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Pastimes : DC Sniper - Theories? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dawgfan2000 who wrote (756)	10/17/2002 12:37:33 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2746

He has been caught on tape somewhere, why hasn't the best crimesolver in the country been brought in ...John Walsh's America's Most Wanted. Caught on which tape? With cameras everywhere, one probably shows sniper Associated Press RESOURCES ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Police have witness accounts of one fatal shooting and even a description of a gun, but they aren't ready to put a face on the Washington-area sniper who has shot 11 people over the past two weeks. Several people have told authorities they saw a man take aim and fire at a woman loading her car outside a Home Depot store Monday in Virginia. But authorities say the witnesses were not able to give investigators enough consistent details to create a sketch of the suspect. "Unfortunately, distance and darkness, and perhaps adrenaline have made them unable to give a clear composite that we can disseminate," Montgomery County Police Capt. Nancy Demme said Wednesday. "I know that's not what the public wants to hear." The shooting of 47-year-old FBI analyst Linda Franklin in Falls Church, Va., yielded the first eyewitnesses to an actual shooting, not just reports of shadowy figures fleeing. But descriptions of the shooter ran the gamut from dark-skinned and olive-skinned to Middle Eastern and Hispanic, investigators said. "The only common denominator thus far is male," Demme said. "We don't have a refined description to go by." There were discrepancies in accounts of vehicles leaving the attacks, leading police to ask the public to watch out for three different vehicles: a white box truck, a Chevrolet Astro van or a Ford Econoline van. License plate numbers, witnessed for the first time after the latest shooting, have not been released. Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said the numbers were partial numbers, "and we don't put out partials." Demme said one witness told police the shooter used an AK-74 rifle, which can fire the .223-caliber round that has been the sniper's bullet of choice. "The witness firmly believes this is the weapon," Demme said. "But we have to keep in mind that weapons are interchangeable, like vehicles." On Wednesday, police issued a "how to witness" guide: Stare in the direction of the bullet noise, carry around a pen to take notes; if necessary, write down details on your hand. Demme also warned witnesses not to "contaminate" their memories by comparing notes with other people or the media. Matthew Cavanaugh / Associated Press Investigators hunting the Washington-area sniper are checking video footage from cameras near shooting sites and on freeways, as in this center in Hanover, Md. The average American is caught on camera eight to 10 times a day, officers say. Since Oct. 2, there have been 11 shootings in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., that have left nine people dead and two wounded. One of the wounded, a 13-year-old boy shot outside his school in Bowie, Md., was upgraded Thursday from critical to serious condition, hospital officials said. The other wounded person, a woman in Virginia, was released from a hospital last week. The victims were men and women of varying ages and ethnic backgrounds, each hit with a single bullet while going about everyday activities. A tarot death card left at one scene read: "Dear Mister Policeman, I am God." Law enforcement sources told The Associated Press there was no indication that the sniper on Monday night had targeted Franklin because of her job with the FBI's Cyber-Crimes Division. Police said Franklin was not assigned to the sniper case. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld agreed this week to call military surveillance aircraft into the hunt for the killer. Sources said federal agents on the plane will relay information to authorities on the ground. Though police remained a subtle presence around major intersections, gas stations and schools -- many of which remain under orders to keep children indoors -- there was no obvious sign of military planes in the rainy skies Wednesday. Return to top