By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - Tipsters have supplied 1,000 names of possible suspects in a series of 23 highway shootings scattered over three central Ohio counties.

But a task force focusing on the crimes is undaunted, Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin said Friday.

"We remain confident that we are closing in" on the shooter, Martin said at a news conference, before revealing a few more clues about the shooter's behavior patterns.

Last weekend's eyewitness descriptions of the gunman on two Fayette County overpasses have been a big help to investigators, he said.

A suspected additional case - involving a truck that turned up with a bullet hole in Cleveland this week - is unrelated to the serial shootings, Martin said.

Two Fayette County vehicle shootings on Sunday were the last confirmed to be among a string of shootings since May. By moving south into Fayette County, the shooter has come within an hour's drive of Greater Cincinnati. Previously, the shootings had been confined to the Greater Columbus area. One person has been killed.

"These crimes are not committed in a vacuum. Every time the shooter - or shooters - decides to take a shot, he exposes himself to being viewed by the public," Martin said.

He declined to comment on published reports that police received a videotape from a Fayette County resident whose surveillance camera operates near one of the two most recent shooting locations.

Authorities have also declined to provide a "profile" of the suspect.

But Dr. Nick A. DeFilippis, a clinical forensic psychologist who is not involved in the case, offered some insights into the shooter's possible motivations and characteristics.

"This is obviously a very odd situation of human behavior," he said in a telephone interview from Atlanta, where he is a professor at Argosy University. "The person is usually acting out of anger - and it's a delusional kind of anger. ... These are individuals who are angry at society in general and they're getting back at society for perceived wrongs."

He thinks the shooter is "someone who has been a failure," despite having high aspirations. And the shooter may see his random violence as a way to show he's not a failure, DeFilippis said.

As for the fact that the shooter has only hit one person out of 23 documented shots, DeFilippis said that indicates the shooter wants to cause an uproar, but not cause death.

The shooter is likely a "fairly intelligent person," who may have a military or paramilitary background, DeFilippis said.

As publicity heats up, the shooter's delusion could grow to point he starts showing poor judgment, taking more risks and being grandiose, DeFilippis said, "And that could be a good thing, because it could mean he is close to being caught."

A $60,000 reward is offered for information leading to the shooter's arrest. Tip line: (614) 462-4646.

Authorities also have posted images of two vehicles they need help from the public to identify. View them at www.sheriff.franklin.oh.us.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com