ANOTHER EMAIL FROM A READER IN THE DC/MARYLAND AREA: John Scanlon writes:

Like Mr. Henley, I live and work within a few miles of these attacks. Three points:

First, if the reportage is accurate, the shooters are extremely well trained. Five shootings, five kills, all apparently at some distance; no reports (at this point) of unsuccessful attempts or woundings. The last victim was killed with a single shot, again by someone far enough away to have disappeared by the time the nearby witness arrived at the scene. In the typical random shooting spree, there are two or three wounded for every person killed, and bullets or shot tend to be sprayed around indiscriminately. These facts point to hunters, soldiers or other experienced killers.

Second, the Post does its local readers a grave disservice by failing to disclose not only descriptions of the killers but also the race, sex and other characteristics of the victims. If the victims were all Asians, doesn’t the Post owe its Asian readers that information so they can take special precautions? On the other hand, if the killings are random (we know only that the killers targeted three men, then three women), that would fit with the terrorist MO.

It’s interesting that the shooters’ vehicle is a white van. I don’t know about your city, but DC and its suburbs are chockablock with them. As we all know from watching too many spy movies, they are favored by law enforcement surveillance teams. Just the kind of car for stirring up suspicions in neighborhoods already leery of cops.

Indeed. Another emailer who knows something about such matters calls these “mobile sniper” attacks. That does seem like a good term for the approach that seems to be involved. As for the descriptions, it’s interesting that the Post has none. It’s possible that no one was able to give a good description, but it’s surprising that the Post isn’t reporting that fact, if so.

UPDATE: The Baltimore Sun identifies victims by race. No obvious pattern. No description of the killers, though. The Sun report says there’s no description available. It also says that police don’t think there’s a terrorism connection.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Louis Zurr writes:

I suppose it’s too much to hope from the almost uniformly boneheaded law-enforcement personnel of our nation, that they should keep in mind that these random shootings might possibly be intended as a diversion while something even worse goes down….

Well, I hope that people are smarter than that.