Meet the reenforcements. <|:)~
Posted on 10/08/2002 12:56:54 AM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With few clues and little progress in the hunt for the sniper who has killed six people and wounded two others in the Washington region, local authorities called in more federal agents and urged parents to look out for their children when schools open on Tuesday.
The random shootings have rattled people living in and around the U.S. capital, where many residents are still unnerved by last year's September 11 strike on the Pentagon and letters sent afterward containing anthrax spores.
The latest victim, a 13-year-old student, was shot once in the upper body and critically wounded on Monday outside his school in Bowie, Maryland. Police said ballistics and other evidence linked the assault to the seven other attacks across the region last week.
The teenager from Prince George's County remained in critical condition after surgery at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington.
Five people, aged 25 to 55, were killed in Maryland's Montgomery County on Wednesday and early Thursday. A 72-year-old man was shot to death in Washington on Thursday and on Friday, a 43-year-old woman was shot and wounded in Fredericksburg, Virginia, 130 km south of the Maryland and Washington shootings.
Flanked by high-level local, state and federal law enforcement officials, Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose announced late Monday that he had written to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft seeking additional assistance under a federal law pertaining to serial killings.
"Because of the magnitude of the investigation and the likelihood that we're going to need additional resources, I am writing to the attorney general to initiate a formal request for assistance," Moose said.
Federal law enforcement agencies had been assisting in the case since last Thursday, the day after the first murder. An official at the FBI office in Baltimore, Special Agent Kevin Lewis, said Moose's request would give the premier federal law enforcement agency a bigger role in the manhunt.
Though police have had little to go in the search for a sniper described by police as a skilled marksman who needed only one shot to murder his victims, authorities insist they are not dismayed by the lack of progress.
"We are not frustrated. We are not disappointed. We are not discouraged," Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan told reporters. "We are angry and outraged that someone would do this to our loved ones and our neighbours.
He added: "We're asking parents to walk their kids to schools. We're asking parents to serve as safety patrols." he said. "We need everyone to do their part to bring this killer to justice."
Meet the reenforcements. <|:)~
Tell that to his next victim.
The sniper has begun shooting students at school. Schools have been declared free-fire zones to snipers by the federal government. Nobody there can shoot back because the government has made sure nobody in or near a school can LEGALLY carry a firearm. This is the predictable outcome from the disarming of law-abiding citizens. I guess we'll have to call out the National Guard to defend every school in America.
Correction, should have said "hanged".
That won't do any good against a sniper.
Keeping them out of sight is the only thing that can protect them.
My best guess at this point is the police departments are absolutely clueless about who is behind these attacks. The lone nut case would most likely have been narrowed down some by now. They need to completely investigate that angle along with all the usual procedures
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
While I agree with the need for an armed citizenry as the first line of defense against those who would deprive us of liberty, a sniper presents a unique challenge under any circumstances. Perhaps someone more versed in tactics than me can suggest what type of response a few folks armed with handguns can mount following a sniper attack. I can't think of anything except to be prepared to stop and detain someone looking suspicious in the general area from which one or more shots was heard. (For example, perhaps, someone climbing down a fire escape of a tall building with a sniper rifle strapped across his back?)
Crowd Control. In short the media and government do not wish to have a public hysteria against practitioners of the "Religion of peace."
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
Because the LEO's are afraid of the backlash if they tell the American public that Muslims are doing this.
How about this: An armed citizen walks around the corner and sees a man holding a rifle a 30 yards away. The man fires, and down range it can be seen he hit an unarmed person. Armed citizen pulls out handgun and shoots terrorist 5 times.
The only way this will stop is for a armed good guy to be there when it happens, see it happen, and be close enough to return fire. The odds of this are much greater the more armed good guys are out there. The police are not enough.
Agreed. More guns, less nutcases.
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