# Sniper theories **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325 "2002-10-15T14:23:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/1 "2002-10-15T14:23:11Z")
What a load of [shit!](http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/10/12/sniper.media/) Yeah its all Quake’s fault, let sue ID software! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![apotheosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@apotheosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apotheosis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/2 "2002-10-15T14:29:19Z")
What, you’re suprised? Hell, I’m amazed that some obese person hasn’t sued the makers of Pac-Man for encouraging overeating. ---
**Author:** ![Skippman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Skippman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skippman)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/3 "2002-10-15T14:29:51Z")
This Ass-Clown sniper has no skill. He’s got guts though. A real sniper would be at LEAST 300 meters away and go for the head shot. This guy is at what a sniper would consider point blank range and is shooting center mass. The only reason he’s getting the kills he is is that he’s using a small caliber round. The .223 will bounce off bones inside the body like a .22 will. That’s what’s hurting people. They thought that the Zodiac killer had military or police training because he was able to cut down 2 people at full run with a shotgun blast from the side. The Zodiac sent the police a message saying that any idiot that “tapes a mag light to a shotgun can look like a pro. Just get them in the light and Bang!” Video games in deed. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go back to cleaning out my BFG. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/4 "2002-10-15T14:36:29Z")
These aren’t theories; they’re more like blue-sky conjectures based on a complete absence of facts. From the linked article: > [@](#): > > Florida lawyer Jack Thompson speculated on NBC’s Today show Friday that the shooter might be a gamer. Thompson surmised that an inscription on a Tarot card found near one of the shootings – “Dear Policeman: I am God” – might have links to gaming. > > “You go to video game chat rooms and you have the proclamation ‘I am God’ all over the place,” said Thompson, an advocate of regulations to keep violent video games out of the hands of minors Where the hell does that come from? A lawyer ought to know better than to form a hypothesis based on such flimsy evidence. Maybe the guy hates gas stations and shopping centers. Maybe he’s a member of the NRA, trying to up recruitment. Maybe he’s a disgruntled ex-cop/ex-marine/ex-Michael’s employee. Maybe he’s Miss Cleo. Who the hell knows? This is why police profilers get paid–to figure out the motivations and personality traits of murderers. In any event, the last shooting was way too close-- 7 Corners is only a couple of miles from where I live. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/5 "2002-10-15T14:58:40Z")
Of course video games aren’t to blame. It’s the fault of the subliminable messages in Judas Priest albums … the popularity of _Texas Chainsaw Masacre_ … he’s been reading _A Clockwork Orange_ by Anthony Burgess … it’s that new fangled music called “jazz”. Nothing new under the sun. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/6 "2002-10-15T15:12:08Z")
I hate how people attempt to explain the unexplainable. Now tell me this perhaps, could desensitize us to violence, I’ll be inclined to agree. Tell me this sniper is killing people because he played a little too much GTA, and I’ll call you an idiot. Gobear, be safe. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/7 "2002-10-15T15:23:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe he’s a member of the NRA, trying to up recruitment. And maybe he’s a member of VPC, trying to “prove” how dangerous yet another class of firearms are as a prelude to a call for banning them. Maybe he’s [John](http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/10/congress.sniperrifles.ap/index.html) [Conyers](http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1166379.html). Speculation, in the total vacuum of fact, runs the gamut. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/8 "2002-10-15T15:27:41Z")
I bet the bastard showers every day. Who’s to say that soap and water doesn’t cause violence? Before I ever played my first shooter, I’d shot guns before. And I was a good shot. I’ve always had decent hand-eye coordination, and it translated into a good ability in shooters (hence my handle). I _love_ making a series of excellent head shots in games like UT, but this does not mean that these games have caused me to become psycho. Quite the reverse, actually. I abhor real violence and believe people should always try to find alternate ways of solving problems first, leaving violence as the last resort. (I’m not a pacifist, though). Oddly enough, I can still distinguish between reality and fantasy. In reality, sniping is a cowardly (though in the military unfortunately necessary) way to kill someone (um, not that I’m opposed to it in FPS. It’s not camping; it’s sniping, dammit!). I’ve never even been in a fight. I wish people would quit trying to find answers in the unanswerable. The sniper is fucked up. Simple as that. No amount of computer games, books, movies or chicken noodle soup helped him along and anything he blames his problems on is his attempt to justify unjustifiable actions. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/9 "2002-10-15T15:33:10Z")
And I certainly don’t mean to imply that you, **gobear** , necessarily believe any of the possbillities you’ve you’ve suggested. I know you are simply doing the same as I, showing that speculation is fruitless. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/10 "2002-10-15T15:43:37Z")
Exactly, **UncleBeer** , and I find it sad, albeit unsurprising,that some people, like John Conyers, would use this ongoing tragedy to advance their own agendas. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/11 "2002-10-15T15:50:51Z")
Bah. Quake never had a really good sniper rifle- unless this guy’s using a railgun (which would make catching him a lot easier- just look for the aftertrail), he was actually sent on this murderous spree by _Unreal Tournament_. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/12 "2002-10-15T15:59:37Z")
BTW, any updates on ID getting sued by Columbine parents? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/13 "2002-10-15T16:07:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*BTW, any updates on ID getting sued by Columbine parents? \*\* [suit dismissed](http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/columbine/article/0,1299,DRMN_106_1014458,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/14 "2002-10-15T16:26:30Z")
