October 19, 2002

10:56 PM

It's too early to tell, but he could be moving south... I live in Richmond, 15 minutes south of here, and the city itself is awash with wooded strip malls. For those of you in the NoVA/DC/MD area, or in anyplace where there has been random terrifying violence: how do you handle the constant fear?
posted by chinese_fashion (8 comments total)

By realizing the odds are about that of winning the lottery, and by that analogy, only the gullible should be living in fear.

Can we have a ultimate 'sniper' thread instead of a new FPP everyday?
posted by Stan Chin at 11:11 PM on October 19, 2002

Or, better yet, an Ultimate Sniper™ thread.

Seriously, though. I'd get the hell out of Richmond. He could be at your front door in 15 minutes. I fear for you.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:13 PM on October 19, 2002

I live 15 minutes from Richmond, CA and people get shot there all of the time. What should I do?
posted by furcifer at 11:27 PM on October 19, 2002

Yeah... Stan, I'd say that you don't get it. (Thanks for your sensitivity, though.) I actually live in Philly but my main office + coworkers are in the MD/DC area. It's the randomness that's so frightening....

Apparently, it's done a real number on the economy down there. People aren't going out at night anymore. The shopping centers are abandoned. People getting gas go inside the station or try and minimize their potential exposure to gunshots.

I had to go down there last week for an afternoon and it was kind of disturbing. Avoided getting gas south of the Delaware border... kept a close eye on my surroundings as I crossed the parking lot.

People get shot in Richmond all the time, maybe, but not usually for no reason. These were people, going about their daily lives. Drug dealers killing each other, muggings... you know... regular crimes, that's something people can kind of rationalize on some level.
posted by ph00dz at 11:31 PM on October 19, 2002

Fredericksburg was pretty busy today, but, people are going to gas stations off the beaten path and not standing in one place much.

We heard about the shooting in Ashland after we got home from Fredericksburg. The last I heard about an hour ago was that the bullet was not recovered from the victim, so they don't have that for evidence.

The gentleman made it through surgery, well and is in ICU in stable condition.
posted by SuzySmith at 11:40 PM on October 19, 2002

Today I came upon a hippie halfwit here in Virginia who implied that perhaps "Shrub" (did you get that?? he called him "Shrub"! God that's rich) had hired someone in the military to kill random citizens as to bolster support for military intervention, and thus support for the war in Iraq. I nearly hit this person over the head with his own bong. Somehow I feel the victims' families wouldn't be quite that forgiving. I think buying into conspiracies or 'profiling' the sniper at this point is a mistake.
posted by Karl at 11:48 PM on October 19, 2002

Karl: why is profiling a mistake?

I can definitely see Stan's point, myself (the first time I tried to post, Mozilla for some reason no longer working here, I said almost exactly what he said). I mean, how do people who own cars live with the constant danger?

I guess the things is, a lot of people have to own cars because they don't live a block from where they work. A lot of people feel like if they don't provoke anyone, or make any serious enemies, they won't get murdered. So they feel perhaps significantly safer than they in fact are. This sniper destroys that myth, and people fear it. And hate what they fear.
posted by Ryvar at 11:52 PM on October 19, 2002

I'd say Stan gets it just fine.

I fill up in my neighborhood, and I had a great night out including an evening stroll. I don't see myself giving that up anytime soon.

I'm waiting to see stories about how pissed off and motivated we are instead of how afraid we are.
posted by NortonDC at 11:54 PM on October 19, 2002