Leaving a shell casing in this truck seems awfully deliberate, doesn't it?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is examining a shell casing that was found in a white box truck at a Virginia car rental agency. The truck and the shell casing were found Friday evening. Montgomery County police spokesman Derek Baliles says it is unclear if this truck has anything to do with the sniper investigation.

Baliles says police are still asking the public to provide them with information about white box trucks as previously described. Baliles also says police do not expect to have any further information about the truck or the shell casing until Saturday morning. He would not say where the rental agency was in Virginia or whether the shell casing was found in the cab or the back of the truck.

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

Answers

If by chance that shell casing turns out to be a match, it is very doubtful that it was left by someone that rented the truck.

Hopefully Barney Fife is smart enough to start checking out everyone that could have possibly had access to that truck via the rental company and the airport.

I don't think that the people responsible jumped on a plane and left. I think they are toying with the LEO.

Who had access to that truck? A worker for the rental company perhaps? A person that details/washes the vehicles once they are returned? An airport worker?

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

Yes, one of the aims seems to be to tie up as many resources as possible.

I'll write this because it's a closed board: what would happen if the shootings started again at the malls in multiple cities the day after Thanksgiving, while at the same time, white powder scares stared happening, as well? Maybe a few freeway shootings thrown in?

That's one of the things I'm concerned about. . .

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

Although all kinds of wild theories abound, many of them in my own head (!), I can't help but keep thinking like Meems that these are dress rehearsals. I've also wondered if Hatfill is, by his own consent, being used to throw off the real perps of the anthrax scare.

And I keep thinking of the submarine maneuver.

At the beginning of the Falklands War (and we did call it a "war" and not a "conflict" or "that little unpleasantness" or something), the Argentinians were hampered by the knowledge that there just happened to be a British sub in the waters of the South Atlantic. After the war it was discovered that there had been no sub at all. And then there was the wonderful true story of The Man That Never Was. (Look it up on the web if you don't know about it). We must remember that there is a whole lot going on that we just don't know about. These leaks that we keep hearing about, as in the tarot card and the spy plane--are they accidental or deliberate?

As for the tarot card--if you say it as the ex-DC homicide cop Ted Williams pronounces it, you get a word that's as close to "terror" as you can get. Probably a mere coincidence but a bit interesting.

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

I'll throw my nickle in as well.

I have the same fears as Meemur and Old Git. God, I hope that I am wrong. Everyone is on edge as well, which will only make any situation much worse.

Plus, there was the threat against a Navy base in Hawaii for December. Sometimes, hubby has to go to that base. Oh yeah, he had to go fly again, very unexpected. Told me he didn't know when he'd get home, and they were being moved around a LOT. He's pretty much clamped his lips about things going on behind the scenes. Sometimes he'll let a couple of things out. I do know that he was very irritated that he had to fly. He normally isn't irritated at anything and takes everything in stride. Very un-normal for him. That in itself has me wondering what is going on.

I am hoping that I can begin and end my Christmas shopping next weekend. I wish that I could have done some today, but it is very wet and cold (currently 48 with winds around 15). There is no way in HELL that I'll be in any store the day after Thanksgiving.

But if one thinks logically, we know that they want to hurt our economy. Start before that great shopping Friday with a big bang and in many places. Most wouldn't care to go out and risk it. People are beginning to become scared. I know many 'sheeple' that are starting to realize the situation we are in. Yeah, there are a few 'sheeple' still around, but if things continue I'd wager that they'll open their eyes sooner rather than later. Heck, if the FBI and CIA say there is nothing we can really do to stop future attacks... it'll sink in to people someday.

One thing I find odd, Bush was so gung-ho about Iraq. The past couple of days it seems the country (ie Bush) have backed down just a tad, stating they would work with other countries for a peaceful way to un-arm Saddam if possible. What the heck changed? Could there have been a massive threat? Is it just a game of chicken gone terribly wrong? Hell, I don't have the answers. The more I think, the more questions that pop into my pea-sized brain.

apoc

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

Re Iraq: I think Bush may have been told by foreign powers that they realize Iraq is a danger but to get support from a majority of their people they have to see Iraq not complying with UN requirements. Yeah, I know, they haven't for 11 years or so, but there's a new crop of young voters out there who weren't compos mentis during the Gulf War. Give it a month or so and I think enough nations will throw support our way. I hope.

Q

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

Damned cat stepped on keys and submittd afore I was done!

Re shopping: Don't let 'em stop ya, y'all--that's what catalogues and the Web are for! Landsend.com (I love the overstocks page), Sears, Penney's, walmart.com, amazon.com, on and on. For pets, there's petsmart.com, drsfostersmith.com, and my new friends, waggintails.com. I'm having petfood delivered now, both to save time and avoid strip centers where Petsmarts are located.

I was worried that guy would south move down 95 and looks as if he might be doing just that.

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

Shell in Van Too Big for Sniper's Gun Casing Doesn't Match Those Used in Shootings, Police Say

By Allan Lengel and Carol Morello Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, October 20, 2002; Page A01

A shell casing found in a white box truck seized by investigators in Virginia is of a larger caliber than the ammunition used in 12 attacks by the Washington area sniper, law enforcement sources said yesterday, meaning the shell would not fit in the type of weapon authorities say the sniper has been firing.

The casing, found by a truck rental company on Friday, was for a 7.62mm bullet, which is the equivalent of about .30-caliber, the sources said. In 12 shooting incidents attributed to the sniper, in which nine people have been slain and two wounded since Oct. 2, .223-caliber bullets have been used, authorities have said. Those bullets are significantly smaller than .30-caliber.

