Posted on 10/11/2002 3:21:12 PM PDT by texson66
Hello everyone,
As you may already know I have been a SWAT Sniper for about 3 years. My specialty is Counter Sniper for Presidential and dignitary protection. What this basically means is, I am posted at certain locations looking for a sniper/assassin. Once a threat is detected, I am charged in countering his/her ability to attack by early detection and neutralizing (killing) him/her.
Now on to business… This Sniper killing people in the DC Metro area is a skilled sharpshooter and very calculated. Unfortunately he appears very disturbed and has just left a calling card stating he was God. What that probably means is he may escalate the matter by increasing the rate of killing in each attack because he acknowledges the police's hot pursuit. This sniper knows it's a matter of time before he is discovered. He thinks he is superior to everyone, but knows eventually he will be caught. He is playing a very sick game that he feels he is winning. He will probably want to sensationalize his confrontations with the police and eventually stop running and have a standoff. The police may be his future targets.
It is very important that you adjust your regular routine because this is a very deadly individual. I am going to give you my personal/professional advice on the matter.
The Sniper's MO (his methods) are the following. a. 1st wave of attacks were concentrated in an area the suspect was very familiar with. b. It appears these initial attacks were closer, probably less than 100 yards away. Witnesses were hearing loud cracks. c. He definitely is showing off. He is trying to maintain 100 %, one shot for one kill. (Sniper's creed). d. He is probably not shooting the first person that appears. He is looking for the highest probable kill. This encompasses distance, position, and movement of the individual and excludes physical barriers (vehicles, tress, columns, etc). e. He is shooting from areas adjacent to major roadways, thoroughfares, highways, etc. (quick egress). First group was within a couple of miles from beltway. Child shot in Bowie was a block away from the US 50 on the 197. f. He went up to northern Virginia (70 miles away) to throw police off his trail (diversion, used by snipers for stalking targets and eluding enemy). g. He is making this to be a giant 'Stalk' around the Metro area. It is a game now. He wants them to come after him (like he is in his own war against the enemy). h. He is probably using any foliage (tree line, woods, bushes) that is around the malls, shopping center, gas stations, and parking lots. i. He is able to shoot accurately out to 500 yards (5 football fields) with or without a scope (depends on individual's abilities). j. The farther out he/she is, the more difficult of course it is to detect or pinpoint location. This aids in egress as well. (He knows this).
My advice to you all is to consider the following.
1. Avoid unnecessary errands. 2. Bring someone along. 3. Do not stand outside your vehicle grabbing things out the car. 4. If you go to the store, put items in back seat of car (nothing in trunk) so that you can grab items and exit quickly. 5. When slowing down or at a stop, keep windows closed (glass deflects bullets, he knows this and he is not shooting through glass anymore). 6. Never walk straight to a door more than 20 feet away. Zig zag and walk at angels. The shooter is setting up on doorways/entrances and waiting for victims to line up on entrance. The hardest shot for a sniper is a target traversing laterally to his/her position .
· Walk between cars, use them for protection, and NEVER walk in a straight line to a doorway. Park as close as possible.
· Be mindful of wooded areas and any bushes around establishment. More than likely surrounding areas. Look for reflections (glare of the scope or weapon).
· Use drive-thru at fast food · Look around and make it obvious (looking over your shoulder in the distant) he may hesitate if they think someone notices him. Point to what you are looking at as well. You want to telegraph yourself to others and get them involved. · Keep clear of abandoned vehicles, but concern yourself with them. He is probably parking along roads and walking to his shooting position. · You are probably safer inside the DC area only because congestion will prevent him an easy egress for the sniper. So if there is a toss up for a store then pick the inner city (not the outer boundaries).
The main thing is being careful. Everyone is at risk even the police. He is able to pick the time and place so he has the overall advantage over the police. If any of this is confusing give me a call on my cell 202.XXX.XXXX. If you still have difficulty sorting it out, then just stay home (smile). These are just my opinions and hopefully can help in your daily activities. Take care.
Do any other FReepers have other safety tips?
Safety? No.
BUT: Carry a camera or camcorder at all times. If someone near you is shot/you hear a shot/crack/whizz take a 360° pan of the surroundings even before you render aid.
If possible do two full pans, you MIGHT capture an image of the sniper. The double images will help highlight anyone bugging out...
Even if the advice given is good, enough people would ignore it that he wouldn't run short of targets... but it would let him control many people he'd never get a chance to shoot at.
Stay safe, DC-area FReepers...
Military of hunter's garb might make you stand out a bit.
