Standoff s01e06 Episode Script
One Shot Stop
MAN: No, I'll be there in a couple minutes.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
I got to go.
You got to be freakin' kidding me! Fine.
Stand there.
Stand right there! First, I'm going to take your picture.
Then, I'm going to take your job.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, go ahead, smile.
Hey, hey, hey, hey! Somebody shot him.
He's been shot! Hey! Yeah, someone's been shot on Hope Street, north of Olympic.
Okay, let's get up there.
Looks like he left us something.
REPORTER: ??????????? GLA: For nearly three decades, those three letters have struck fear in the heart of Greater Los Angeles.
As elusive as the Zodiac and as cunning as the Unabomber, the ruthless sniper has returned for another apparent spree, but this time authorities are telling us he will face unprecedented multi-agency cooperation.
So it's definitely him? Looks that way.
How long has it been since the last one-- seven years? Oh, no, almost eight.
Joint operations are setting up in here.
Bureau is taking point on the manhunt.
Where do they see us fitting in? Brass wants us to think out of the box, get him into a dialogue.
That's, um, pretty far out of the box.
Yeah, you did, uh, mention to him that dialogue traditionally goes two ways, right? And there's a reason that he hasn't been caught.
No calling cards, no messages.
Nothing.
Not an attempt in 30 years to communicate.
He just changed his mind.
Morning, guys.
EMILY: Hey.
"Stop this.
"It won't stop.
This will never stop.
" He's just getting started.
CHERYL: All right, all right, that's enough! If GLA starts shooting again, I don't want to be in here arguing.
I want to respond.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
That is not an easy thing.
Everybody, Captain Timothy Bailiss, LAPD Robbery-Homicide.
We've run our share of task forces, good and bad.
Isn't that right? No comment.
I'll just check my ego at the door, as you all should.
Frank, how is our shooter profile coming? Work in progress.
So is this our guy? Feels like him.
Shot from 500 yards, left no brass at the perch.
Vics were caught with a single shot to the brain stem.
Cuts all motor function.
Dead before they hit the pavement.
We call it a one-shot stop.
All right, thanks, Frank.
Behavioral: he's never corresponded before.
Could we be looking at a copycat? MAN: Always possible, but the shooter profile is convincing.
Everything fits GLA except for the letter, which we're still reviewing.
I agree with Behavioral this is GLA.
However, as relates to the letter, the manic sentence structure, the jumbled syntax could suggest that he suffered a psychotic break.
MATT: We see that a lot with hostage-takers.
Some personal trauma will push them over the edge.
In this case, a lifetime of killing finally caught up with him.
This is a theory that you're taking off of the insanity-filled letter.
Yeah, but if we're right, we can use his manic state to bait him into a dialogue.
How's that work, exactly? Same way it did with the DC sniper.
We hide a message to him in a public statement.
It's a way of talking to him without talking to him.
Good.
Lehman, Flannery, write the statement.
I'll read it at the first press conference in one hour.
Okay.
Excuse me.
Bailiss sounded skeptical.
Well, he's a cop.
You know cops like hard evidence.
Behavioral science is The BS unit.
Yeah.
You want to draft this statement? Yeah, I'll take a crack at it.
I kind of think we're going after the guy on the grassy knoll.
Or the bogeyman.
I remember the summer where we couldn't go to the beach 'cause of GLA; now I'm chasing him.
That's crazy.
No, what's crazy is this letter.
Pathological narcissism, paranoid grandiosity Is it bad that I picture you naked when you talk like that? No.
Yes.
Has the shooter communicated with you? I can't comment on an ongoing investigation.
However, I can assure you that we will not stop until we have apprehended this individual.
In fact, my people tell me that they can't stop.
They will never stop.
And so many good people have answered the call, and so I call on the public.
I call on them to make use of our tip lines.
So please call.
And then what? Well, we do what we always do: we talk to him.
Ah.
Find common ground with the monster? Yeah, something like that.
Yeah.
Well, if I find myself on common ground with this wacko I'm taking his ass out.
I'm with you.
That the rifle? It's close.
He likes these bullets.
Homemade.
.
308-caliber dovetail.
Okay, so these are the hits, right? Here, here, and here.
That's the perch.
Why here? Why not here or here or here? Windage maybe or sun glare.
Yeah.
Or a straight shot at the construction site.
Are you saying he was after the workers? Well, he could have shot anywhere, and he only shot them.
I don't know.
That's a theory.
Theory.
You're starting to sound like Lehman.
Oh.
EMILY: The flow chart is a litmus test.
It contains classified information that you will vet your callers against.
