October 15, 2002

2:50 AM

BBC reports a woman has been shot dead with a single bullet outside Washington DC, in the American state of Virginia.
Looks like this might be that snper again...
posted by tomcosgrave (37 comments total)

There's a sniper in DC?
posted by eyeballkid at 2:57 AM on October 15, 2002

Gee.. do you think?
posted by alrob at 3:28 AM on October 15, 2002

OK, rather than be snarky, I'd like to suggest that since the sniper has been wandering around DC for the past few weeks, killing people at random once every few days, and since media coverage of said sniper's actions has been overwhelming, and since there's no end in sight . . . Well, that maybe it's not the best idea to post this kind of thing to Metafilter.

Because 1) it's general news that's well-covered elsewhere, and 2) there's no end in sight. Posting this only sets a precedent to post a general news link every time someone else gets shot in the DC area until the perp is caught. Which is boring and repititive and not really what MeFi is for.
posted by dogmatic at 3:40 AM on October 15, 2002

In other news a republican made a joke about Clinton getting a blowjob and a democrat called Rush Limbaugh a big fat idiot.
Also, it has been confirmed that there is in fact nothing on tv.

Unconfirmed sources claim that water is wet and fire is hot. More on that, later.

Now, the news, Accounting practices by big corporations have been questioned and the prices on the stock market dropped, or maybe they went up. We aren't really sure.
posted by nyxxxx at 3:46 AM on October 15, 2002

I was in the show this morning thinking about how this sniper guy has done alot for making people all over the country think about life and how short it is. Think aobut it. At any moment some crazed sniper could swoop down on you and -POW- with a single shot it is over, just like that. And for those around you, well it is shattered life and shattered dreams. With great abandon and randomness life can be extinguished, and likewise the life of another spared. You have to wonder what goes on in this guy's head. What drove him to this? What were those turns and bends in the road that led to Sniperville, and not just turned the guy(s) into angry poets, or grouchy neighbors, or some other benign things.
posted by internook at 4:27 AM on October 15, 2002

You mean it vibrates?
posted by adampsyche at 4:32 AM on October 15, 2002

I didn't know that they called a trunk a "boot of the car."
posted by adampsyche at 4:36 AM on October 15, 2002

mefi tagline: "turns and bends in the road to Sniperville"
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 5:07 AM on October 15, 2002

Trunk is boot
Hood is bonnet.
Correct me if I am wrong UKer's

This last shooting, irregardless of who did it, is just terrible. Husband and wife loading their car up with Home Depot loot and she gets shot in the head. How would you like to be standing within a few feet of your significant other and have that happen? That is a pretty evil act, because you know the guy probably sighted in on both of them before selecting one over the other.
posted by a3matrix at 5:21 AM on October 15, 2002

<voice=homer>Yoink!</voice>

*sound of this thread disappearing*
posted by zpousman at 5:22 AM on October 15, 2002

Sorry if I trivialized what happened with my snarkiness above. I guess you can say that I'm with dogmatic on this one.
posted by adampsyche at 5:27 AM on October 15, 2002

Is the sniper a lone loony? I heard there were reports of two men.... So methodical, too, and so elusive. This suggests lots of training. Such an effective terror campaign would serve the interests of the Bush adm. or Al Qaeda or both. Speaking of which.... Paul Krugman has suggested that George Bush, in wrecking the economy, is a secret communist mole who is trying to wreck capitalism. I would ask - is he a secret Al Qaeda operative? He sure is helping out with the task of bringing Islamic radicals to power in Nuclear Armed Pakistan (NYT req. registration. name: metafilter. Password: metafilter)
posted by troutfishing at 5:31 AM on October 15, 2002

It's where the elephant goes...
posted by i_cola at 5:41 AM on October 15, 2002

Well, that maybe it's not the best idea to post this kind of thing to Metafilter. Because 1) it's general news that's well-covered elsewhere, and 2) there's no end in sight.

I'd say that if we post new items that simply "report" of another shooting, I'd tend to agree with you. However, we are going through a process in this case, one that has a beginning and hopefully an ending. It's the process that is interesting and worthy of discussion here on MeFi.

