Georgia police hunt man who pointed rifle at school bus

[QuickZ06]

Police in north Georgia say they’re trying to find a man who witnesses say pointed a rifle at a moving school bus this week and apparently left a note at the scene containing school bus numbers.

The incident in Hampton has prompted Clayton County police to start escorting school buses through the Greystone subdivision, and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have joined the investigation.

A resident of the subdivision told police that a man was crouched in a backyard of a home in Hampton – about 25 miles southeast of Atlanta – on Monday morning and pointed a rifle at a moving bus.

“About the time the school bus pulled up to pick up two kids … the guy started aiming the gun," the resident, David Dillard, told CNN affiliate WSB.

Dillard said he yelled at the man, and the man dropped the rifle and ran away. Dillard said his nephew, who was nearby, ran after him.

The gunman fired a pistol at the nephew – hitting no one – before escaping on foot, Clayton County police Lt. Chris Windley said, citing witness accounts.

At the scene, police found a rifle and a note that listed numbers of school buses in Clayton County, Windley said. Police haven’t said whether the rifle was loaded.

Police said they and the ATF are investigating the incident, and they don’t have any suspects or know the gunman’s motive.

The ATF is trying to determine the rifle’s history and owner, bureau spokesman Richard Coes said.

Officers will follow school buses through the subdivision and patrol the area through Friday, the last day of the school year, unless an arrest is made before then, Windley said.

A resident of the area, Sean Rutherford, told WSB that his son was on the bus Monday morning.

"I (now) make sure I go pick him up from school instead of him riding the bus," Rutherford said.

Windley said police are trying to determine whether they have enough of a description of the gunman to release a composite sketch. Douglas Hendrix, chief human resources officer at Clayton County Public Schools, said the gunman was described as a 18- to 23-year-old man wearing black clothing. The race was unclear, he said.

Schools in the area have “suspended all outdoor activities” for the students, Hendrix said.




Video in link below.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/17/georgia-police-hunt-man-who-pointed-rifle-at-school-bus/


Truth: Local police force has cop dress up as a perp, grabs hunting rifle (notice most reports say SNIPER Rifle) points at bus and leaves note. Parents of kids scared to death, cops now ride on school buses, take guns away from everyone in the city. Kids protected, guns gone. Mission accomplished.

[RickyJ]

Either we aren't getting the truth about this story or there is a psycho who has something against school bus drivers or kids that ride them.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

Truth: Local police force has cop dress up as a perp, grabs hunting rifle (notice most reports say SNIPER Rifle) points at bus and leaves note. Parents of kids scared to death, cops now ride on school buses, take guns away from everyone in the city. Kids protected, guns gone. Mission accomplished.

What evidence are you basing this "Truth" off of?

[QuickZ06]

What evidence are you basing this "Truth" off of?

Just an assumption but like RickJ said who out there is really pointing guns at school buses, wanting to possibly kill some kids? It just seems very unlikely. Sorry if that was misleading.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

Just an assumption but like RickJ said who out there is really pointing guns at school buses, wanting to possibly kill some kids? It just seems very unlikely. Sorry if that was misleading.

Apparently this guy.

It's also unlikely that cops are pointing guns at school buses to round up guns.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

[RickyJ]

Apparently this guy.

It's also unlikely that cops are pointing guns at school buses to round up guns.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

No, they aren't even rounding up any guns. Still, this is a really strange story. The part that is the strangest is the list of school bus numbers. Like the guy was going to target ALL of them in the same day? Crazy! It is also nuts to wear all black in the middle of the day if your goal is to not be seen, that only helps at night. Then reportedly the guy leaves behind his rifle but still has a pistol that he uses to fire a shot at those running after him so that they would stop following him. It seems to me the guy wanted to be seen and had no intention of shooting at that bus or any other bus. It could be a criminal wanting to get the police on a wild goose chase after some psycho spending resources escorting buses around while they plan to rob some place knowing few police will be available to stop them.

[QuickZ06]

Apparently this guy.

