[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Well. Can we begin to think the office holders bungled again or is the perp merely laying low? Remember, "..in declining States the leadership intuitively choses the most harmful course of action..."(In short they bungle !) A Great Historian 1888.

[aristeides]

Dinner-table conversation concentrates on what sort of person the sniper is, while at petrol stations people pump fuel while literally on their knees as they try to present as low a profile as possible. In the suburbs people report shoppers walking down the street in a zig-zag, as recommended by police.

I was out shopping in Montgomery County this afternoon, and I didn't see anybody doing any of these things.

[aristeides]

While police say that every day without a shooting is a good day, they also know that they have more chance of catching the killer if he strikes again.

If he stops killing people, I can live with not catching him.

[joonbug]

Some comments on the sniper, watching from far away in New Zealand. Serial killers usually have some type of pattern to their victim selection - race, gender, age, etc - unlike the DC sniper. They usually continue their killing until caught. They are driven by some very sick and dark compulsion to kill and are unable to stop. The sniper is not doing any of the above. Perhaps the sniper is a terrorist as many suspect. If so, then he/she is a "soldier" of sorts (although in a deranged army). Soldiers have the discipline to follow their orders meaning that the sniper could stop killing at any time and leave the area or move on to something else, unlike a serial killer. My personal opinion is that the sniper is a terrorist rather than a sicko serial killer. And look at the terror and panic now in the DC area - the exact goal of terrorism. What do others think?

[Aliska]

It could be the killer was hired.

[PoorMuttly]

Muttly quite used to Siege Mentality. Muttly live in Fun City.

[Gritty]

My Gosh. Will the list of "experts" touting the 'American Serial Killer Profile' ever lessen?

...(says) Professor Alan Fox, an expert in criminal justice at Boston's Northeastern University... "The sniper is clearly getting his satisfaction...

Really? How does he know that?

... He did not kill these people for who they were...

He's probably correct there from a micro point of view. But, how about if they were widely identifiable as "Americans" going about their daily routines?

... (they) were just targets of opportunity whom he killed to advance his dominance, power and control."

More psycho-babble. The Perfesser is just guessing, and getting three paragraphs for his tutorial effort.

No sign of "terrorist" motivations or behavior acknowledged, even though the behavior would perfectly fit their patterns.

I guess we can just all go back to sleep and continue to blab about our own home-grown sicko murderers a little complacently rather than face all the horrendous possibilities?