Posted on 10/11/2002 8:49:27 PM PDT by John H K
"....Although Smith said investigators did not search any hotel rooms yesterday, witnesses said police with bloodhounds cordoned off Room 109 of the Ramada. Sources said they found nothing of interest.
Police briefly took a man linked to that room into custody yesterday at the crime scene. Hobert "Dewey" Epps, 36, who lives in Georgia and is staying with his fiance, said he was questioned
Epps, one of several people detained briefly yesterday, said FBI agents told him he matched a tentative description of the shooter and that they were concerned about his presence at the scene. Epps said agents showed him a picture – which he said appeared to have come from a video image – that slightly resembled him. Epps is about 5-feet-9, of medium build with sandy brown hair and a mustache.
Epps said agents asked him to show his profile. He eventually was released. "They said I looked like the picture of someone at another shooting," he said...."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Other info said the none of the witnesses had any indication that the van had anything to do with the shootings, witnesses don't agree on the number of people in the van, and the maid that saw the van saw a BLONDE woman driving it.
But it makes clear that whatever suspect description is being "covered up" isn't particularly very "Middle Eastern" appearing.
I'm guessing that Mr. Epps will either leave the area immediately or spend the rest of his life walking around naked with his hands in the air. Just to reassure us.
Another excerpt states:"Many are skeptical that the white van is more than a dead end. Some investigators said they don't doubt that witnesses to yesterday's shooting saw the van, but noted that none knew whether the occupants – some reported seeing one and others two – had anything to do with the shooting. Indeed, the focus on the van may be as much a reflection of the dearth of hard information as it is eyewitness reports."
So,maybe that BLONDE woman isn't very important to the case either.
I don't know about PC gamers, but he/she/they/it is definitely a hunter. Too bad it couldn't be deer instead of people.
Eh, I'm the only person not allowed to make "assumptions?" :-)
A sandy-haired man with a mustache who looks like someone named Hobart "Dewey" Epps frm Georgia SOUNDS like someone "Bubba" looking.
But I've long argued that people kid themselves about how obviously distinct "Middle Eastern" or "Arab" men look and how easy they are to ID when they don't cooperate by wearing robes and beards and such...since ALL Middle Easterns and Arabs ARE "Caucasians." Plenty are light skinned, plenty of Hispanics, Italians, Greeks, even Jews etc. look Arab but aren't....since what people REALLY mean but never use when they talk about "Middle Eastern" looking is someone MEDITERRANEAN in appearance.
I've also long argued the entire white vehicle thing may be a complete waste of time, myself, actually. Included that paragraph you mentioned when I first was going to post but deleted it as I was worried of having too long of a WP "excerpt."
My main point is a lot of people on FR seem absolutely convinced they have a description of the suspects but won't release it because they're Middle Eastern looking..that's clear from reading the board the past week.
I just found it ironic that they have a description they're not releasing but it sounds like a generic white guy.
Of course, the real reason they haven't released it is because they're not real confident of it and they're not confident that the person in the photo they have is actually the perp...hence, they're only showing it to future witnesses.
I have a guy working for me that has beautiful long blonde hair that he keeps under wraps. Two years ago he was driving his wife Mercede convertable in Reno a cop stopped him thinking he was going to hit on a blonde. Jim said when the cop saw him his face turned beet red and became belligerent and searched the car looking for a excuse to bust him.
That raises the next logical question. In light of all the freedoms that Americans, more than gladly, gave up shortly after OKC and 9/11, could registration, confiscation, nazi-neighbor-paranoia and door-to-door searches (freezing the constitution to protect us??) be far away for America?
People said that there would never be a Central World Government, today people are simply asking if it's a good idea. 24 US Senators voted yesterday to cede US warmaking powers to the United Nations.
The crazier things sound anymore, the more likely there's some truth in there somewhere.
Keep your thinking caps on folks...
I heard a LE officer from that area today saying the traditional "we need to go on about our business".BS!
I suspect that gas stations are a favorite because people stand outdoors in one spot for prolonged periods & therefore make good targets.
Just suppose that this/these guy(s) are not trained snipers but just your average rifle shot. It is a lot easier to shoot at someone who is paying attention to a menial task and standing in one place than someone who is moving--even just walking down the street.
By the way, his first shot, at a Michaels in Maryland, was a "miss". ONly hit a window, that's why we know about that one.
Didn't I read that forensics said the gun was not a hunting rifle, but a M-16 or AR-15?
But it makes clear that whatever suspect description is being "covered up" isn't particularly very "Middle Eastern" appearing.
I know you like to play the contrarian,but even you must have heard of Dolly Parton and her wigs.
(Speculation) perhaps the fact that it is staying in one area argues against the Arab terrorist cell hypothesis? If so, the police should put on their thinking caps, because the speculation seems to be the standard angry white male model, but the net effect of the shootings seems to be a political atmosphere significantly more conducive to the ever-popular "sensible gun control" proposals and gun-control-friendly candidates in the elections coming up next month...
Someone should be constantly asking "who benefits"?
I think were it an Arab terrorist operation, the next thing to do would be to start up an operation in a geographically disparate location, such as LA.
Notice the deafening silence from the jihad-os. They're frantically checking their own playbooks, as this ain't in the script.
(Speculation) perhaps the fact that it is staying in one area argues against the Arab terrorist cell hypothesis?
Yes, plus these are atrocities that islamos couldn't take credit for, because they can't understand it themselves, let alone question the origin of these potential 'victories' with their SA/Egyptian/whatever handlers.
If so, the police should put on their thinking caps, because the speculation seems to be the standard angry white male model,
Bingo.
but the net effect of the shootings seems to be a political atmosphere significantly more conducive to the ever-popular "sensible gun control" proposals and gun-control-friendly candidates in the elections coming up next month...
