There was a discussion on USENET about the MD sniper. Someone thought it might be terrorists. I posted the following remarks.

"Who's terrorized? It looks like the killers have moved south, and there might not be any more shootings, at least for a while. Political terrorists, even if their specific group denies its guilt, usually want their crimes to be discovered to be terrorism rather than something that a psycho or a common criminal might do. They have a cause, after all. Unlike terrorists, these people were using a sniper rifle and appear to want to be able to get away with it. They were apparently shooting fairly well: I think there were no missed shots.

They could be current or ex-military, current or ex-cops, hunters, backwoodsmen, or have experience just as a hobby. If it was terrorism, I think they would have either tried to kill or terrorize many more people. If this starts happening with other killers in other cities, or if they leave some kind of indication of their cause, I would think it would be terrorism then.

What's interesting is that the first shot was through a shop window. Were they trying to hit someone and missed? A test shot? I think it's more likely that that was the result of a dare.

Let's say you and your brother own a small business of some kind in a rural area either north or south of DC. You're delivering something to the DC area. You bring along your rifle, well, just because.

Your brother says "I dare you to fire into that window." You do it, no one catches you, and you feel emboldened. Later that evening, they shot their first victim. Shooting someone might have been just the next step up from shooting through a window.

Then, they slept. The next morning, they drove around looking for more opportunities since the first one they did went so smooth. Then, you decide to get out of dodge. You stop for food in VA and do another one. Then you head for the hills and (sadly) bury your trusty weapon in the deepest hole you can find. Then you keep driving south, or head east and then north.

Maybe that's way off. But, I think the shooter and driver need to have a lot of trust or be on the same wavelength. Maybe they were cousins like Buono and Steve Ventura. Or, maybe they're army or cop buddies. While they might end up being gangsters, I think it's more likely that they're from a rural area."

Someone else pointed out that this might be like the Tylenol poisonings; only one person was the real target, the others were shot to throw everyone off. Based on the descriptions of the targets, none seemed important enough. Perhaps a domestic dispute? I think the Tylenol idea is a bit of a stretch.