For example, the public doesn't know about the GLA letter, so if someone knows about it, you may be onto something.
What if someone says they're GLA? Put them through the wringer.
If they survive, send them to Lea, and she'll find a negotiator.
He's out there; we just have to reel him in.
CHERYL: Yes.
I can't comment on an ongoing investigation.
However however, I can assure you that we will not stop until we have apprehended this individual.
In fact, my people tell me that they can't stop.
And so many good people have answered the call.
I just talked to Frank.
They're throwing up a perimeter in San Pedro.
Who did he hit? David Cohen, contractor, father of three.
Well, construction, fits the theory.
It's a theory! That means we don't have anything.
It's like our whole strategy.
This press conference was ten hours ago, and even if the guy does call, we don't know what we're going to use against him.
With no pattern.
Well, he must be getting up there.
Maybe that's a plus.
Maybe.
All right, most of the research says that he started in his early 20s, so, I don't know, he should be close to 50.
That means he would be about And then he Please tell me you got something, Lehman.
I have something.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
I'm answering the call, like the lady said on TV.
May I ask who I'm speaking with? It's me.
Why didn't you publish my letter? Why would a 21-year-old shoot a middle-aged man? Father figure, he's killing Dad.
Okay, good, good.
Raging against authority.
What do we think? He's courting a few? Certainly could be enraging.
Okay.
34 What's 34, then? Men again, but older, different authority figures? Hmm, bosses.
Sure, why not? Crappy job.
So, this guy this guy, he goes through life and every time something pisses him off He takes a shot at 'em.
Okay, why construction workers? I don't know.
Kitchen remodel? We got a bite.
Look out.
Um, sir, I'm gonna transfer you to someone who can help.
Thank you.
Lea, incoming.
Go.
Hey, this is Matt.
Who's this? Me? I'm the focus of a citywide manhunt.
Yeah, no doubt.
Should I call you GLA? Why didn't you publish my letter? You didn't request that.
And besides, it's a whole lot of pages.
Okay, um, well, listen, we can talk about publishing that in Anything? He's using a stolen cell phone.
Radius is about three miles around the last shooting.
Move Frank to the area.
Alert LAPD.
You better start talking about it now, or I'm gonna start shooting more people.
Okay, I got you.
Lea, call the cell phone company.
Find out when it was stolen and where.
I got to ask you again: what's your name? I wrote that letter for a reason.
There are things that I need to say.
He keeps avoiding his name.
Yeah, I want to hear all about it, all right, G? Um Remand from their hands the person that I am now.
He's quoting something.
Just keep trying to focus him.
I don't think anything's gonna focus this guy.
drumbeat sounding in the world.
G, let's work this out, all right? I want to talk about your letter.
The world will present itself to you for its unmasking and writhe in ecstasy He's not he's not listening to me.
No, he's trying to tell you something.
Yeah, well, great, let's let him talk around in circles.
Meanwhile, we can get a trace to take him out.
Hey, what do you do? He's not talking Yeah, I get it.
You want to let him talk.
LEA: Owner reported the cell phone stolen 30 minutes ago, bus stop on Shepherd and Gaffey.
Thank you.
There's something we can use.
I reek of CHERYL: Frank, you hearing this? Copy.
G, are you there? You with me? Listen to me Are you listening to me? No, you listen to me.
shots fired; officer down.
Need help at 545 East Shepherd.
Frank, tell me you got this.
We're three blocks out.
Whet the hell's going on? I'll tell you on the way.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on! Get up! Get up! Get in there! We're taking rounds, taking rounds.
??????????????? FRANK: The objective is on the second floor.
One subject, one hostage.
We will deploy two Sierras, one scout and a rapid-entry team.
Scout team, two of you from HRT, two from LAPD.
You will deploy in the parking lot and take positions behind those dumpsters.
You will hold the perimeter and provide visual feed to the mobile command center.
Sierra Teams 1 and 2, spotters from LAPD will deploy on the rooftop.
Sierra 2 will deploy east of the second-floor windows.
Sierra 1, which I am proud to be part of, will cover the front of the building.
The rest of you will follow in Special Agent Patterson's entry team.
The chain of command is simple.
I'm the boss.
Now I realize he has one of your boys in there.
We work together we'll get him home.
TIM: He's already killed one of ours.
Now he's letting another one die if he's not dead already.
We'll get him out alive.
Lea, status.
Airspace is clear.
Media's contained.
Good.
Countersnipers are set up, and we're running out of daylight.
Are you gonna put a timeframe on this negotiation? The time limit is as long as it's effective.
Okay, line is still ringing.
If he doesn't pick up in two, we go bullhorn.