from the CNN article > [@](#): > > Attention has turned not only to video games but also to movies in an attempt to find clues to the killer’s behavior. In “Malice,” a 1993 thriller which aired October 3 on the TBS cable network – a sister AOL Time Warner company with CNN – Alec Baldwin plays a surgeon who comes under fire during a legal deposition. And if the dimrods who wrote this article actually watched the rest of the movie, it turns out that Alec Baldwin’s character fakes this in order to be stricken off as a doctor (or judged to be incapable of making ethical decisions) so that the Lead Actress (Nicole Kidman, I believe) could win her lawsuit against the hospital. What does this have to do with the shootings? does that mean we should ban bibles as The Old Testament God frequently slaughters innocents on various occasions. how about cancelling the Televangelists who appear every Sunday Morning routinely quoting the words “I Am The Lord Your God”. perhaps they influenced the sniper! Whats going on with the world? ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/15 "2002-10-15T23:16:52Z")
**Skippman** you are an idiot. Shut the fuck up. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/16 "2002-10-16T00:11:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > \*\* > Oddly enough, I can still distinguish between reality and fantasy. In reality, sniping is a cowardly (though in the military unfortunately necessary) way to kill someone (um, not that I’m opposed to it in FPS. It’s not camping; it’s sniping, dammit!). \*\* I certainly wouldn’t classify military snipers as cowards. Anybody willing to get close to the enemy while being outgunned, outnumbered, and risking imminent death if captured isn’t a coward. Japanese snipers in WWII would sometimes climb in trees and shoot Marines. Since they were high in a tree if discovered they couldn’t even flee. That doesn’t sound cowardly to me. During the Viet-Nam war the NVA put out bounties on American snipers. Not just bounties based on their rank or function but by name. These same snipers still went out and did their job. That doesn’t sound cowardly to me. Or how about the two snipers who faced overwhelming odds in Somalia in 1993? Winning the Medal of Honor isn’t generally done by a pair of cowards. Marc ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/17 "2002-10-16T00:14:58Z")
> **[Penny Arcade](https://www.penny-arcade.com/)** > > Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary. Good comic and commentary on this all. ---
**Author:** ![airdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@airdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/airdisc)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/18 "2002-10-16T02:10:32Z")
I’d take any theory I heard about this sniper with a grain of salt. I’ve heard theories ranging from “deranged Dylan Klebold wannabe who plays too much Doom” to “al Queda operative” and everything in between. I’ll wait until they catch the guy before I speculate on him. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/19 "2002-10-16T04:40:51Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Rhum Runner_ > **Skippman you are an idiot. Shut the fuck up.** :rolleyes: Great answer. Way to win support for your side. Now let me try: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skippman \* > \*\*This Ass-Clown sniper has no skill. He’s got guts though. > > A real sniper would be at LEAST 300 meters away and go for the head shot. This guy is at what a sniper would consider point blank range and is shooting center mass. The only reason he’s getting the kills he is is that he’s using a small caliber round. The .223 will bounce off bones inside the body like a .22 will. That’s what’s hurting people.\*\* The many times I’ve gone target shooting do not bear this out. First of all, the .223 is a larger bullet than the .22LR. Second, it has a HUGE powder charge by comparison, and a much higher velocity. Not exactly a recipe for bouncing around. Here’s some numbers (energy (ft-lbs)& momentum (slug ft/sec) calculated from weight in grains and velocity (ft/sec@100yd) for standard loads, from [www.remington.com](http://www.remington.com)): ```auto cal weight velocity KE Momentum .22LR 40 941 79 .168 .223 55 2273 944 .681 ``` So the .223 Remington is 37.5% more massive, moves almost 3 times faster, and delivers 11 times more KE and 4 times more Momentum to the target. And I’ve shot many nice, clean holes through 3/16" steel plate with my Mini-14. There’s no way a squishy human body is going to cause major ricochet with a .223. They kill by hitting really hard and making holes - Shock and blood loss, along with the occasional organ damage. And, not to condone this sick son of a bitch, but a “real sniper” would fire from whatever range the circumstances dictate, and would make his kills. This guy has done both, and meets my criteria for a “real sniper.” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325/20 "2002-10-16T06:50:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe\_Cool \* > \*\* > So the .223 Remington is 37.5% more massive, moves almost 3 times faster, and delivers 11 times more KE and 4 times more Momentum to the target. And I’ve shot many nice, clean holes through 3/16" steel plate with my Mini-14. There’s no way a squishy human body is going to cause major ricochet with a .223. \*\* I don’t have a cite but I remember a program that aired on TLC called Small Arms and Soft Bodies, or something like that. It was a program about what happens when small arms, grenades, and landmines were used on the human body. One of the bigger problems with the higher velocity smaller caliber rounds was that they could easiely shatter bones. So not only do you have to worry about the hole the bullet makes but sometimes you’ve got to dig bone fragments out. I don’t recall them mentioning that the 5.56 or 7.62 mm had a tendency to “bounce around” inside target. Of course shooting through a steel plate isn’t exactly a great way to determine how a bullet will react once it hits a soft human target. > [@](#): > > \*\* > And, not to condone this sick son of a bitch, but a “real sniper” would fire from whatever range the circumstances dictate, and would make his kills. This guy has done both, and meets my criteria for a “real sniper.” \*\* I wonder about this myself. I understand that military snipers can hit the target from quite a distance. But in real life you might not be able to find a position where your target is visible from 700 yards. When I go deer hunting there are plenty of areas in the woods I can’t get a good shot farther then 40 yards. Marc [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sniper-theories/132325.md?page=2)