Allhands: Fearing Phoenix's freeway sniper
Checking your car for bullet holes shouldn't be part of a daily commuting routine.
But that's what I did Tuesday after work. The slow slog on Interstate 10 was generally uneventful. Move forward, stop. Move forward. Repeat.
Then I got to thinking: I heard a thud on my way to work that morning. I thought it was just a piece of busted tire that had been kicked up by the car in front of me. What if it wasn't?
A quick inspection while I carried in my laptop and lunch pail revealed my car was clean. No bullet holes that day.
But the Phoenix sniper keeps on striking: At least two more reports of damage consistent with a bullet or projectile were reported Wednesday morning, joining nine other incidents the Department of Public Safety is investigating.
"Don't kid yourself," DPS Director Frank Milstead told reporters. "This is a very important matter for the department and the traveling public."
Q&A: Arizona investigating shots fired at vehicles on I-10
Luckily, the damage has mostly been cosmetic: Busted headlights and shredded metal. One person was cut by broken glass. But, mercifully, no one's been hit directly.
I suspect that's why panic hasn't risen to the level of the Beltway Sniper, who terrorized D.C. for several weeks in October 2002. By the time John Muhammad and Lee Malvo were arrested, 10 people had died and three were wounded while getting gas, walking through parking lots and doing otherwise mundane things.
Suddenly, everyone was questioning the safety of everyday tasks. Events were canceled. Kids were kept home from school. Everyone hunkered down. And for what? There was no rhyme or reason to those attacks and few lessons to glean afterward.
I suspect that's how it will be once police catch whoever is targeting cars in Phoenix. No good explanation. Just paranoia for the thousands of commuters who must travel our freeways each day.