith also said the degree of planning, skill and patience needed to sustain the attacks for an extended period of time also leads her to suspect terrorists.
"This is too calculated," she said. "It's cool, it's calm, and it's from a distance. It doesn't sound like the work of a maniac."
Smith also speculated that the investigating police agencies aren't publicly commenting on the possibility that terrorists are behind the shootings because they don't want to hurt the public's morale.
"They're not giving us much information," she said. "They don't want to tell us that because they don't want people to panic ."
No matter what the facts of the case ultimately turn out to be, Smith said one thing is obvious: The shooter or shooters enjoy the attention they're getting.
"This is a person who wants power over the population at large," she said. "They are watching the news . They do a hit and then go home and watch it on TV."
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307 or stambaugh@knews.com
That's because its obviously a terrorist.
There is at least one kind of terrorist known to have practiced these tactics, according to the al Qaeda documents and videos found in Afghanistan (if not elsewhere). Those are Muslim terrorists.
Last night's shooting is a leisurely 10 to 15 minutes drive from Northern VA's largest Muslim neighborhood (actually closer to 10 than to 15 minutes).
Last night's shooting was so far inside the Beltway, and so far from any obvious high-speed egress route, that it seems the shooters knew they could make it home and be off the streets before a large police response of the type seen last Friday. They have so far proven calculating and observant enough to know how the police might respond, and what is a viable escape route.
I'm now pretty convinced that they're from the Muslim community near Bailey's Crossroads.
Me too.
Nope. Got link?
Incorrect. There have been two at Michael's craft stores, a kid at school, the woman at HD last night and a man mowing his lawn. There may be more that wweren't at gas stations, but these are the ones I recall.
Liberals inside the beltway will have to give up their lattes if this is terrorism--they might have to, "horror" actually see those they have defended marched to prison (meaning the Muslims).
Woman dead in Virginia shooting; authorities trying to determine if shooting linked to sniper spree
Hmmm. The Washington-area commentators referred to above may all be "on board" with "the story".
It'd be just like LE, trying to PR a situation like this.
Chief Moose looks at times like he is under a tremendous strain. If he knew it was terrorists and the feds were leaning on him to keep it under his hat while the terrorists slaughtered his people one at a time, it might tend to ruin his week.
If it's true, how to respond? People have a right to defend themselves.
And if I were Bush, I'd just start turning the Arab-American community upside down until I got to the guys with recent powder burns.
Second thought: the first attack on WTC was obviously intended as a severe provocation. As in, let's have a big War Against Islam -- just like Bin Laden and Zawahiri have been running their mouths about.
This looks like it's an engraved invitation to beat up on every Arab on the East Coast.
When the Marxist-Leninist students at Harvard pulled their sit-in and goaded the police to riot in 1969, commentator Roger Rosenblatt was there and reminisced years later that when the police action began, he happened to be at the back of the occupied building when the Communist students bailed out the back way. He stopped one of them and asked him why they were leaving, while their followers and fellow-travelers were inside, taking a beating from the police. The Leftist snot coolly replied, "The leadership always has to preserve itself." They were leaving their followers to absorb a drubbing, provide a spectacle for the news, and get seriously "radicalized" by the experience.
The shooter(s), if it is indeed a terrorist cell, could be acting on Al-Q'aeda's instructions, instructions intended to produce something very like a radicalizing experience for Arabs in America and elsewhere, by severely provoking the U.S. citizenry to come down hard on Arab immigrants.
Oh, and over on the other thread, Saudi immigration authorities announced a tit-for-tat policy on foreigners traveling there.
As we go about our lives, travelling from one place to another, where is one of the only places where we are outdoors (exposed) and stationary? For this nutjob, gas stations are one of few places where he will have multiple targets, all largely exposed for a length of time and all relatively stationary. I think it is as simple as that.
This may be true but don't give up on the American people. We are a very resilient people just naive sometimes.
Since shortly after the initial shootings the terrorists have known - can depend on - heavy press coverage. This series of shooting has been planned for months with a clear understanding of impact on the general public.
Someone, on another thread, thought that these shootings might be a test run for the Christmas shopping season. If the economy isn't tanking already, that would do the job.
So the questions boils down to: Do we as a nation have what it takes (and are we willing to do what it will take) to deal with enemies in our midst? Enemies whose goal is a Muslim American? Or do we simply give up now and raise the Muslim flag?
Liberals would have us do the later.
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