Possibly multiple shooters in Arizona - People mobilize but are held back

[U201491]

Nothing domestic about this in my opinion.


http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/highway-snipers-terrorize-arizona-drivers/?cat_orig=us


Highway snipers terrorize Arizona drivers
'I am of the opinion ... we have multiple shooters'
Published: 13 hours ago

Arizona drivers have been terrorized for two weeks with 11 shootings along on a Phoenix freeway.
Authorities are offering a a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooters responsible for injuring a 13 year old girl, narrowly missing a bus driver, and damaging multiple cars.

"I am of the opinion right now that we have multiple shooters just because the M.O.'s have changed," Col. Frank Milstead, the state director of public safety, told NBC News Thursday. He refers to the Interstate 10 shootings as "domestic terrorism crimes."

Local resident Robert McDonald told NBC a single round ripped through his bus and embedded into a seat behind him.

"If I would have moved my head, I would have got hit," McDonald told NBC.

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Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI profiler and NBC analyst, said the suspects, who began shooting on Aug. 29, are in a "chess game with the authorities."

One move the suspects and authorities may not have anticipated is the decision by locals to assemble into an armed "Bolt Force" to end the shootings. Police had to briefly detain the group's organizer when someone called in a report of suspicious activity.

"We would prefer they let us handle this investigation," the state Department of Public Safety said in a statement, Fox reported.

Read More

 

[mkwerx]

Two weeks this has been going on and yesterday was the first I heard about it. MSM must not have thought this storyvworth covering until now

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Jesus.. Of course the FBI would shut it down.. All law enforcement drags bubblegum with stuff like this.. Its pure administrative bureaucracy.. Meanwhile this terrorist(s) have been lucky they HAVENT made contact with an unassuming victim.

The private sector is FAR more capable of getting things done than any organization tied to the government.

 

[brokenarrow]

First heard of this on the news this morning, 9-11, and it's been going on two weeks? Were they waiting for a fatality to make it "news worthy"?

 

[B5Ben]

It's been in the AZ/SW regional news since it started. I have lots of ties there still and have been following it. It's pretty crappy because I-10 is a long corridor highway that is only really obstructed by surface street overpasses and highway signs. That can make for a target rich environment without anywhere for them to hide or run to. Plus with the shooter being so far, it's not like a CCW holder can return fire if fired upon since they won't know where it's coming from.

Chickenbubblegum bastards!

 

[Medic!]

I think of all the CHP's issued since 9/11. Fear has opened many peoples eyes.
And you can bet there are many more good guys with there guns out on the streets.

Also opinions on guns and carry have become more cavalier. People see there value. And don't freak like they use to.

I see a time in the not too distant future. Where people out walking around with there AR's will be common place. Things will get that bad! And that good.

We are waking up!

 

[U201491]

I think at this point that would be a good way to die by LE mistaken identity.

 

[lucifermonkey]

Same thing was happening around Los Angeles a few years back.
Wonder if the same group is involved here?

 

[Medic!]

I think at this point that would be a good way to die by LE mistaken identity.

Today I think your right.
But maybe some day in the not to distant future?

We will see.

It's gona be hard to shoot down a group of ten men with AR's.

 

[U201491]

My bet is its connected with the camps just across the border.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

First heard of this on the news this morning, 9-11, and it's been going on two weeks? Were they waiting for a fatality to make it "news worthy"?

I don't think so. I'm guessing that they were waiting for armed civilians to become engaged so they can write about the "crazy gun nuts coming out of the woodwork!"

 

[U201491]

That is one of the methods the isis/alQuaida scumbags were planning along with setting fires all over

 

[oknow]

Today I think your right.
But maybe some day in the not to distant future?

We will see.

It's gona be hard to shoot down a group of ten men with AR's.

If the cops try there is going to be another ammo shortage.

 

[clearconscience]

They arrested some guy.
Said he was bragging to his friends about it, but they are waiting for search warrants for his house and car.

 

[clearconscience]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/1...new-reports-possible-shootings-on-interstate/

 

[clearconscience]

Reminds me of the DC sniper, but this guy just looks like a mental defective dueshebag

 

[donaldc]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/19/phoenix-freeway-shooter-in-custody-arizona-governor-announces

Arizona authorities arrest suspect in string of freeway shootings

Published September 18, 2015

Arizona authorities arrested a man Friday for a string of freeway shootings in Phoenix, adding that they had "forensically linked" the man's gun to four of the 11 cars hit.

Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., 21, was arrested at a Glendale Wal-Mart at about 7 p.m., said Daniel Scarpinato, a spokesman for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. Glendale is a suburb located west of Phoenix.

Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead announced the arrest at a news conference two hours after Merritt had been apprehended. Merritt hadn't been formally charged as of early Saturday.

Milstead said the suspect was arrested in the first four shootings, which took place on Aug. 29 and 30. The agency says the suspect faces an array of charges that include criminal endangerment, assault and unlawful discharge of a firearm. Four of the shootings Merritt allegedly committed hit a tour bus, SUV and two cars on a stretch of Interstate 10 in Phoenix No one has been injured.

The Arizona Republic reported that Leslie Merritt Sr., the man's father, was physically ill after hearing about his son's arrest. Merritt told the Associated Press he believes his son is being used as a scapegoat by police who were desperate to make an arrest under immense pressure.

"He has way too much value for human life to even take the slightest or remotest risk of actually injuring someone," he said of his son.


Leslie Allen Merritt Jr.'s Facebook page, confirmed to the Associated Press by his father, indicated that he worked as a landscaper and was a gun enthusiast, but there wasn't any indication as to why he might have been shooting at cars on the freeway. It wasn't clear who was responsible for the other reported shootings.

"Are there others out there? Are there copycats? That is possible," Milstead said, adding that the investigation continues.

Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who received updates about the arrest from the police department, said the arrest was made after the suspect tried to pawn the gun used in the shootings.

"We got him!" Ducey tweeted. "Great work by Arizona DPS investigators and SWAT team."

Brandon Copeland told the Associated Press he witnessed the arrest of the suspect while shopping at the Wal-Mart. He said he was struck at the military-style response as officers stormed the crowded store with semiautomatic weapons and came out with the man in handcuffs.

"My girl goes maybe we should leave, and I'm thinking we should leave. And as soon as she says that, like five, six unmarked units just rolled up with blue and reds flashing everywhere," he said.

Fox 10 Phoenix also reported police were seen impounding a dark grey Saturn from the Wal-Mart parking lot and that one other woman was in custody. However, it was unclear what she was questioned about.

Since Aug. 29, there have been 11 confirmed shootings of vehicles in the Phoenix area involving bullets or other projectiles. Most of the shootings occurred along a stretch of Interstate 10, a major route through the city. There hasn't been a confirmed shooting since Sept. 10.

Though there have been no serious injuries, a 13-year-old girl's ear was cut after a bullet shattered a window of a vehicle she was riding in.

The shootings have kept the city on edge and prompted several school districts to keep their buses off freeways and even altered some motorists' commutes to avoid I-10.

Authorities have offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case and also distributed thousands of fliers in communities along the freeway to raise awareness about the shootings and the reward.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said state troopers have stepped up patrols, while other agencies assisting in the investigation have included Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa police as well as the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"I think it's fair to say since a week ago, we've made headway in this case," Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said earlier Friday.

Meanwhile Friday, a judge ordered the release of a 19-year-old man who was detained at a convenience store Sept. 11 and questioned regarding the shootings. Authorities have declined to explain why the man was questioned about the shootings but have said he was not a prime suspect.

He was arrested on an alleged probation violation stemming from marijuana found in the man's house during a Sept. 11 search based on a tip that he was violating probation by possessing a gun. The man had been sentenced to probation on an endangerment conviction for excessive speeding and fleeing from police.

Three young men were arrested and accused of hurling rocks at cars with slingshots in a case that authorities called a copycat to the shootings, but one of the young men denied in jail interviews that was the case.

If this guy, Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., really is the shooter he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. But, something doesn't feel right about this guy. Witnesses to the arrest said he seemed "surprised", he has a family to take care of, he works as a landscaper, he pawned the gun which was then forensically linked to the shootings.

Criminals are really dumb, but most are not stupid enough to go to a FFL and try to pawn it. My understanding is they usually "toss" hot guns.

This is pure speculation but it almost sounds like he was working one day (as a landscaper) and found the gun in some bushes or something. Knowing it's value, he took it home and after some thought, decided to pawn it for some extra money.

 

[USAF Medic]

3 teens arrested who thought doing a copycat crime would be fun.

 

[clearconscience]

I think more info will come out. This may not fit the mold, but we'll find out more later.
Crazy people come in all shapes and sizes.
Some people are just plain stupid