yikes.

the latest shooting in Maryland took place in my old neighborhood, behind the middle school my brother went to. the article says "in a wooded area". dglenn, think they actually mean Foxhill Park? either way, it's right near that tree Ewok ran his car into, the one that's still got scorch marks after all these years.

the "dear policeman" bit on the tarot card is very reminiscent of the Jack the Ripper letters. my money's on a fucked-up teenager -- maybe as old as mid-20s, but immature -- who's heavily into serial killers and decided it would be cool to be one himself. i'm betting he's done enough reading and/or watching of documentaries to know that crimes where there's an obvious connection between victims are easier to solve, so he's been intentionally killing randomly, possibly even just waiting for opportunities rather than truly stalking victims.

look at me, i fancy myself an FBI profiler. but honestly, the DC suburbs produce a strange breed of person. i wonder if the shooter grew up in Goatman territory? i bet he did. nearby you've also got Crybaby Bridge. the Bowie area, and Prince George's County in general, is a place i remember as being vaguely eerie, despite its suburban landscape. especially creepy on hazy indian summer mornings. (this could be just my own twisted brain.) and you get a lot of headbangers and wanna-be Satanists in Montgomery County, for some reason, particularly up in Rockville and northward.

man, though, this stuff is really weirding me out.