For this purpose any clothing with a pattern that helps break up your outline would help. A plaid flannel shirt, floral print, or bold stripes for example. "Urban" colors: concrete greys, sooty browns, dull yellows can help you merge into the background.
exercise your 2nd amendment rights ....
Go one step further, and send up a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft with wide angle, high resolution camera's and have it orbit for a few days. When the next shooting occurs, look at the images....
I am confident, that if this continues, they will do this, if they are not already....
Based upon experience and professional observations (you know, all the experts at FR), this line raises too many flags. Unless the writer knows what the police know, there is no way to prove that skill of the shooter.
I agree with other comments along the lines of ... the shooter knows enough to be dangerous, and may have some skills, but is NOT an expert. I have not seen a report that suggests the shooter is lining up 500 yards away. One shot, one kill is indeed a snipers creed. Not even the police suggest that they are dealing with a professional sniper (say ex-Spetnaz or a true military sniper).
The author of this email is correct in many areas, but when the DC police find the shooter I don't think anyone will confuse him with a real pro.
Yeah, post a DOA vanity, then humourlessly have it yanked when it comes to life on its own. What can one say?
You're right, I should have qualified my statement to say wear camofalge suitable to the environment. You made some good city camo suggestions. I like grey clothing, it avoids sharp outlines and blends into almost everything in the city. Works day or night (much better than black at night).
And who'll press your trousers, huh? I think it would be better to send out your mother-in-law!
Real World ...........folks there is NO DEFENSE against such attacks short of a deep hole. This trash lays in wait long enough for targets of opportunity he'll get what s/he wants..........Its up to the survivors in the area to report the mistake this trash "will hopefully" make soon.....or kill him on sight . Nope never mind MD /DC not a CCW/CHL state......
Stay Safe !
And many FReepers have attempted to flame me over this as well. This "crime wave" appears to have scared some here who, according to their posts over the last few years, have faced much greater danger with professionalism and bravery -- and I have no reason or wish to doubt their accounts of their military service.
I guess it's just too much fun for DC-area denizens being afraid and terrorized. As for me, I worry more about the dumb-ass "Junior G-Man" who might cream me with his SUV while "being on the lookout" for the latest (and probably misindentified) magical sniper-mobile.
Sure, find the bastard fast and cap him, but let's not become hysterical over an 8-in-4 million chance of getting popped ourselves.
BTW, the home of one of the recently slain is less than a block away from ours.....
There are some great tips on the thread but I believe Mat_Helm has the right idea.
In MY mind I'm gonna treat this b@$tard like I treat tele-marketers and democrats; . .
. . with ridicule, distain and contempt.
A real pro would have a 10/10 kill record along with 10/10 getaways.
I would imagine this makes the sniper a gifted amateur on the presumption that 8/10 and 10/10 is beyond the probability that the casual serial killer with this degree of boldness would get.
One outlier that may be worth examining more closely is the lady who was wounded in the back. Not only did she survive, but according to reports she was released from the hospital. What is different with this case? In particular, can it be ascertained that the sniper was far away when the shot was fired, and the bullet lost energy before it hit, or was it simple bad aim from close up? The former might yield the "500 yard" conjecture; the latter, a distinct temporary lapse in skill on the part of the shooter, UNLESS there is more than one sniper...
You are absolutely, positively, categorically correct.
All citizens, no matter where you live, should exert and exercise their 2nd amendment right.
Maybe something as simple as she moved just as he was pulling the trigger..
Unless it was intentional shoot-to-wound in those two cases. Perhaps to show the shooter(s) has/have Godlike powers to select who lives and who dies.
Jack
At least two dead victims were moving (IIRC, the first two), the guy in the food shopping center parking lot and the guy mowing the lawn at another parking lot.
Here is where I think skill and training could be a discriminant. A sniper is presumeably trained to snipe (or whatever the verb is) well. With a target rich environment that a US suburb is, he or she can afford to find or wait for a stationary target.
A real pro would (I imagine just from light reading) take pride in the bullet to kill ratio, and even the manner of the kill. For example, head shots versus center of mass shots.
Piggybacking here, I have not yet seen any ballistics info released on details such as barrel twist. That might go a long way towards narrowing down the type of .223 weapon involved (and thus aid identification). I am wondering specifically if the police already know but have artificially enlarged the profile in case the sniper has multiple weapons while using only one, or in case a number of people are involved.
Actually, I'm across the Chesapeake Bay from this creep. He probably won't come over here - too many armed citizens.
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