What have you got? Resident of loft is a Donald Leisen, 47.
GLA? L.
A.
native since '77, at least.
And works on and off at a used bookstore in Glendale.
Yeah, which explains why he quotes all the stuff I never read in college.
He's also been in and out of mental wards most of his life.
A prescription for antipsychotic meds.
Somebody needs to up the dose.
Go.
Donald? Donald, this is Matt.
Do me a favor: pick up the phone.
So, you know my name.
That supposed to frighten me? No, I'm just, uh, glad we got past that part.
So, talk to me about how we're going to end this without someone else getting killed.
Hey, you've got a dying badge up here, okay? Now, if you want him to live, I want news cameras in the parking lot in five minutes, okay? I don't know how many are gonna volunteer.
That's a big gun you've got.
Shoots pretty far.
Yeah, I will surrender.
I just want to have I just need to say what I'm gonna say.
Okay, okay, Donald.
Uh, here's how this is gonna Hey! I want news crews in the parking lot, okay? Or I shoot this cop at close range, and you don't want to see the mess that makes, okay? It's dark, Frank.
Help us or hurt us? Makes things more interesting.
Have to assume he has a nightscope.
I don't think we want to find out.
Hit him with the Xenon, take away his tactical advantage.
Sure, we can get in his face, but it might give him reason to blow your guy away.
Why don't we try something else? What else is there? Hear me out.
Then you'll know.
All right, GLA's never been interested in his victims.
That's why he shoots from hundreds of yards away.
Distance helps him escape.
Yeah, emotional distance.
If he's far enough away, he doesn't have to see them suffer.
But right now we got a guy in there who is dying right in front of him.
He's calling him "the cop.
" He's calling him a badge.
He's trying to dehumanize him.
What's his name? Sexton, Randall.
Randall or Randy? Randy.
All right, why don't you introduce Donald to Randy? Emotional distance is tough if it's right in front of you.
Okay.
Lea, get him back on the phone.
Copy that.
It's getting dark.
Yeah, I noticed that.
Also noticed that, uh, the guy next to you, you're calling him "the badge.
" Now, I'm not sure if that's because he's too hurt to tell you, but his name's Randy, Randy Sexton.
He's, uh he's been with the Los Angeles Police for nine years now, and, uh he lives up in Valencia.
That means he's got about an hour-and-a-half commute to get to roll call every day, and that's on a that's on a good day, but, uh You know something, Donald? He's never been late.
In nine years, he's never once been late.
What do you think about that, huh? What the hell you doing? I'm cramping up.
Don't worry about that now.
Hold your position.
Wait, wait, wait.
I got movement.
Officer down.
Repeat: officer down! Sierra 2's been compromised.
He's gone.
Oh, he's gone.
Duff, talk to me.
Where'd you see fire? I didn't see it.
I didn't see it.
We heard movement at 3:00.
Hey, Frank, I'm done with this guy.
We're taking him down.
Tim? You don't have to sell me on that.
Be advised: we are going for breach.
All right, you have to keep talking to him to distract him.
?????????? Hey, Donald listen, we got your message, okay? We got it loud and clear.
You heard the lady.
You've been clear about it from the very beginning.
Switch back your scopes.
You said that this wasn't gonna stop, and we believe you now.
So, we're gonna get those camera crews up.
They're coming up right now.
Why don't you take a look out your window? You might see 'em.
Donald? Our SIMS entry team is in position.
Lights! Damn it! Please please I have a little boy.
What do you do? What do you do? I surrender! Surrender! We have a surrender.
GLA is alive.
GLA! Subject appears to be unarmed.
It's it's not over! Duff, hold your shot.
Entry team, double-time it.
GLA lives.
Get on your knees.
Get down on your knees.
We got him.
It isn't over! It isn't over! GLA lives! This isn't over! This isn't over! All right, something is not right.
It just feels a little anticlimactic 'cause we're obsessed with this guy; he's a legend.
But you know, it's like you said, he-he just lost a step.
Probably went off his meds.
He took a hostage.
That's never been his MO.
Look at this.
Okay, he's obsessed with himself.
Yeah, he keeps saying that it's not over.
What-what if his MO has changed in some way? Or what if he's planning something else? I-I-I don't know.
You know what, maybe you should go get some rest.
I'll finish up.
Huh? I'll finish up.
All right, look, I owe you an apology, okay? I shut you down back on that first phone call, and then I almost did it again back there, and I was wrong and I'm sorry.
I want to be very clear about this because your contribution to the case was huge.
Okay, see, that is exactly what I was afraid of.
What, being paid a compliment? No, losing my credibility.
