Here is a list of the victims:
1. 10/2 5:20pm - Micahels Crafts Store - unknown
2. 10/2 6:05pm - Shopper Food Warehouse - white male
3. 10/3 7:41am - auto dealership - white male
4. 10/3 8:12am - gas station - black male
5. 10/3 8:37am - park bench - white female
6. 10/3 9:58am - gas station - white female
7. 10/3 9:15pm - Georgia Ave - black male
8. 10/4 2:30pm - Michaels Craft Store - female
9. 10/7 8:04am - middle school - young boy
10. 10/9 8:18pm - gas station - white male
11. 10/11 9:30am - gas station - black male
Source: CNN
The inclusion of blacks and whites, males and females, indicates no racial or sexual bias. The variation of locations indicates no hatred to a particular vocation.
With one minor exception, the killings took place before 10am and after 5pm, which are normal work hours. Thus, I don't see the killer(s) as just being fired from their jobs. Add to this the description of the white Chevy Astro van with the ladder on top, and it's likely the sniper(s) are outdoor blue-collar laborers. Note that the killer(s) took the weekend off, indicating at least one likely had family obligations. We'll see if there are any more killings this weekend to contradict this.
The caliber of the bullet was .223. The most common such gun is the Colt M-16. While the M-16 can be made into a highly accurate sniping weapon, it's more commonly used as an automatic assault rifle. Therefore, the weapon most likely used was similar to a Remington Model 700P (see: remingtonle.com.
There are two general types of sniper's rifles: those used in the military and those used by law enforcement. The military normally uses .308. Police tend toward .308 but also sometimes use .223. Both hunters and target shooters use .223 caliber bullets. However, since .223 caliber bullets are best for varmints, not deer and other larger animals most favored by hunters, it's more likely the gun is being used for target practice not hunting. Yes, of course, this is likely not their only gun, but it's the one they chose to use to shoot.
True military types it would seem to me would do recon, i.e. plan their targets methodically. Note that there were multiple killings on 10/3 and 10/4 of different types of people at different locations. It looks as if the killer(s) drove around looking for suitable targets on the fly. Given the reports of two people in the van, it appears this is some sort of sick game for them. The fact only one single shot is fired each time also seems to support this theory as it makes the game that much more challenging to see who the better marksman truly is.
If this were the work of terrorists or someone bent on suicide who wanted to take as many others with him, I'd think he'd take many more shots and use a higher caliber bullet. If this were some supremacist group, they'd be targeting a certain type of person, most likely not white females and children. The killer(s) might be part of some paramilitary group, but those types are usually anti-government which these killings do not seem to be. I would think, however, that there is a good chance the killer(s) have some military training and perhaps are reservists/members of the national guard.
Psychologically, I'll bet two guys got to talking after taking practice at the shooting range or during a hunting trip and thought how cool it would be to hunt people. Not being active military they knew their best "chance" was to hunt civilians. The rules were each guy got only one shot. A true test of marksmanship. My guess is the two of them planned the first two killings. They drove around looking for a good target. One guy took his shot and then they drove around looking for a target for the other guy, who then took his shot. Once you've crossed that line into such a heinous act, I guess the rest comes easy. They probably got such a thrill that they got up early the next morning to do it again, and continued after work. The notoriety made things even that much more exciting. I guess they felt obligated to leave one calling card (the tarot death card), but as murder was not really the primary motivation (sport was), they quickly tired of this.
- Jeff |