It's also unlikely that cops are pointing guns at school buses to round up guns.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

Im sorry, I just can't take the media seriously anymore....Do you know Mack? He used to be with us you know :rolleyes:



Mack McDowell likes to spend time at the local knife and gun show "drooling over firearms," as he puts it. Retired after 30 years in the U.S. Army, he has lined his study with books on war, framed battalion patches from his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, a John Wayne poster, and an 1861 Springfield rifle from an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.

But when it comes to the 2012 presidential election, Master Sergeant McDowell is no hawk.

In South Carolina's January primary, the one-time Reagan supporter voted for Ron Paul "because of his unchanging stand against overseas involvement." In November, McDowell plans to vote for the candidate least likely to wage "knee-jerk reaction wars.".............


......In his study, below a movie poster of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," McDowell, the Ron Paul supporter, flipped through pages of an 82nd Airborne Division yearbook, lingering on photographs of dead comrades. He recalled their ages, how many children they had, and how they died.

Partly for their sake, he avidly follows the campaign. He was turned off by mudslinging among Republican candidates, he said. And Obama? "If no one else can get their act together, I'll vote for that Democrat," he said. "My concern is who will do right for the soldier."

[phill4paul]

Update: http://www.ajc.com/news/clayton/police-clayton-sniper-may-1439414.html?cxtype=rss_news_81960

Police: Clayton sniper may be high school student

ShareThis PrintE-mail
By Tammy Joyner and Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Clayton County police said Thursday that the would-be sniper seen aiming a rifle at a school bus earlier this week may be a local high school student.

Enlarge photo

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Clayton County police continue to investigate in a Hampton neighborhood where a sniper allegedly took aim at a school bus as children boarded.
More Atlanta area news »

Young burglars steal guitars, computer and junk food from Henry church
Suit targets bogus court fees
Gwinnett man charged with making illegal liquor
Cops: Man stole people's junk
"A couple of neighbors indicated they may have known who [the sniper] was," Clayton Police Maj. Johnny Robinson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We have numerous leads."

The search for the suspect remains focused within the Greystone subdivision in south Clayton, where helicopters continued to hover overhead Thursday afternoon as police maintained a constant patrol by car. The manhunt marks a dramatic end to the school year for Clayton students, whose last day of school is Friday.

Robinson said investigators "have some good information that may lead us to several different houses" in the area.

"One of the leads may lead to a high school," he said.

Clayton police said more than 75 officers are working on the case, escorting "at least five or more" school buses to and from four area schools and canvassing the Hampton neighborhood where the incident occurred, said Clayton police Chief Gregory Porter.

Neighbors welcomed the heavy police presence.

"This past week has been the safest it's ever been to live here," said Avis Watkins, 48, as she jogged through the neighborhood, baseball bat in hand. "It's for dogs, not the sniper," said Watkins who has lived in Greystone for more than 10 years.

"Police have pulled out all the stops," Watkins said, so much so that she felt comfortable letting her 13-year-old son Austin, a student at Lovejoy Middle School, walk unaccompanied from his bus stop.

But some parents and family members remained uncomfortable with their children riding the school bus. Kerrie Tripp greeted her niece and nephew with a big hug after their bus arrived -- right in front of the mobile command unit Clayton police have set up inside Greystone.

"It's just scary to think someone out there would try to shoot at a school bus," Tripp said. Her niece, Makala, a third grader, and nephew, Willie, a kindergartener, were on the bus that was allegedly targeted by the elusive sniper on the corner of Paladin Drive and Hyde Court.

Porter also was on hand Thursday in the Greystone neighborhood to greet parents and students as they got off the bus.

Police have enlisted the help of the Clayton Sheriff's Office, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and school district to track down the suspect, described by witnesses as a "light-skinned black or white male" between the ages of 18 and 25.

Robinson said door-to-door canvassing has proven "very helpful" to investigators who were able to gather few clues from the Marlin .22-caliber rifle left behind at the scene. "We've not gotten lucky and been able to find any fingerprints" on the weapon, he said.

But investigators did trace the gun, purchased in 1985, to its original owner. Robinson said they haven't been able to talk to him yet but, considering his age, do not believe he is the sniper even though the weapon was never reported stolen.