We hook up, and now it's just a little bit easier for you to blow me off in front of the team.
Okay, okay, flag on the play, all right? Look, we're both a little bit punchy, all right? We've been up all night, the coffee's unsweetened, and we just caught a big serial killer.
We got him.
You got him.
Then why don't I feel safe? She wants to hold off on the press conference, debrief the guy first.
He's in custody-- why not tell everyone and let the city get back to normal? Tim issue a release.
Hold the press conference in the afternoon.
Look, the newscasts are over in 30.
I'm not missing that window.
Besides I bought a new tie.
Look, I just want to give people some good news for once.
So, why did you want to see me? You told your doctor that, uh, you've been hunting since childhood? Is that how you learned? Dad used to say, um He used to say you don't kill anything; you just set it free.
I had a dog, Kip.
Last time I saw him, it was through my scope.
Uh-huh.
Your dad he made you do that? Well, you know, he gave me a skill, I guess.
How am I gonna learn how to cope? Um, we were going to ask you some questions when you called, but after we discovered that you, uh, wrote the letter Yeah, I wrote the letter.
Yeah, and you killed the construction workers, but who'd you kill in 1982? Nobody.
It was '83.
There's a blonde at the, uh, third floor of the Third floor? Yeah, uh, third floor is what the book say because that's what we released, but it was the fourth floor.
So how about the Tribeca building in '93? Sixth floor.
You're not GLA, are you? Talk to me, Donald.
You are not GLA.
You want to be, but you're not.
I can't remember, um I really want you to help me find them.
Can-can you help me find him, please? Mmm.
Please.
Please.
MAN: Caging this monster took tremendous team work by the finest men and women of law enforcement.
Some of them paid the ultimate price.
And we remember them today as the cloud is lifted on Los Angeles.
That's what we're here for today: to proclaim very, very clearly we won.
??????????? ht the nightmare was over, but now with the brutal slaying of Captain Timothy Bailiss, chaos has returned to greater Los Angeles.
Southland schools that were supposed to open this morning have abruptly shut down again.
Traffic is snarled throughout the city as people race home to hide out, held hostage in their own city.
Wondering just who the FBI caught yesterday.
Was it GLA? Or was Donald Leisen a copycat? MATT: Okay, Frank.
Yeah, I got it.
Thanks.
Based on GLA's homemade bullets, Frank tags a muzzle velocity at 893 meters a second.
So, we going to call this thing up or not? LEA: If we can isolate the time between the muzzle crack and the actual hit of the bullet.
It'll tell us how long the shot was? Yeah.
The muzzle crack will be after he struck.
The bullet's traveling faster than the sound.
Uh-huh.
That's a personal best.
GLA's longest shot was 900 in '83.
The copycat's was 500.
Guess we know who we're dealing with.
We got something.
If you're up for it.
The new shooting was ego-driven.
GLA clearly wants the world to know that he is the real thing.
So we hold a press conference and say the exact opposite.
He's a legend.
We call him a copycat.
What if that pisses him off, he starts shooting again? That's a risk we take, figuring he's probably going to do it anyway.
We have never had a better chance to hook him.
I should have called off that press conference.
Nah, hey, you can't blame yourself for that.
We're in this together.
Yeah, it's like you always say: we're a team.
Five fingers, one hand.
I love you guys.
Just don't quote my pep talks back to me.
Here's the statement we drafted.
CHERYL: The brutal murder of Captain Timothy Bailiss had all the earmarks of GLA.
However, the FBI's ongoing investigation has confirmed the shooter that killed Captain Bailiss is a copycat.
He is not GLA.
He's a mere imitation.
Nothing further.
Thank you.
"Mere imitation.
" You think this will work? All we can do is wait.
It's not just that I blew you off.
It's that I, uh I took you for granted.
Thanks.
Don't do that.
I I got to get a couple.
EMILY: Matt.
Wake up.
LEA: Hey, guys, I just transferred that call.
Middle-aged man says he can't wait.
He told me how long the shot was that killed Captain Bailiss.
The computer was off by 20 feet.
You're primary.
How come? I'm in over my head with this guy.
CHERYL: Lea, did you start that trace? He's using a high-end sat phone.
Don't know how much luck I'll have with it.
All right, everyone, listen, I need absolute silence.
This is Special Agent Lehman.
Who am I speaking with? I think you know.
Do I? I'm sure you've already figured out I, uh, set a record this morning.
Yeah, we got that.
Great.
Here's what's going to happen: you're going to kill Donald Leisen.
Excuse me? You're going to kill him or I start shooting civilians.
One person every hour on the hour, starting at dawn.
That's an hour away.
Stall him.
