I-270 SNIPER Shooter may be firing from car

The Columbus Dispatch ^ | December 11, 2003 | Geoff Dutton and John Futty

[flutters]

Nervous motorists scanning the woods along I-270 could be looking in the wrong place for the south Outerbelt shooter.

Evidence suggests the shooter, in several of the 15 incidents that lawenforcement officials said are connected, might have fired from a vehicle, perhaps traveling in the opposite direction of the victims’.

Authorities also recently suggested an in-transit shooter.

"We don’t rule anything out, whether stationary or mobile," Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin said.

Of the six reports with detailed information about the paths of the vehicle and trajectories of the bullets, each had been struck on the driver’s side. That would mean the closest shot would have been from another vehicle.

If the shots had come from a stationary position off the freeway, then the shooter repeatedly aimed past the nearest lanes of traffic and, in the case of those on I-270, shot across at least three lanes and the highway median.

Other information that could support the shots being fired from a moving vehicle include:

• A home and a school building were struck by bullets on their sides facing the road.

• A van shot while parked on the Pay Days used-car lot, 3408 S. High St., was hit on the side facing the road. The bullet recovered was fired from the same gun used days later to kill 62-year-old Gail Knisley, authorities announced Tuesday.

• One victim said that when his minivan’s window blew out on Rt. 23, he immediately suspected a shot from an oncoming vehicle as it passed. "I thought whatever happened came from that vehicle," said the victim, Edward Cable. "But there’s no way to know."

• Another victim said a federal agent told him he thinks his house in Obetz north of I-270 had been shot from a vehicle. "They don’t give you any certainties," Don Fitch said of the investigators.

• A laser that investigators shined Saturday through a bullet hole in the Obetz house on Lisle Avenue appeared to point to a guardrail on the opposite side of I-270, meaning the shot could have been fired from a car window.

• On Tuesday, a woman told police that someone pointed a handgun at her from another vehicle while she was driving on I-270 near Rt. 23.

The house and school, both of which were empty when they were hit, could have been struck by stray bullets fired at cars.

Publicly available information about the other shootings is too sketchy to know if they fit the pattern.

In an August shooting, a horse trailer apparently had been shot from above, and the victim reported seeing a group of juveniles standing on an overpass, one with a gun.

The last two shootings police have linked to the case took place Nov. 30. As of yesterday, six of the 15 being investigated have been positively connected with ballistics tests.

Yesterday at the daily news briefing, Martin said the task force had no new information to release but was following up on more than 1,600 leads.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Franklin County Sher iff ’ s Office at 614-462-4646.

[flutters]

Ping.

[dirtboy]

Why don't they release what kind of gun is firing the bullets in question? Handgun versus rifle would significantly impact the various scenarios.

[Jaidyn]

As soon as I heard about the shootings, I mentioned to my family that it looked like someone was driving in the area and shooting. I'm somewhat familiar with I 270 and there aren't that many hiding places.

[Cobra Scott]

If the shots had come from a stationary position off the freeway, then the shooter repeatedly aimed past the nearest lanes of traffic and, in the case of those on I-270, shot across at least three lanes and the highway median.

Didn't rufus and dufus ever consider that the longer shots might well indicate that the shooter is stationary, with a small objective scope or red-dot, and attempting to lead the targets? That would be easier for a moderate range shot than for a close shot.

After all, skeet shooters accomplish much the same thing with open sights, but put a scope on there and the hit rate would go way down, ESPECIALLKY for close shots.

[LisaMalia]

I just hope they catch this lunatic(s)...SOON.

[smith288]

Wouldn't scope shots be far more accurate than this person? Unless the gunman is that bad and got "lucky" once by hitting Mrs Knisely. All other shots have been real lame car body shots...

[flutters]

I don't know. They are being very careful about what information they release. We've speculated a bit about the weapon at this thread:

Number Of Serial Shootings Stands At 15

[Ispy4u]

Additionally the shooter may be shooting accross the closer lanes because he actually want to kill the driver. Instead of the bullet having to cross through the entire vehicle, it only has to pass the door or window.

Hmmmm, the intellectual prowess of the police mindset, baffles me. Calling Chief (retired due to multiple windfalls) Moose.

[DooDahhhh]

I took 270 to Cincinnati at Thanksgiving. Didn't know about this then!

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang

[LisaMalia]

I took 270 to Cincinnati at Thanksgiving. Didn't know about this then!

Probably better you didn't. It's scary as hell driving that stretch. I had to do so last week. What a sick society we live in when you have to be frightened to make a visit to your child's house.

[ASA Vet]

Evidence suggests the shooter, in several of the 15 incidents that lawenforcement officials said are connected,
might have fired from a vehicle, perhaps traveling in the opposite direction of the victims’.

Three journalist weasel words in one sentence?

"Maybe" they didn't have anything to report but had to fill space?

[Orangedog]

The columbus police is staffed largely by idiots. There are two cops who patrol that area who have nothing better to do than ticket people with tinted windows. Their first and over-riding concern is for their own safety, followed by revenue enhancement.

[flutters]

If the shots are coming from another car, wouldn't their have to be at least two people involved? One to drive the car and the other to shoot.???

[smith288]

I dunno...this persons aim is either real bad (thus leading me to think he could also be driving) or he is purposely trying to miss but just scare...

[lelio]

That what it sounds like to me. Just some nutcase with a rifle mounted in his car that he pulls the trigger on once every couple of days. Heck you could have it mounted in your truck firing out a small hole and no one could tell.

[smith288]

The columbus police is staffed largely by idiots.

Careful with your broad brushes...

[Alberta's Child]

If these cases involve someone shooting from a vehicle, I'm quite certain that the police are much further along in their investigation than we know. The method for identifying the perpetrator (or at least his car) is actually quite simple.

[Norse]

This isn't just some nutcase; I put 20 down that it is another Islamic-extremist recruited in our inner cities.