FBI Episode 4: Crossfire
Crossfire opens with an attorney speaking on the phone, it seems like an argument. Within seconds, he’s shot dead. More bodies begin to fall around him, a total of three as pandemonium ensues. It looks to be a sniper. The bodies are random—different races and genders. No clear targets.
Cut to FBI title screen.
We fade into Agents Zidan and Bell appearing on the scene. Another officer describes the original scene as chaos, as to be expected after a sniper shooting in Manhattan outside an attorney’s office during rush hour. Details are shared, Bell seems to be thinking. The shooter’s type is discussed. OA states, “He’s damn good at what he does.” This makes me think military immediately. Maybe it is my fascination with military shows or the background on the type of profile this usually leads to, but it makes sense.
OA spots an area where a bullet missed its target and has gone through the location sign. He is able to use a forensic pointer to get the trajectory. This leads them to a roof. Bell states, “I’d say he’s better than damn good.” She suggests military. OA agrees and states he could be a former Army Ranger or Navy SEAL. Clearly highly trained and can disappear. This means, per Agent Zidan, that he probably has a plan.
I’m hoping at this point there is some sort of mistake. I’m never a fan of the storyline of former military members going rogue and becoming murderers. This makes it seem like all military members are violent and simply killers. Hoping the nature of the episode changes.
There is always a trigger.
We cut to the bullpen where Assistant Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine (and his trusty pencil) are discussing details on the murdered attorney, Analyst Chazal in tow. Mosier walks up to add, “There is always a trigger” when discussing motives. The profiler returns! I love me a profile. I think when you start to understand what makes someone do what they do, it adds a layer to anyone’s characterization. It is easy to state someone is a cold-blooded killer, but if you start to humanize them, you can make it a much grittier episode.
Mosier continues to discuss profile aspects, including the shooter’s need to demonstrate power and scare people which usually happens after a loss of the former mentioned. Perhaps a disgruntled employee of the law firm where the first shooting happened? There aren’t enough details.
OA and Bell enter the ballistics office where Sammy is using digital reconstruction software to reconstruct the very small sample of bullet fragment. It is a six-point five-millimeter Grendel bullet, which highlights the ability for our shooter to be produce a weapon and risk that is lighter, cheaper and has less recoil. This means that they can be faster and deadlier if need be. Time is clearly of the essence.
There is also a point in this scene where Sammy and OA are discussing ballistics and Maggie clearly feels outnumbered. She makes a joke for OA’s rebuttal but is met with silence. He seems amused. I love the teasing that goes on between them.
They go talk to the dead attorney’s wife to see if they can get more information out of her. There isn’t much for them to go on, but she’s annoyed they must treat her as a possible suspect. As they are speaking, there is a second shooting.
From Commercial to Residential
This shooting seems to be in a more residential area. The shooting is at an apartment complex in Staten Island, New York. There are six shot and killed, but there is one survivor who is only grazed in the arm. He is a retired security guard named Walter who fired back. The shooter adjusts his weapon from the witness statement, but they can’t figure out why.
I’m thinking Walter is shady in this moment, but I guess we’ll find out. He tells them that a black SUV sped away from the scene following the shooting. Maggie wants to release this detail to the public, everyone else is hesitant because it could cause more chaos. They eventually decide to release the detail to the police, and Mosier asks, “What are we missing?”
As they discuss the profiler further, which has another awesome moment of mentor and student, Maggie states there must be a connection. She wonders if it’s the location. Mosier tells her to go with that for now.
A Breakthrough
As Analyst Kristen is trying to narrow down a list of eighty-eight names, she discovers that a gun store in Rockland County recently sold six boxes of the exact bullets that were used in the shooting. They are able to identify the shooter this way. He is Army Ranger veteran Cole Cooper, not dishonorably discharged and in fact has two Medals of Valor. This is disheartening to me. I am hoping something changes.
Kristen discovers that Cooper lived in the apartment complex that was the second location.
Sammy calls them back to ballistics. The video footage accompanied by different grooves in the bullet fragments extracted from a victim and Walter prove there were two different shooters, as the weapons fired had to be different and Cooper would not have had enough time to reload.
Mosier suggests a dominant and submissive partnership. Meanwhile, Valentine and Kristen show the team a video of Cole Cooper surprising a woman in a Facebook video from three years ago. The video is his last social media post, but it gives them a lead. The woman’s name is Emily. They want to find out more about her.
How does an honorable and distinguished veteran become a murderer?
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