When there are new clues or theories or when there is a break in the case, I'd like to see some discussion here of their merits and the effects on the case.

Just MHO.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 5:48 AM on October 15, 2002

internook, which show were you in, I watched all the breaking news progams and didn't see you.
posted by DBAPaul at 6:08 AM on October 15, 2002

To put the current situation in perspective, according to the mortality reports available from the CDC there were 10,828 homicides attributed to firearms in 1999. That averages to a little shy of 30 killings per day, every day of the year.

Not to minimize the pain that these victims and their loved ones must feel, but isn't this wall-to-wall coverage in the D.C. area a bit much?
posted by SteveInMaine at 6:08 AM on October 15, 2002

Speaking of coverage, did anyone see one of the Reuters shots from the crime scene? It looks like a promo for a new cop show (which I suppose this is in some way).
posted by espada at 6:26 AM on October 15, 2002

I noticed something significant first in this MetaFilter thread, next in this article by Michele Malkin, (where I was sure she was going to nail it and then didn't, really) and then later only slightly in this MetaFilter thread, basically making the case for profiling.

There is a certain demographic which is statistically prone to certain types of crimes, and if that's the case for the "single, white, loner, ex-military etc." demographic, then why are reliable statistics and profiling willfully and blindly ignored in the case of anti-terrorist airport security and inner-city crime, in which the former group is a three-decades old group of known, sworn enemies of the United States and Arabs between the ages of (take the quiz): 17 and 40, (with notable exceptions ) and the latter is a group of predominantly male, black Americans, responsible for an exorbitantly high percentage of violent crimes, and racist "hate crimes"(a racist term). Here's another source of questionable intent.

Police profiling and airport profiling is stupidly and multiculturally taboo for "minority ethnic" groups, yet perfectly acceptable for profiling against whites. Why?

One and two.
posted by hama7 at 6:31 AM on October 15, 2002

SteveInMaine: In a good article in today's Guardian, Matthew Engel makes the same point as you with regard to the risks.

Let's try to be rational about this. The most northerly attack is about 80 miles from the most southerly; the area involved has a population of something like four million. Thus if someone is shot every day for the next year, the chances are still 10,000 to one in your favour.
posted by niceness at 6:32 AM on October 15, 2002

Think aobut it. At any moment some crazed sniper could swoop down on you and -POW- with a single shot it is over, just like that.

This pretty much describes life in general. Remember, it is only in modern times that the concept of living to old age is seen as normal and regular.

Not to minimize the pain that these victims and their loved ones must feel, but isn't this wall-to-wall coverage in the D.C. area a bit much?

Not to mention that it probably rewards the shooter, especially since he or she seems to be saying "catch me if you can."
posted by moonbiter at 6:33 AM on October 15, 2002

Speaking of coverage, did anyone see one of the Reuters shots from the crime scene? It looks like a promo for a new cop show (which I suppose this is in some way).

Yeah. And what really creeps me out is the ad on the bottom of that page...."To license Reuters Pictures for your business, visit http://pictures.reuters.com."
posted by dougb at 7:11 AM on October 15, 2002

To those of us who live here, of course, it isn't so much a question of whether or not it is decent fodder for a MeFi post, or whether or not the news coverage is heavy-handed, or what sort of philisophical meanderings it leads to. I was at that Home Depot Saturday. Stopped at the dollar store next-door. Had Peruvian chicken across the road after shopping there. It's a convenient eight-minute drive from my house. You can bet your sweet NewsFilter I was pacing while I was waiting for the bus this morning.
posted by NedKoppel at 7:13 AM on October 15, 2002

This guy is an AWP camping whore.
posted by bondcliff at 7:37 AM on October 15, 2002

What's your point hama7? We shouldn't sell guns to white people? Oh, and crime is caused by poverty, not race. Keep that in mind.
posted by ToothpickVic at 7:39 AM on October 15, 2002

Police profiling and airport profiling is stupidly and multiculturally taboo for "minority ethnic" groups, yet perfectly acceptable for profiling against whites. Why?

Hama7, you're opening up a whole new can of sudamas with that question.