Notice the deafening silence from the two-party system-os. They're frantically checking their own playbooks, as this ain't in the script, while their connections to effective intel analysis are as stale as back-fridge forgotten tortillas.
Someone should be constantly asking "who benefits"?
The ones who would normally already have a cover-up plan in place (if they were the causals) DO NOT because there is no business-as-usual 'bono' here.
It truly appears that these shootings are a real-bullet paintball game.
I just said on another thread that I suspected the Feds may have preempted this same operation in Buffalo and Portland--that the email in the Buffalo case about a "big meal" may well have been referring to snipers rather than bombs, since hunters "snipe".
I also agree that this cell may well have gone active because they were afraid the Feds were getting too close and because the cover of leaves and foliage will soon be gone.
I remember one of the bigger fish told authorities that the cells had been given more autonomy.
How do you know?
America has had homegrown serial killers, long before Islamacist nut jobs decided to attack on our own soil. Heck, we've had centuries of people doing this. This is NOT al Qaeda, sleeper cells, nor even home grown Muslim/s. This is a whacko, like Son of Sam and the Zodiac Killer, and on and on.
Besides all of the former stuff, my common sense tells me so. I don't wear tinfoil. :-)
Never underestimate your enemy.
" No one has taken credit for it, so it doesn't " help " the Islamacists .
Name one happening al queda has taken credit for on their own.
" No al Qaeda force, is going to use a card, from a tarot deck, which was published in 1996 and not popular enough to still be on sale.
Who ever is doing the killing studied USMC warfighting doctrine. They've been at it for awhile now. They are independently wealthy and have spent considerable time recently studying a very large area, the people and other things relevent to what they were up to. The card comes from USMC historical practice, that's it's significance. Whoever is doing this is not concerned with michael, drawing symbols on a map, gas stations, PETA...and he doesn't get on the hwy for an escape, the location is a ruse. They're can shooting- AmeriCANS. They're doing it right outside America's 911 headquarters, N. and S. of it.
" They Muslims wouldn't use such an item anyway."
Are you sure? What if he's Chetchin? Jihadists mold religious doctrine to fit.
"It sounds far too much like the Son of Sam slayings and other such serial killers, to be being done by some foreign or even homegrown terrorist.
Those killers were psycho, these killings are done by a very bright, sane, but very evil person(s). If the killer succeeds 2 more times, it will be very clear he's got a lot of help. He's only succeeded twice sofar, because the last 2 were the only events w/o the element of surprise introduced by the killer.
"Mark Furman and other people, who have actual training in this kind of thing ( which no one, who's been posting on these threads has ! ) think it's anything but a serial killer.
Training... What does it mean? Does one need a certificate to think, to judge? All jihadists are serial killers. All killers have motive. If Sam's dog would have shut up, Sam would have lost his motive. If the world goes Islamic, jihadists will be out of business and other politically motivated killings will ensue.
Jihadists go after the big time kill. If this is their op here's what they're up to, they're setting the trap, because all other massings are subject to security checks.
If it's not jihadists, the only other killer on the loose I can think of is the anthrax guy. Here's a short explaination, cut from somewhere else.
The guy that sent the anthrax was an authoritarian from this country. Jihadists go for the big kill. If the jihadists got a batch of sodom's slime they'd of attempted a big time kill, not some weasle mailings. The anthrax didn't come from Iraq. It came from Ft Dietrick, MD and the scientists there recognized and acknowledged, it's their own bug mix.
The same bozo that stole and sent out the bug mix in the mail could be doing this spree also. His motive is the same as with the anthrax happening- providing the impetus for the destruction of individual Freedom. He's already killed and doesn't care much who he kills, because it's the collective well being he's after. Last time he was trying to establish rules and bureaucracies to protect folks from bugs, now it's guns.
The killer here is being cautious. His first shot was at a liquor store guy closing up as a test. Then a month later he starts his campaign. He's independently wealthy, so he's had plenty of time to read up, practice shooting and gathering info.
I've tried to follow this closely, but have not heard that. Early on, some police were showing "an example" of the type of gun that shoots the bullet type found. The only guns shown were AR-15 variants. However, plenty of different cartridges use the same bullet. Also, a varmint rifle could fill the bill. My wife actually heard some analysis early that mentioned the varmint, or ground hog rifle, possibility.
By now, I assume they have a bullet type and twist rate. But they are not saying what it is.
I am still doubtful of the validity of the tarot card and empty .223 case.
I've heard it is SOP, and this is the second shooting where this has happened -- there was a cop at the intersection, and a station nearby, at the scene of one of the Montgomery County shootings, and the cop ran to help the victim, ignoring pursuit of the perp. A normal human reflex, in contrast to an inhuman perp.
Do you have a source for that info? I haven't seen anything that specific about the card.
This is a possibility...but last night on Hannity, there was a retired DC dectective on saying it's possible the sniper's picking gas stations because they're along main thoroughfares, and easy for him to get out of the area, fast. I was talking to someone who suggested that gas stations are being picked because people also have to stand there for at least 3 minutes without moving while they pump gas....easy targets.
This indicates that he is not a trained sniper. A trained sniper would either not take the shot or would be able to estimate how much the bullet would be deflected by the glass.
He is employing good hunting tactics, getting close enough to bring down the quarry with one shot. There is no emphasis needed on accuracy at extreme ranges because the quarry does not shoot back.
Escape is the priority. In the suburban setting, one would not need to go far. Just a few miles to leave the immediate area, blend in with medium density population, and go to ground locally until the heat cools.
There are too many white vehicles involved -- first box trucks, then a Caravan, now an Astro. This could indicate rentals, but the police will certainly check the rental records in the area.
Why hasn't he killed on I-70 northwest of DC, instead of a second killing on I-95 south?
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