A notepad also was recovered from the scene containing the numbers of five school buses, including the one headed to Kemp Elementary School that was apparently targeted Monday morning, Robinson said.

The gunman was spotted by Codarrius Brewer, 20, who lives off Paladin Drive, and his uncle David Dillard a little after 7 a.m. The suspect was perched across the street, about 75 feet away, crouched behind a wooden fence.

When it became clear the man was aiming a rifle at a school bus, Brewer said he yelled out, causing the suspect to drop the rifle and run. Brewer said he chased the man until the suspect fired at him using a second gun.

The suspect ran farther into the subdivision; the incident occurred a block from the subdivision entrance off Panhandle Road, police noted.

Robinson said police do not think the man drove to the bus stop. Nor do they believe he carried the rifle in a bag.

Investigators had hoped to find more witnesses, considering the suspect was likely walking through the neighborhood "in broad daylight with a weapon," Robinson said.

School officials notified parents in a letter sent home Tuesday about the incident and urged students and families to contact police if they have any information. Clayton school spokesman Doug Hendrix said the district has not noticed any decline in school bus ridership or increase in absenteeism or parents driving their children to school.

"It's definitely a concern," said Jewel Frederick, who lives in the nearby Bridgeport subdivision and has a daughter, Lemeria, who rides the bus to Lovejoy High School, where she is a junior.

Frederick said the extra precautions taken by the police -- buses are being escorted by police cars ahead and behind -- allay some of her fears. But she said she will have her daughter call when she arrives at and leaves from school Friday.

[pcosmar]

Not everything is a conspiracy.

Cops sell crack, so they can bust people for having crack.
Cops sell meth so they can make busts.
Cops offer money for sex, or cruse as prostitutes to bust people for prostitution.

Cops Lie. Cops Steal. Cops Kill.

Why is it so hard to believe that they would stage an event to further an agenda?

[phill4paul]

Cops sell crack, so they can bust people for having crack.
Cops sell meth so they can make busts.
Cops offer money for sex, or cruse as prostitutes to bust people for prostitution.

Cops Lie. Cops Steal. Cops Kill.

Why is it so hard to believe that they would stage an event to further an agenda?

$10 million budget deficit. Cuts needed. Youth Diversion Center's never built despite SPLOST tax. New tax needed.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

Cops sell crack, so they can bust people for having crack.
Cops sell meth so they can make busts.
Cops offer money for sex, or cruse as prostitutes to bust people for prostitution.

Cops Lie. Cops Steal. Cops Kill.

Why is it so hard to believe that they would stage an event to further an agenda?

I'm aware.

And I'm as suspicious as the next guy.

But I don't think everything is a cop/government conspiracy - and this scenario didn't seem like that to me.

[Sam I am]

Cops sell crack, so they can bust people for having crack.
Cops sell meth so they can make busts.
Cops offer money for sex, or cruse as prostitutes to bust people for prostitution.

Cops Lie. Cops Steal. Cops Kill.

Why is it so hard to believe that they would stage an event to further an agenda?

By that Logic I can say the cops did anything


I can't find my keys because the cops stole them.
Diablo 3 keeps crashing because the cops are hacking my computer.
There's a leak in my roof because the cops made it.

[kcchiefs6465]

Robinson said investigators "have some good information that may lead us to several different houses" in the area.

"One of the leads may lead to a high school," he said."

We have ourselves a regular Nancy Drew. In reference to the OP, I would seriously doubt your scenario. Ever just think that this was a lunatic pointing a rifle at a schoolbus?

[pcosmar]

By that Logic I can say the cops did anything




You can say anything you want. but the point is that these armed and dangerous thugs are out there pulling shit.
They should never be trusted for a second.

[oyarde]

When younger , I often used my rifle scope as a binocular .

[pcosmar]

When younger , I often used my rifle scope as a binocular .

Monocular
;)

[heavenlyboy34]

When younger , I often used my rifle scope as a binocular .
If you only used one scope, it was a monocular. /grammar nazi
eta: Pete beat me to it. :(

[oyarde]

At that age , I had not yet seen a monocular . Still like my binoculars better , but will use a rifle scope around the property , I usually just use/ carry my binoculars when duck hunting .