(Sorry, just testing out a new phrase)
posted by dhoyt at 7:43 AM on October 15, 2002

Not to minimize the pain that these victims and their loved ones must feel, but isn't this wall-to-wall coverage in the D.C. area a bit much?

Well, this is a serial killer. It'd be nice to wave a wand and have no one be interested, which would hopefully take the thrill from the killer.

But you clicked the link, right? There's the problem.
posted by jragon at 7:52 AM on October 15, 2002

I'm sure criminologists would have fun with such a simple declaration as "crime is caused by poverty, not race".
posted by digiboy at 8:00 AM on October 15, 2002

Is it time for someone to start seeing pictures in the patern of the shootings yet?
posted by DBAPaul at 8:29 AM on October 15, 2002

The woman who was killed last night has the same name as my mom, who lives in northern Virginia. (She's OK.)
posted by kirkaracha at 8:31 AM on October 15, 2002

Well, I think we can rest a bit easier -- Geraldo's on the case. Sheesh.
posted by QuestionableSwami at 8:39 AM on October 15, 2002

I was a little surprised by that sentence until I realized Internook meant he was "In the shower".

As to the whole area of profiling as pioneered by the behavioral science specialists at the FBI, I used to buy into this wholesale, and indeed was fascinated by the topic. I own several books by famous profilers. But lately I have begun to question this concept. A great deal of it is common sense, i.e. suspect is a man because the number of women who have serially killed is miniscule. 17 to 40 because most violent crimes are committed by men in that age bracket-- and let's face it using a sniper rifle takes good eyesight.

But it is just guidelines. A series of characteristics common to those who have done this type of thing before. So maybe this sniper is 45. Or maybe he is not a loner. Or maybe... The "profiles" boil down to broad generalizations and law enforcement only ballyhoos the cases that fit.

And by the way, don't you British people have serial killers of your own to focus on?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:46 AM on October 15, 2002

the sniper is a black muslim woman. either that or—as the comedian gallagher once said—pregnant lesbian indians against nuclear energy...*

bottom line: no one will know until whoever it is gets caught.

*this comment is in no way intended to offend black muslim females, pregnant females, gay females, indigenous north american females, or anyone against nuclear energy.
posted by bwg at 9:02 AM on October 15, 2002

Secret Life of Gravy: We do? What did I miss in the last week?
posted by salmacis at 9:07 AM on October 15, 2002

Our serial killers are pretty pathetic. Unless you count Harold Shipman. He managed to get something like 300 scalps under his belt, but no-one knew about him until he'd been caught.

If you'll let me go all 'Scream' for a moment, to be a decent serial killer you have to make sure people know that you are about and that you could kill them next. You should be nicely indescriminate. You should either move around a large area entirely at random, or let people start drawing paterns in your kills so that they can 'predict' where your next kill will be.

Oh, and you need to be a loner with a thing about guns, but who everyone thinks 'kept to himself'.

Shipman was none of these. He just happened to kill a lot of people...
posted by twine42 at 9:08 AM on October 15, 2002

Seems like everyone on this blog assumes the sniper is acting alone. Makes more sense to me that their would be two of them - one to drive, the other to take the shot. This lets them stay mobile, instead of just one loner who has to stop the van(?), get out, set up, shoot, get back in and drive away without being noticed. With a team, they could just halt at a stop sign, do the deed, then continue as normal traffic, totally unnoticable.
posted by blogRot at 9:13 AM on October 15, 2002

as usual, hamas7 is comparing apples and assholes. the sniper's profile is largely a psychological one, and is being applied in the case of a specific crime wave, to apprehend a suspect. So-called airport profiling based solely on race is just an excuse to harass people in the complete absence of criminal activity, suspected or otherwise. It's a lazy way to avoid actual investigative procedure and still convince some idiots that something's being done to assure their supposed security.

please, stop trying to hijack threads with your bullshit and monomaniacal politics. get your own site.
posted by donkeyschlong at 9:15 AM on October 15, 2002

Is it time for someone to start seeing pictures in the patern of the shootings yet?

Apparently, yes.
posted by hilker at 9:55 AM on October 15, 2002