Brumar, from what I've read, as ballistics is now such an advanced science, it's very easy to match bullets to specific makes and models of guns. Given the number of bullets in evidence, I would think the police know exactly what weapon the sniper is using.
The question that always comes up in police investigations is what should the public be told. My philosophy on this is that the media should absolutely not be the source of new information; that whatever they find should first be cleared with authorities. However, I'm also very much a proponent of releasing every detail within reason to the public. This is *not* the policy of most police forces.
In researching another murder, I came across this quote from Dr. Thomas Streed, a forensic psychologist and veteran homicide investigator from San Diego with extensive experience in investigating cold cases:
"The more eyeballs that are out there looking for somebody, then the quicker they get caught, but the police play this dumbass game of, 'We can't release that information'... Just once I'd like to have a six-month trial period where police are obligated to release every blessed thing that they know about a case to the news media. I'll bet the closure and successful prosecution rate would go up." [1]
- Jeff
[1] SHOULD PUBLIC BE TOLD OF SERIAL KILLERS? Police and Citizen Interests Often Collide, Nov. 7, 1998, Kevin Heldman, apbnews.com: groups.yahoo.com |
