Copycat Sniper on Long Island Expressway?

www.nydailynews.com ^ | 10/15/02 | AP

[Callahan]

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A bullet fragment was recovered from a car door after the driver reported hearing “five loud bangs” as she drove home on the Long Island Expressway, police said Tuesday. At about the same time, another witness, about a quarter-mile away, reported hearing firecrackers and feeling an object pass over his head. No injuries were reported. Detectives said they were confident the two incidents, which took place at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, were related.

Nassau County police investigators continued Tuesday to search an area north and south of the expressway, looking for any evidence that a weapon had been fired. Police said they have already interviewed about 100 witnesses, some of whom have told police they also heard what sounded like fireworks in the area.

“We don’t know what we’re going to get from this,” said Sgt. Anthony Repalone as he held up the bullet recovered from the car’s passenger-side door at a press conference at police headquarters.

Detectives were asked repeatedly if there were any suspicions that detectives were dealing with a copycat shooter inspired by the sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area, but Repalone would only say, “We’re looking into all possibilities.”

The driver of the 2000 BMW, who was not identified, told detectives she was headed eastbound toward her home in Commack in Suffolk County when she heard “five loud bangs” as she drove in the area of Searingtown Road.

The woman checked her car the following morning and discovered a half-inch hole in the passenger side front door near the door handle. She took it to a repair shop, where a mechanic found a 3/4-inch deformed lead bullet.

She reported it to police, who were already investigating a similar report from a Massachusetts man, who was visiting relatives on Sparrow Drive in North Hills.

That witness, also not identified, reported hearing what sounded like fireworks and then feeling something whiz past his head. The area where the man was standing is about a quarter-mile northwest of where the woman’s car was believed to have been hit. Both witnesses reported the shooting happened at about the same time.

Inspector Peter Matuza, commander of the Sixth Precinct, said there has not been any reports in his precinct of unexplained or mysterious shootings for at least five or 10 years. He added “it would be a stretch” to think the woman was specifically targeted.

He said the area south of the Long Island Expressway is wooded and not a place where teenagers or others usually congregate. The wooded area separates the LIE from another major highway, the Northern State Parkway. The two highways run virtually parallel through that area of central Nassau County.

“We have a good fix on where we think the shots came from, it’s just a matter of the investigative process to determine exactly where the shots came from,” Matuza said.

He added: “It certainly seems that these rounds were fired at the same time.”

[Callahan]

Could be just some moron with no backstop. Then again...

[Koblenz]

I'm wondering if there's a guy who wants to kill his wife or something. Kill 4 or 5 other random people, and then people write it off as a random gunman.

[basil]

Well, the very least that can be said is that this particular perp is not nearly as accurate as the perp in the DC area.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Don't be surprised that after the DC killer is caught, another city heats up (assuming concerted political terror.)

[Talldocs1]

Yet.........my theory is they got their 9 out of 11 and are moving on to phase two, which includes freeways shootings.

[Callahan]

If they had that capacity, you'd think they would unleash it all at once. The effect would be devastating to the the public psyche. Imagine this ultimatum in a grainy Al Queda video: "We will kill one person in each city every day until the US ends its aggression against Islam."

[tracer]

Impossible!! The gun laws on LI are even more strict than MD's.....

[RobRoy]

Didja ever see the movie Targets? It's about a guy who sets himself up with a 30-06 and a scope atop a cylindrical water tower about 200 yards from the freeway and then just pops cars. When they stop, he shoots all the passengers dead. Needless to say, he's eventually caught, by VINCENT PRICE in a drive in.

Oh yeah, he was also holed up in the enclosed structure of the screen at the drive in. He made a small hole in the screen and shot people in their cars as they watched the movie.

Pretty stupid movie, actually, but I always wondered why that sort of thing never happened. After all, there are a lot of nuts out there.

[DrCarl]

That's it. I'm taking the GCP for the time being.

[DrCarl]

>Could be just some moron with no backstop.

There is no range facing the LIE in Nassau County. Please don't suggest this. I know you mean well, but I'm sure you can understand what's reading in.

[DugwayDuke]

"If they had that capacity, you'd think they would unleash it all at once."

Not necessarily. They might not have many resources and they might wish to string things out as long as possible. One cell surfaces, creates a furor, and is caught. This signals another cell, in another city to surface. This also allows each cell to monitor the preceding cells picking up on what works and what does not. Then again, who knows.

[Alberta's Child]

Of course, the entire process could easily come grinding to a halt if some American psycho (I mean, patriot) starts sniping at random Muslims in response.

Say, 10 young Islamic males for each American.

[Talldocs1]

Then again.........is right.

Odd this is the second BMW - wasn't there a freak accident with the Earnhardt dealership in MD where the guy got in the car to test drive and the window shattered? He called from his cell to say he thought he had been hit by a sniper. I thought this odd since BMW are built like mercedes - one of the more sturdy cars along with Saturns in the way they are made. It would make sense that glass in these cars 'just don't randomly shatter'.

[Bella]

Yet.........my theory is they got their 9 out of 11 and are moving on to phase two, which includes freeways shootings.

Did you notice what you wrote above? 9 out of 11---911