I know this is what you want and I know you'll keep your word when you say that you will kill again, but if I'm going to bring this to my superiors, I'm-I'm going to need you to confirm who you are.
Wentworth Building, 1983, the strawberry blonde with the red shorts from the fourth floor, not the third.
the fat man with the suit and tie from the roof of a school, not a factory.
You need me to keep going? No, that won't be necessary.
Common ground.
You know, I have to say that this is well, it's really a moment for me.
You know, I studied you in at least two of my doctoral courses.
Never understood the interest.
Yeah, well, I guess Donald does.
That kid is a joke.
Yeah, well, he seems to channel his rage through his gun.
Isn't that what you do? I saw that police footage on TV.
That whack job is out of his mind.
The kid is an embarrassment.
But you are? Sun comes up in 57 minutes.
Anything? The stall worked.
Um, I got the transponder, then broke down to the gateway station.
Good.
Where the hell is he? Somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area.
I was thinking we give GLA what he wants.
Sort of.
Okay, we put out a statement that says Donald Leisen committed suicide in his holding cell.
No, GLA's not going to buy that.
He's going to want proof.
Great.
He'll make contact with us.
We could kill Donald.
He's going to get the chair eventually, right? Write the release.
Get it to me in five.
It's not going to work.
Go with me for a second on this, okay? Look at the original demand.
He wants Donald Leisen dead.
Why? He already proved he's a better shot.
Exactly.
So why kill him? GLA: That kid is a joke.
There.
He calls him "that kid.
" Yeah, there's a familiarity in the tone.
Yeah, maybe they've been in contact; you know there are cases where the copycats have connected with the original killers.
Play that part at the end.
GLA: I saw that police footage on TV.
That whack job is out of his mind.
The kid is an embarrassment.
"Embarrassment.
" What are you thinking? MATT: You said your father taught you to do this.
Was that just you? Donald.
Were you an only child? You found him, didn't you? ???????????? f you'rejust joining us, a startling development in the GLA case.
FBI officials are reporting that Donald Leisen committed suicide in his holding cell.
We got 15 minutes left.
What have we got? Donald Leisen had a brother, Lucas.
He had a birth certificate, school transcripts.
Then somewhere in his 20s, he's gone: no employment records, credit cards, but no death certificate either.
Probably took over another identity.
When did he disappear? It was 1977.
The year the killings started.
My daddy just came in and just told me that he and Lucas had a fight and he was gone.
I just never saw him again.
And then it was later, it was much later that I realized who he was.
How? You told me.
Or people like you, in the books.
The theories about the GLA's dysfunctional family, his patriarchal abuses, the exposure to long guns, I mean, it just sounded just like my brother and me.
Wasn't much of a life.
Here.
Mother's death certificate.
They were only little kids when they lost her.
In and out of Child Services.
Somehow they always ended up with the abusive father again, who, by the way, was in construction.
Okay, hardhat.
That answers one question.
When did the old man die? It was two weeks ago.
Is that when you went off your meds? I didn't want to kill those people.
You made a choice.
You were also nurtured, Donald, by your father.
Just when he died, I You know, I thought I, I thought I'd be free, but I, I I missed him.
I really missed him.
I thought I wou I was just so alone.
You went looking for your brother.
You thought if you made yourself as famous as him that you might find him.
It worked, didn't it? How did you know? That they were brothers? I have one.
Oh, yeah.
There's that.
He's LAPD, right? Yeah.
Probably.
What do you mean, "Probably"? I haven't talked to him in five years.
Flannery, Lehman.
Call's coming in.
We're ready in here.
This is Emily.
I heard the news.
Yeah.
So you know that we took you seriously.
I'm gonna want proof.
Yeah, I figured that you would; let's talk about how I can get that to you.
I want to see his body on TV.
Why would you want to see your brother dead, Lucas? I don't have a brother.
Are you sure about that? Lucas? You sound busy.
Just about the top of the hour.
Be advised: he is prepping a shot.
Copy that.
Keep units 43 and 63 south of Sunset.
Lea, where are we on that trace? LEA: South of Pasadena and north of Downey.
That's still, like, a 20-mile radius.
EMILY: No more innocent lives need to be lost, Lucas.
We can give you Donnie.
You sure about that? He's a loose cannon.
Yeah, that's what I'm hoping.
All right.
MATT: Lea, go ahead.
Put him on.
Lucas? Lucas, it's me.
It's Donnie.
Don't want to talk to you, Donnie.
What? I-I'm your brother, Lucas.
We're family.
Do you have any idea what he did to me after you left? I mean, you could've taken me with you.
I got out.
