Tennessee Psychologist Believes Sniper Kills Done By Terrorists

October 15, 2002
By J.J. Stambaugh, News-Sentinel staff writer

The recent sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area are probably terrorist attacks rather than the work of a traditional "spree killer," according to a local psychologist who specializes in violent behavior.

Dr. Helen Smith, a forensic psychologist and author of the book "The Scarred Heart," earned her doctorate from the University of Tennessee in 1994. She often is called to testify as an expert witness in Juvenile Court proceedings; in "The Scarred Heart," she dedicated a chapter to the 1997 Lillelid murder case in Greene County, and she is currently making a documentary on the slayings.

"This is most likely a terrorist act, that's my take on it," Smith said of the D.C.-area shootings, which began Oct. 2 and have claimed the lives of eight people so far. "It's not typical, it just doesn't really meet any of the profiles we look at."

While law enforcement officials say they aren't releasing detailed information about the shootings because of concerns about tipping off possible suspects, Smith said the very nature of the attacks sets them apart from other instances of mass homicide.

"It looks to me like there's more than one person involved, and spree killers generally act alone," she said. "They will normally be in their thirties or forties, male, unemployed - a loner type. Usually, there's also a divorce or other relationship problem.

"But my guess is that there's more than person operating here, a driver and the person doing the shooting. There might even be different teams."

According to Smith, the apparently random nature of the shootings may provide clues as to the shooter's motivations. Serial killers, for instance, tend to single out people of a specific gender, age and ethnic group and often try to strike up a rapport with their prospective victims, Smith said.

"Serial killers are usually practiced and accomplished at what they do, they have normal and acceptable social behavior," she said. "They are usually sexually motivated. They'll get into a fantasy world where they fantasize about a certain kind of person: co-eds, (Playboy) Bunnies, or even homosexual boys, as in the case of Jeffrey Dahmer.

"But spree killers are obviously not getting to know their victims. It's a distance thing - they're disassociating themselves from their victims."

Smith mentioned the 1966 case of Charles Whitman, who shot and killed 14 people and injured dozens more from the top of the University of Texas Tower in Austin as an example of a traditional spree killer: someone who engages in a short, violent killing spree that generally ends with their own death or capture.

According to Smith, the real target of the sniper or snipers in the Washington area is the larger community rather than individuals.

"The anger's not toward the victims, it's toward the community," she said. "People use guns because you can step back, make it impersonal. They're probably not even seeing these people as actual people, but as things or objects used to further their goal, whatever their goal is."

Smith also said the degree of planning, skill and patience needed to sustain the attacks for an extended period of time also leads her to suspect terrorists.

"This is too calculated," she said. "It's cool, it's calm, and it's from a distance. It doesn't sound like the work of a maniac."

Smith also speculated that the investigating police agencies aren't publicly commenting on the possibility that terrorists are behind the shootings because they don't want to hurt the public's morale.

"They're not giving us much information," she said. "They don't want to tell us that because they don't want people to panic ."

No matter what the facts of the case ultimately turn out to be, Smith said one thing is obvious: The shooter or shooters enjoy the attention they're getting.

"This is a person who wants power over the population at large," she said. "They are watching the news . They do a hit and then go home and watch it on TV."

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