Posted on 10/13/2002 9:17:06 AM PDT by Brian Mosely
FBI HAS ASKED PENTAGON TO SEARCH RECORDS FOR RECENTLY DISCHARGED GI’S WHO HAD GONE THROUGH SNIPER SCHOOL, FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TELL TIME
Nearly 1,000 People Working On Sniper Case, Including ATF Units, U.S. Marshals, and State Police
FBI Creating Animated 3-D Computer-Graphic Displays to Reconstruct Crime Scene, In Hopes of Jogging Witnesses Memories
New York -- The FBI has asked the Pentagon to search its records for recently discharged GIs who had gone through sniper school, federal law enforcement sources tell TIME. The schools teach snipers to work in tandem—one as the spotter, the other as the shooter, TIME’s Amanda Ripley reports.
An estimated 1,000 people are working on the case, including Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms units, U.S. Marshals and state police. The FBI. is creating animated 3-D computer-graphic displays to reconstruct the crime scene and help calculate the sniper’s position, in hopes of jogging potential witnesses’ memories, TIME reports.
The Science of Catching a Killer If there’s any consolation for horrified Americans watching the drama of the sniper slayings unfold, it’s that now, more than ever in history, officials have the skills to catch so slippery a killer, TIME’s Jeffrey Kluger reports. Even as the shooter—or shooters—taunted investigators by picking off more victims last week, police unleashed an unprecedented arsenal of tools to crack the case: geographic-profiling computers to try to pinpoint the killer’s location, ballistics databases that might link his unique bullet markings to other crimes, and trace-substance technology to lift whatever clues (fingerprints, DNA) might adhere to a shell casing or a tarot card.
But investigators are less dependent than ever on chance, and what they’ve unveiled this week is only a sampling of what they have in their high-tech kits, TIME reports. Perhaps the most futuristic—and controversial—of the new crime-busting technologies is a procedure known as brain fingerprinting. The principle behind the technique is that when the brain processes an image it recognizes (as opposed to one it has never seen before), it emits distinct electrical impulses that are detectable by scalp sensors. A positive response to a photo of a crime scene may mean a suspect was there before; a negative response may help confirm an alibi.
TIME.com Person of the Week: Charles A. Moose For his role as the unofficial spokesman for the sniper investigation, Charles Moose is TIME’s person of the week. This strong-willed, inveterate leader wants to do it his way — a tall order when you consider the masses of media, federal police and FBI agents swarming around each new crime scene — and second-guessing every move that's made.
Developing...
Eggs-zackly. Inside 200 yd. range, stationary taget, flat trajectory round. All point to an amature with a serious attitude problem.
Case against ex-military sniper:
Brass being left behind.
High traffic areas.
All torso shots. No head shots
First attempt was a miss (through a window)
So far has violated first rule of sniping...one shot, one kill (2 victims survived), perp is using the civilian rule of one shot then skedaddle.
Makes the case for the amatuer with the Wal-Mart purchased Ruger and a chip on his shoulder for the cops (taunting).
The police have more clues then they are letting on, which means that from the clues they have, they are afraid of this guy.
This guy is shooting at people literally over the heads of cops, and getting away clean. This aint no civilian.
Or, as one ex-cop on FOX suggested, a couple of teenagers daring each other to do something more dangerous. The cop made a good case for a couple of kids in their late teens who possibly still are attending high school which fits with the timing of the shootings.
At this point, I guess everything is being considered, and my guess is some private citizen will come up with an observation that will be key to capture.
First attempt that missed could have been a range check on a sucky weapon. Brass left behind was meant to be seen.
Snipers dont talk to their enemy. This person wants to be known, and he is. If he did everything right from a sniper perspective, then everyone would be thinking terrorism and looking outside rather than in.
Maybe, but I would guess that anyone with a routine knowledge of local traffic patterns and the freeway system could do this.
Be thankful he is not using a .50 cal...
One day's observance max. This guy is out of the area before his victims even die.
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