I made a way for myself.
You should've done the same.
I couldn't.
'Cause you're pathetic.
You've always been pathetic.
That sounds a lot like your father, Lucas.
The old man was right.
Your brother's sick.
He couldn't cope.
You're the lucky one.
You're the one who had a release.
Still do.
We are taking fire at FBI Los Angeles.
We are taking fire.
Either one of you moves, I start taking people out in the building next door.
Not a lot of bulletproof glass over there.
Lucas, listen to me Bring Donnie to the window or I fire again.
Eventually, we find out how well that cubicle of yours holds up.
Lucas, you know that we can't do that.
Tell him Donald's suffering already.
You know, he cried, Lucas.
Your brother cried when I told him that I found you.
All he wanted to do is see you again.
Then bring him out! Bonaventure.
250 yards.
Keller Center.
300 yards.
I can get a distance.
I just need a muzzle crack and a hit.
All right, you know, all Donnie wanted to do is find you; I am losing him.
Lea, listen, record this call, get the muzzle crack off his line, get the impact off mine.
Get him to shoot again.
All right, you sound like you're angry at Donnie, Lucas.
But I can hear the truth in your voice.
You're scared of him.
You got that backwards.
No, he's weaker.
But you're terrified of him anyway, aren't you? Because Donnie is everything that is small and weak inside of you, isn't he? And it just creeps up on you.
And it takes over, and you're ashamed of it, aren't you? And it makes you want to kill again.
He's way further than those buildings.
Copy that.
That's got to be Laneborn Tower.
Got him! He's, like, I can't make that shot.
You can make the shot.
EMILY: Killing Donnie is not the answer, Lucas.
All he wanted you to do is look out for him.
I tried.
You did help him, Lucas.
Why do you think he reached out for you the second that Dad was gone? He loves you.
What did you say? Your brother loves you.
What'd you say about my father? He died t-two weeks ago.
Subject is down.
?????????? Lucas? Lucas?
Let's go.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
I got to go.
You got to be freakin' kidding me! Fine.
Stand there.
Stand right there! First, I'm going to take your picture.
Then, I'm going to take your job.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, go ahead, smile.
Hey, hey, hey, hey! Somebody shot him.
He's been shot! Hey! Yeah, someone's been shot on Hope Street, north of Olympic.
Okay, let's get up there.
Looks like he left us something.
REPORTER: ??????????? GLA: For nearly three decades, those three letters have struck fear in the heart of Greater Los Angeles.
As elusive as the Zodiac and as cunning as the Unabomber, the ruthless sniper has returned for another apparent spree, but this time authorities are telling us he will face unprecedented multi-agency cooperation.
So it's definitely him? Looks that way.
How long has it been since the last one-- seven years? Oh, no, almost eight.
Joint operations are setting up in here.
Bureau is taking point on the manhunt.
Where do they see us fitting in? Brass wants us to think out of the box, get him into a dialogue.
That's, um, pretty far out of the box.
Yeah, you did, uh, mention to him that dialogue traditionally goes two ways, right? And there's a reason that he hasn't been caught.
No calling cards, no messages.
Nothing.
Not an attempt in 30 years to communicate.
He just changed his mind.
Morning, guys.
EMILY: Hey.
"Stop this.
"It won't stop.
This will never stop.
" He's just getting started.
CHERYL: All right, all right, that's enough! If GLA starts shooting again, I don't want to be in here arguing.
I want to respond.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
That is not an easy thing.
Everybody, Captain Timothy Bailiss, LAPD Robbery-Homicide.
We've run our share of task forces, good and bad.
Isn't that right? No comment.
I'll just check my ego at the door, as you all should.
Frank, how is our shooter profile coming? Work in progress.
So is this our guy? Feels like him.
Shot from 500 yards, left no brass at the perch.
Vics were caught with a single shot to the brain stem.
Cuts all motor function.
Dead before they hit the pavement.
We call it a one-shot stop.
All right, thanks, Frank.
Behavioral: he's never corresponded before.
Could we be looking at a copycat? MAN: Always possible, but the shooter profile is convincing.
Everything fits GLA except for the letter, which we're still reviewing.
I agree with Behavioral this is GLA.
However, as relates to the letter, the manic sentence structure, the jumbled syntax could suggest that he suffered a psychotic break.
MATT: We see that a lot with hostage-takers.
Some personal trauma will push them over the edge.
In this case, a lifetime of killing finally caught up with him.
This is a theory that you're taking off of the insanity-filled letter.
Yeah, but if we're right, we can use his manic state to bait him into a dialogue.
How's that work, exactly? Same way it did with the DC sniper.
