The Beltway Snipers: Serial Killers

According to federal law The term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors. Throughout history serial killers have always been a fascination among many individuals. On numerous of occasions law enforcement has tried to dive into the psyche of these killers to determine why they kill. There have also been numerous stereotypes placed on serial killers. Typical stereotypes are serial killers are all white males, loners, and that there crimes are driven by sex. However, through the capture of these individuals we have found said stereotypes incorrect. One of the most interesting cases being of the Beltway sniper attacks.

The Beltway sniper attacks were a series of shootings that took place over three weeks in October 2002 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. These were terribly gruesome murders that left ten dead, three critically wounded including pedestrians, motorists pumping gas, shoppers, a schoolboy, and a bus driver. One of the most interesting things about this case is how he chose his victims. Many experts agree that serial killers have a vision in mind of the type of victim they would prefer. This person would be chosen based on race, gender, physical characteristics, or some other specific quality; However the Beltway sniper victims had absolutely nothing connecting them. He was choosing his victims at random. This drove a city to chaos because millions of people feared they might be the next victim.

This all started on the evening of October 2nd. A 55 year old man named James Martin was shot in the...

... middle of paper ...

...5). "Widening Fears, Few Clues As 6th Death Is Tied to Sniper". The New York Times.

9. othe, Elsbeth . "Facing the Beltway snipers, profilers were dead wrong." The Baltimore Sun 12 Dec. 2002: 2. Print

.

10. Horwitz, sari, & Michael E. Ruane., Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation., Random House, 2003, pg.119

11. Kennedy, Helen. "D.C. SNIPER LEAVES CALLING CARD FOR COPS." New York Daily News 21 Nov. 2002: n. pag. Daily News. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.

12. "The Beltway Snipers, Part 2." FBI. FBI, 24 Oct. 2007. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. .

13, "The Beltway Snipers, Part 1." FBI. FBI, 22 Oct. 2007. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .

14. Bothe, Elsbeth . "Facing the Beltway snipers, profilers were dead wrong." The Baltimore Sun 12 Dec. 2002: 2. Print.