Each bullet size is used in a range of firearms. But .30- and .223-caliber bullets require different chambers and barrels and cannot be fired from the same weapon.

A cleaning crew working for a truck rental agency near Dulles International Airport found the shell casing inside a white box truck after it was returned. The company notified police Friday afternoon, and authorities confiscated the casing and the truck. The casing was taken to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms laboratory in Rockville for testing.

Police in the sniper case have been searching for a white box truck since witnesses reported seeing one near some of the shooting scenes on Oct. 3 in Montgomery County, where four people were slain in just over two hours.

Of the eleven shooting cases in which people were killed or wounded, ballistics tests found that the same .223-caliber gun was used in nine, authorities said. Bullet fragments from the other two shootings, they said, were too damaged to be accurately tested. The fragments from a twelfth incident in which a shot was fired but no one was injured also were too damaged.

Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose said at a noon news conference yesterday that forensic tests on the truck and shell casing are continuing and that results would not be released before tomorrow. Asked specifically last night about the 7.62mm casing, Montgomery police spokesman Derek Baliles would not confirm what size shell had been found in the truck.

"We're not making any other press announcements until the final tests are done," probably Monday, Baliles said. "In the meantime, we don't know whether this truck is related, so we're still asking people to call in information about box trucks."

He added: "We don't mean to convey any optimism or pessimism. We're just trying to be patient while these tests are performed."

The information police are seeking from tipsters relates to vehicles described by witnesses: a white box truck with black lettering and damage to its rear that was reportedly seen in Montgomery and a Chevrolet Astro van or Ford Econoline van with a ladder rack, which was reportedly seen Oct. 11 near a shooting scene in Spotsylvania County.

"Until we can finish this work on this truck, yes, we are still interested in white box trucks and two composite [images of] vans that were issued from the Spotsylvania sheriff's office from the shooting there," said Moose, speaking at the Rockville headquarters of a multijurisdictional task force hunting for the sniper.

As for the shell casing, ATF supervisor Michael Bouchard said at the news conference, "We're not going to talk about anything that was found in the truck, where it was found, how many, until we're perfectly confident about what we're going to talk about."

After 12 shooting incidents, none more than three days apart, a fifth day passed yesterday without a shot attributed to the sniper. Yet fear remained.

Across the region, high school football games were canceled or moved to locations that were not disclosed publicly, and businesses suffered as shoppers stayed away. The sniper has fired on people in Montgomery, Prince George's, Prince William, Fairfax and Spotsylvania counties and the District.

Two of the nine people killed were laid to rest yesterday: Dean Harold Meyers, 53, a Vietnam veteran and civil engineer who was slain Oct. 9 in Prince William County, and Pascal Charlot, 72, a carpenter who immigrated from Haiti almost four decades ago and was gunned down Oct. 3 in the District.

Moose praised the rental agency that called a tip hot line to report finding the shell casing after the truck was returned. He declined to identify the company or the person who rented the truck.

"This is a good example of hearing things, people seeing things, and then notifying local authorities," Moose said. "We appreciate that, so we still encourage people to call our tip line."

Moose said residents of the Washington area must make their own decisions about whether they feel comfortable going about their outdoor errands and activities while the sniper remains on the loose. But Bouchard tried to reassure nervous residents that police were working hard.

"The best people in this country are working on this case from all the different agencies," he said. "I'm confident that everything possible from the law enforcement perspective is being done."

As the manhunt continues, police activity once considered routine has taken on a new urgency.

Yesterday, for example, a Stafford County sheriff's deputy stopped a vehicle around 3:30 a.m. The driver was suspected of selling stolen goods from his vehicle outside a convenience store. Sheriff Charles Jett said the driver, who was wanted by police in Maryland on a weapons charge, sped away and eventually abandoned his car to flee on foot. Helicopters joined the search, but the man remained at large.

Such incidents often prompt questions from reporters at the next Rockville news conference on the sniper case, and Moose's answers usually are less than definitive.

Asked yesterday about the Stafford incident, Moose said: "That case is still developing. It's too early to determine whether it's related or not" to the sniper case.

Meanwhile, with no arrests being made in the case, many people have been keeping their excursions to a minimum.

The parking lot of the Giant Food store along Route 197 between Laurel and Bowie was half empty yesterday. There was no waiting at the checkout lanes.

"It's been like this all week," said a store clerk, who blamed it on nervousness.

"If we give in to fear, then he wins," the clerk said.

Some residents are going to extremes in risk avoidance.

Scott Kerman, president of Personal Attention, a Bethesda-based errand business, said that for the first time since the company opened 16 years ago, clients are asking his workers to take their cars to the gas station.

Since the latest sniper shooting Monday night, the errand service, which charges $25 an hour with a two-hour minimum, has filled vehicle gas tanks for 14 customers, Kerman said. He said requests for other simple tasks also have gone up.

"It feels like everybody is paralyzed," Kerman said. "People are so freaked out they don't want to do anything. They'll have a dry cleaner right across the street and have us go for them."

Staff writers Maria Glod, Christian Davenport, Hamil R. Harris and Jamie Stockwell contributed to this report.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002

apoc,

First and foremost, hugs to you and yours from the sunny southwest! I too, sense an underlying sense of dread, but hope in my heart that I am wrong. It is the uneasiness and unknowing that is so disturbing. While we know the govt agencies cannot and should not tell us all they know, what they DON'T tell us makes us wonder all the more. And therein lies the root of our fears. Not a good time to feel secure these days, and even moreso for you dear friend, because you are closer to it than most of us. Know in your heart that there are those of here that are here for you and that this is the place we can talk. My email is the same! Hugs to you and yours, and stay warm! And OG is right, catalogue shopping is the way to go!

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2002