We hide a message to him in a public statement.
It's a way of talking to him without talking to him.
Good.
Lehman, Flannery, write the statement.
I'll read it at the first press conference in one hour.
Okay.
Excuse me.
Bailiss sounded skeptical.
Well, he's a cop.
You know cops like hard evidence.
Behavioral science is The BS unit.
Yeah.
You want to draft this statement? Yeah, I'll take a crack at it.
I kind of think we're going after the guy on the grassy knoll.
Or the bogeyman.
I remember the summer where we couldn't go to the beach 'cause of GLA; now I'm chasing him.
That's crazy.
No, what's crazy is this letter.
Pathological narcissism, paranoid grandiosity Is it bad that I picture you naked when you talk like that? No.
Yes.
Has the shooter communicated with you? I can't comment on an ongoing investigation.
However, I can assure you that we will not stop until we have apprehended this individual.
In fact, my people tell me that they can't stop.
They will never stop.
And so many good people have answered the call, and so I call on the public.
I call on them to make use of our tip lines.
So please call.
And then what? Well, we do what we always do: we talk to him.
Ah.
Find common ground with the monster? Yeah, something like that.
Yeah.
Well, if I find myself on common ground with this wacko I'm taking his ass out.
I'm with you.
That the rifle? It's close.
He likes these bullets.
Homemade.
.
308-caliber dovetail.
Okay, so these are the hits, right? Here, here, and here.
That's the perch.
Why here? Why not here or here or here? Windage maybe or sun glare.
Yeah.
Or a straight shot at the construction site.
Are you saying he was after the workers? Well, he could have shot anywhere, and he only shot them.
I don't know.
That's a theory.
Theory.
You're starting to sound like Lehman.
Oh.
EMILY: The flow chart is a litmus test.
It contains classified information that you will vet your callers against.
For example, the public doesn't know about the GLA letter, so if someone knows about it, you may be onto something.
What if someone says they're GLA? Put them through the wringer.
If they survive, send them to Lea, and she'll find a negotiator.
He's out there; we just have to reel him in.
CHERYL: Yes.
I can't comment on an ongoing investigation.
However however, I can assure you that we will not stop until we have apprehended this individual.
In fact, my people tell me that they can't stop.
And so many good people have answered the call.
I just talked to Frank.
They're throwing up a perimeter in San Pedro.
Who did he hit? David Cohen, contractor, father of three.
Well, construction, fits the theory.
It's a theory! That means we don't have anything.
It's like our whole strategy.
This press conference was ten hours ago, and even if the guy does call, we don't know what we're going to use against him.
With no pattern.
Well, he must be getting up there.
Maybe that's a plus.
Maybe.
All right, most of the research says that he started in his early 20s, so, I don't know, he should be close to 50.
That means he would be about And then he Please tell me you got something, Lehman.
I have something.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
I'm answering the call, like the lady said on TV.
May I ask who I'm speaking with? It's me.
Why didn't you publish my letter? Why would a 21-year-old shoot a middle-aged man? Father figure, he's killing Dad.
Okay, good, good.
Raging against authority.
What do we think? He's courting a few? Certainly could be enraging.
Okay.
34 What's 34, then? Men again, but older, different authority figures? Hmm, bosses.
Sure, why not? Crappy job.
So, this guy this guy, he goes through life and every time something pisses him off He takes a shot at 'em.
Okay, why construction workers? I don't know.
Kitchen remodel? We got a bite.
Look out.
Um, sir, I'm gonna transfer you to someone who can help.
Thank you.
Lea, incoming.
Go.
Hey, this is Matt.
Who's this? Me? I'm the focus of a citywide manhunt.
Yeah, no doubt.
Should I call you GLA? Why didn't you publish my letter? You didn't request that.
And besides, it's a whole lot of pages.
Okay, um, well, listen, we can talk about publishing that in Anything? He's using a stolen cell phone.
Radius is about three miles around the last shooting.
Move Frank to the area.
Alert LAPD.
You better start talking about it now, or I'm gonna start shooting more people.
Okay, I got you.
Lea, call the cell phone company.
Find out when it was stolen and where.
I got to ask you again: what's your name? I wrote that letter for a reason.
There are things that I need to say.
He keeps avoiding his name.
Yeah, I want to hear all about it, all right, G? Um Remand from their hands the person that I am now.
He's quoting something.
Just keep trying to focus him.
I don't think anything's gonna focus this guy.
drumbeat sounding in the world.
G, let's work this out, all right? I want to talk about your letter.
The world will present itself to you for its unmasking and writhe in ecstasy He's not he's not listening to me.
No, he's trying to tell you something.
