# What is your theory about the sniper(s)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933 "2002-10-12T05:15:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/41 "2002-10-16T22:27:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Harrison \* > \*\* > > Many people have lived from a torso shot. I believe you are attributing way too much power to the .223. For instance the .223 is illegal in many states to hunt deer because it’s harder to get a clean kill. Common hunting calibers like the .308 or 30-06 have much more power. > > We changed ammunition not because of some super wounding ability, but because of a change in barrel twist rate for the M-16. \*\* **We** changed the ammunition? Who are we? My understanding is that .223 ammunition was selected for the M-16 came down to carrying weight. A 10% increase in a bullet’s velocity will impart more energy on impact than a 10% increase in weight. And infanty could carry more high-velocity, low-weight cartridges than big fat slower slugs. ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/42 "2002-10-17T06:13:17Z")
My guess: White Male 5’ 8" 160 pounds brown hair late 20s to early 30s No military background His motive is the power trip he gets by eluding the police. IIRC, there was a police officer nearby (about 30 yds maybe) one of the shootings. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/43 "2002-10-17T08:23:05Z")
White male in early twenties. Learned to shoot from his abusive, demanding father. No military training. Impotent. Possibly a virgin. Socially awkward. Just left (read:fired) another in a string of dead-end jobs with no prospects on the horizon. A complete and utter loser. Hates the world because he cannot compete in it. Wants to be caught. No, _needs_ to be caught. It will be his one and only time in the spotlight. Right now, he feels like a man for the first time in his miserable life. But it won’t last. Everyone will have to know his name. Then he will be a God. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/44 "2002-10-17T14:08:53Z")
**Rilchiam** Your points are good. It was really after 2 or 3 killings when the media was still talking about 2 killers that I thought about the possibility of high school kids. I would bring the likelihood of that down a good deal at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Kent4mmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/34f0e0/32.png) [@Kent4mmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent4mmy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/45 "2002-10-17T14:57:01Z")
When they catch this guy, my guess is that they’ll find a copy of GTA sitting in his PS2. If the current trend of violent games like GTA (not bashing the genre - I have a copy myself) remains popular through the next 5 - 10 years, technology will have advanced to the point where shooting a video bad guy will look and feel no different from shooting a real person. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/46 "2002-10-17T15:09:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\ ***Rilchiam** > > Your points are good. It was really after 2 or 3 killings when the media was still talking about 2 killers that I thought about the possibility of high school kids. I would bring the likelihood of that down a good deal at this point. \*\* **Kid** , I’m glad you weren’t offended by my refutation. It occurred to me after posting that you might be. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/47 "2002-10-17T17:09:11Z")
I think he lives in Frederick, MD. Just a hunch. ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/48 "2002-10-17T19:54:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mojo \* > \*\*I think he lives in Frederick, MD. Just a hunch. \*\* Oh, I hope not! That’s where I live, and I keep trying to convince myself that I’m a little safer than those further South. But last night, while walking our dog, my husband saw policeman checking out while vans in our neighborhood. That gave me the creeps. Sheri ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/49 "2002-10-17T20:58:43Z")
\he is a gutless wimp - maybe a short guy with Napoleon complex.\ Thanks \DMark\, always nice to be reminded of the “standing” us short guys have in society’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/50 "2002-10-17T21:13:10Z")
\he is a gutless wimp - maybe a short guy with Napoleon complex.\ Thanks \DMark\, always nice to be reminded of the “standing” us short guys have in society’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![JMRossi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@JMRossi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JMRossi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/51 "2002-10-20T02:21:08Z")
My guess-2-3 man PLO/PLO trained team,driver,shooter and spotter because 1)all shootings are occuring near Washington D.C.,US capital.If this was happening almost anywhere else I would agree with the lone white male hypothesis.2)Very similar pattern to Isreali Army snipers in West Bank and Gaza Strip, thus giving Israel’s greatest supporter a taste of what they(Palestinians) put up with every day.3)The fact that the getaway is clean and no one sees anything,despite what “witnesses” who were inside at the time report.4)If it were a disgruntled loner,he would have shot the policeman who was standing near one of the victims.5)The very definition of terrorism is to randomly spread fear,panic and uncertainty in the targeted population,and this has achieved that. ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/52 "2002-10-20T03:26:04Z")
They think the sniper has hit another victim. They are reporting the deal about the white van with the ladder. Maybe this freak sits and waits for a van that fits this description to drive through the area and then fires. This would provide a diversion and allow get- a- way. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933/53 "2002-10-20T23:32:16Z")
Judging by the pattern of attacks, the shooter lives west of I-95 and south of the Potomac. After the first few attacks, police responded by shutting down the Interstate. There are only six bridges across the Potomac from the Woodrow Wilson up to near Antietam. That means that, after he shoots, the clock is running, and a high chance that someone might spot his vehicle or he gets caught in a roadblock. That means he needs to get off the streets fast and use back roads. Hence, it makes sense that he lives south of the river and not north (else, why make all those attacks near home, then increase the chance of getting caught by shooting near Fredericksburg?) I wish it were of more help. Switching to night firing increased his chance of escape, if only because vehicle colors are harder to identify. I wonder if it were possible to set up a rapid notification system to pass on messages to drivers via radio stations once a shooting takes place that’s similar to the sniper’s MO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-theory-about-the-sniper-s/131933.md?page=2)