His unit specialized in counterterrorism. The case of the abortion doctor sniper who targeted physicians in Vancouver, Ancaster, Winnipeg, and Rochester certainly qualified. The official on the phone from Ottawa briefed Fitzgerald on the latest information. He was told a profile of the sniper was being developed at the Ontario Provincial Police’s behavioral unit. Fitzgerald had dealt with the Ontario unit before—they did good work and, in fact, the FBI had trained OPP analysts. He asked to see the profile that had been developed to date. The OPP profiler was Jim Van Allen. Upon receiving the report, Fitzgerald saw that Van Allen already had a good handle on the profile.
Sniper shoots at a doctor in each of 1994, 1995, and two in 1997. All of the shootings seem well planned, no weapon ever found. There was DNA recovered at the Ancaster shooting scene. All attacks came in early November. This was a ritual. Why at this time of the year? The sniper perhaps was motivated by both symbolism and tactics.
Symbolism: He is perhaps shooting doctors to make a statement, to avenge the death of aborted fetuses. May well see himself as a soldier in the cause. November 11 is Remembrance Day, Canada’s day to honor its war dead. In the United States it’s Veterans’ Day. The timing packs religious symbolism as well. If the sniper is Catholic, that time of year is also notable for All Saints’ Day, which falls on November 1, and All Souls’ Day on November 2.
Tactics: In November the nights grow long and dark. Most of the leaves have fallen from trees, making surveillance of homes in wooded areas easier.
Jim Van Allen felt there was only one shooter, and that he was not a professional. The sniper was improving his technique with each hit but, paradoxically, had left evidence at each scene, been sloppy. Van Allen said the equipment used had been primitive, from the point of view of a trained marksman. The rifle was adequate, but it was the little things—the sniper wasn’t using web belts to carry his gear, he was dropping cartridges, casings. The tape he used to secure the garbage can lids in Vancouver had been silver duct tape, which was highly visible. A pro would have used black or olive-colored military tape.
Jim Fitzgerald began developing his own take on the sniper. Behaviorally there is a clear difference between a long-range sniper and the killer who shoots at close range, brandishing a .38 in an alleyway, or breaking down a door and pointing a shotgun at a victim. The close-up shooter has no issue with using violence, probably has anger-management problems. The shooter is physically secure enough to personally confront someone face-to-face, whether it’s simply to tell them off or to pull a trigger. Little skill is required to shoot at close range. Target acquisition and kill zone are not relevant. The sniper mentality is much different. He lacks confrontational skills. He is more secretive, plans more, acquires lots of equipment, trains himself in weaponry and ballistics to guarantee success.
The FBI had plenty of background on close-up gun killers. That year, 1998, guns were used to murder 11,798 people in the United States. True sniper attacks, on the other hand, were rare. In 1997, there had been just four reported cases of sniper killings in the entire country. The motive of the abortion sniper seemed clear enough. Fitzgerald knew that in instances where a serial offender acts based on need or fantasy, motive is often a complicated question. This shooter, however, had a definite political-religious mission. But, even within the subgroup of moral zealots, this sniper was different. Other anti-abortion extremists who had shot doctors did so with little deliberation, and in broad daylight. This one did not intend to get caught. He was relatively intelligent. He was traveling great distances, spreading out his attacks. The sniper was probably American. If so, he was striking in Canada because he knew cross-border investigations were complicated, thought Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald and Van Allen talked about the profile at length. One point was not included in the profile. It was one over which the two men disagreed: intent. Was the sniper shooting to kill or wound? Van Allen felt the sniper wanted to terrorize doctors. You do that by wounding them, leaving them crippled. He had certainly pulled it off so far. Fitzgerald disagreed. “You don’t take all that time and effort, with all the factors that can go wrong, unless you are prepared to kill,” he said. “You don’t take those kinds of shots from that distance and not hope to kill someone.”
“It’s a dangerous game,” countered Van Allen, “but if he was shooting to kill, he’s even a worse shot than I give him credit for.”
They agreed to keep that issue out of the profile. It wouldn’t help police catch the sniper, and, if their opinions were leaked, it might just inflame the sniper, challenge him to execute better or stay long enough at the next scene to finish off his target. The profilers knew that the urgent issue for police was whether the shooter would strike again before or near Remembrance Day. On this the G-man and the OPP cop agreed. The sniper was going to hit again, and soon. Police should be on alert, and so should doctors who provide abortions in both countries.
On October 20, the joint Canada-U.S. police task force met in Winnipeg. They discussed the profile and other information and strategy. The implication of the profilers’ analysis was clear. At the end of the meeting, Winnipeg detective Ron Oliver stood up and addressed the group. “We need to anticipate,” he said. “There must be a sense of urgency. There may be a shooting coming up.”
A fax arrived at the clinic where Bart Slepian worked. It was from the FBI. Be extra cautious at this time of year, it warned. Whoever shot obstetricians in Canada and Rochester was still out there. Clinic manager Marilyn Buckham told Bart about it.
“Be careful,” she said.
“I will,” he replied. The exchange had become their regular sign-off whenever Bart left the clinic for the day.
“Thanks for coming,” she chirped.
“Thanks for having me.”
Amherst, N.Y.
Friday, October 23, 1998
9:45 p.m.
A man gripped a rifle in the woods behind Bart Slepian’s home:
A decidedly unpleasant thing, shooting someone. But it’s not the act that answers the moral question, rather it is the desired result. Think about Dietrich Bonhoeffer: gave the Nazi salute to Hitler every day as he held the door to the staff car. Made his skin crawl. Salute the devil. Hated to do it. But he did it, to keep his cover, allow him to continue smuggling Jews to safety. Amazing, to meet the daughter of one of those survivors. She lives in Syracuse. An extreme honor.
The clocks were to be turned back that weekend, the darkest time of the year. How many times had Jim Kopp waited out there, late night, early morning, anticipating the shot that had not yet come?
Twenty-four hours a day abortionists are preparing to kill more kids. A form of serial murder. Slepian’s been doing it for years. There is a stubbornness there that requires a strong response.
He focused the binoculars on the back window. Bart and Lynne had just pulled in the driveway, returning from synagogue, marking the anniversary of Bart’s father’s death. Through the front door. The boys were home. Into the clean white kitchen. The rear window shade pulled halfway down.