NOBODY’S MENTIONING TERRORISM in connection with these apparently motiveless shootings in the DC area. Why not?

UPDATE: A reader emails that based on this review of Al Qaeda training tapes, such attacks might well be terrorism. There are a number of scenarios that seem reasonably close to what’s supposed to have happened, along with this observation:

There is information to the effect that the “perfect day” as seen by Al Qaeda would combine attacks designed to produce the maximum number of casualties with attacks that would give them the opportunity to get “face time” on the news channels to deliver their rhetoric. For maximum effect these attacks would take place nearly simultaneously at multiple geographically separate locations.

This does seem to have gotten maximal news attention for minimum risk and effort — the sort of thing that a cut-off terror cell, or a group of freelancers with minimal resources, might do. We’ll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile reader Mitch Berg writes: “And yet again – a mass shooting in a state without a shall-issue concealed-carry law.”

Well, there are two lessons from the LAX shooting: that people on the scene with guns can bring such things to a prompt end, and that authorities will be very slow to blame such attacks on terrorism. But at the moment this is all speculation — we’ll have to wait on evidence, if any materializes. I’ll leave you with these comments emailed by Jim Henley:

Glenn, no one’s talking about terrorism yet because it’s a developing story – no one fucking knows right now. I can tell you that these shootings are way way too close to home in a literal sense, all occurring in places where the Henley family actually shops or drives. Latest word from the schools (currently locked down, which means my son hasn’t had recess, sure to be a root cause of terrorism on HIS part I don’t know what will) is that they’re going have police supervise the loading of the buses, but not apparently taking the crushingly obvious step of putting police ON the buses. The other concern is all the parents who will be congregating on corners WAITING for buses.

I suppose in Knoxville people would just bring their guns to the bus stop. Alas, here in Montgomery county only outlaws will have guns (more because of cultural cringe and relative safety than local laws). Since it’s been quiet for a few hours, police think the killers are in hiding, according to my wife. (I work over in Virginia, so I’m getting all my updates from her.)

It sounds like a Starkweather-style spree. It may yet prove to be terrorism. The only things I see that incline me in that direction right now are that it’s two guys, not one, and the report that they’ve gone into hiding. (Default assumption in a spree case is that one guy really wants to be shot dead himself and keeps going until he is.)

I guess there’s one more thing that makes it worth speculating about a terrorist angle – the Post report you cite omits any, even fragmentary description of the killers. The Post has a tendency to do that when they’re afraid such descriptions will inspire what they think of as retrograde reactions.

Yes, I noticed that omission from the Post account myself.

ANOTHER UPDATE: And now there’s a similar shooting incident at the U.N. though no one appears to have been hurt, and the M.O. is different. Asparagirl has blogged it.