In Jamie Lynn Perna's column "No Reason for Sniper to be on the Loose," she states that the sniper could possibly be trained by either the government or military. She then goes on to state, "There is no reason he should not have been caught or at least identified." If the sniper was trained governmentally or militarily, Ms. Perna is sorely mistaken.
Snipers and sharpshooters are trained by the government (FBI, ATF, etc.), the military, or a special-operations unit (Navy SEALS, Delta Force, British Special Air Service, etc.) to shoot and kill with pinpoint accuracy at distances upwards of 600 yards, and this must be done with only one bullet, thus a one-shot kill. They are also trained to disappear into their surroundings both before and after the kill so that no one knows who fired the shot. Each sniper/sharpshooter has their favorite weapon model, but they are also adept with many others and can disassemble and reassemble many within a matter of minutes. These people also know what kind of clues they can leave behind and are trained to prevent that from happening.
Ms. Perna also stated that evidence such as blood splatter, distances and angles could possibly be linked to form a pattern. This is also highly unlikely as most long-range snipers do not think about the distances between themselves and the target more than calculating whether they are within the range of their weapon so much as finding a suitable perch that will offer a clear, unobstructed shot. If this sniper terrorizing the greater Washington, D.C.-Virginia area is as accurate as everyone is saying he is, then he could possibly have a high-powered scope and/or laser-range finder, and with this kind of equipment he has no reason to remain a single distance away from his victims, which would keep variables such as blood splatter and angles fairly constant.
With such an efficient killer leaving so few tangible clues behind, it is doubtful he will be caught within the next week or two, and is the reason why he hasn't been caught yet. Witnesses at the latest killing site have described an "olive or dark-skinned man" as a possible suspect, and unless he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, that is the first real break in the investigation that could lead anywhere.