Yeah, well, great, let's let him talk around in circles.
Meanwhile, we can get a trace to take him out.
Hey, what do you do? He's not talking Yeah, I get it.
You want to let him talk.
LEA: Owner reported the cell phone stolen 30 minutes ago, bus stop on Shepherd and Gaffey.
Thank you.
There's something we can use.
I reek of CHERYL: Frank, you hearing this? Copy.
G, are you there? You with me? Listen to me Are you listening to me? No, you listen to me.
shots fired; officer down.
Need help at 545 East Shepherd.
Frank, tell me you got this.
We're three blocks out.
Whet the hell's going on? I'll tell you on the way.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on! Get up! Get up! Get in there! We're taking rounds, taking rounds.
??????????????? FRANK: The objective is on the second floor.
One subject, one hostage.
We will deploy two Sierras, one scout and a rapid-entry team.
Scout team, two of you from HRT, two from LAPD.
You will deploy in the parking lot and take positions behind those dumpsters.
You will hold the perimeter and provide visual feed to the mobile command center.
Sierra Teams 1 and 2, spotters from LAPD will deploy on the rooftop.
Sierra 2 will deploy east of the second-floor windows.
Sierra 1, which I am proud to be part of, will cover the front of the building.
The rest of you will follow in Special Agent Patterson's entry team.
The chain of command is simple.
I'm the boss.
Now I realize he has one of your boys in there.
We work together we'll get him home.
TIM: He's already killed one of ours.
Now he's letting another one die if he's not dead already.
We'll get him out alive.
Lea, status.
Airspace is clear.
Media's contained.
Good.
Countersnipers are set up, and we're running out of daylight.
Are you gonna put a timeframe on this negotiation? The time limit is as long as it's effective.
Okay, line is still ringing.
If he doesn't pick up in two, we go bullhorn.
What have you got? Resident of loft is a Donald Leisen, 47.
GLA? L.
A.
native since '77, at least.
And works on and off at a used bookstore in Glendale.
Yeah, which explains why he quotes all the stuff I never read in college.
He's also been in and out of mental wards most of his life.
A prescription for antipsychotic meds.
Somebody needs to up the dose.
Go.
Donald? Donald, this is Matt.
Do me a favor: pick up the phone.
So, you know my name.
That supposed to frighten me? No, I'm just, uh, glad we got past that part.
So, talk to me about how we're going to end this without someone else getting killed.
Hey, you've got a dying badge up here, okay? Now, if you want him to live, I want news cameras in the parking lot in five minutes, okay? I don't know how many are gonna volunteer.
That's a big gun you've got.
Shoots pretty far.
Yeah, I will surrender.
I just want to have I just need to say what I'm gonna say.
Okay, okay, Donald.
Uh, here's how this is gonna Hey! I want news crews in the parking lot, okay? Or I shoot this cop at close range, and you don't want to see the mess that makes, okay? It's dark, Frank.
Help us or hurt us? Makes things more interesting.
Have to assume he has a nightscope.
I don't think we want to find out.
Hit him with the Xenon, take away his tactical advantage.
Sure, we can get in his face, but it might give him reason to blow your guy away.
Why don't we try something else? What else is there? Hear me out.
Then you'll know.
All right, GLA's never been interested in his victims.
That's why he shoots from hundreds of yards away.
Distance helps him escape.
Yeah, emotional distance.
If he's far enough away, he doesn't have to see them suffer.
But right now we got a guy in there who is dying right in front of him.
He's calling him "the cop.
" He's calling him a badge.
He's trying to dehumanize him.
What's his name? Sexton, Randall.
Randall or Randy? Randy.
All right, why don't you introduce Donald to Randy? Emotional distance is tough if it's right in front of you.
Okay.
Lea, get him back on the phone.
Copy that.
It's getting dark.
Yeah, I noticed that.
Also noticed that, uh, the guy next to you, you're calling him "the badge.
" Now, I'm not sure if that's because he's too hurt to tell you, but his name's Randy, Randy Sexton.
He's, uh he's been with the Los Angeles Police for nine years now, and, uh he lives up in Valencia.
That means he's got about an hour-and-a-half commute to get to roll call every day, and that's on a that's on a good day, but, uh You know something, Donald? He's never been late.
In nine years, he's never once been late.
What do you think about that, huh? What the hell you doing? I'm cramping up.
Don't worry about that now.
Hold your position.
Wait, wait, wait.
I got movement.
Officer down.
Repeat: officer down! Sierra 2's been compromised.
He's gone.
Oh, he's gone.
Duff, talk to me.
Where'd you see fire? I didn't see it.
I didn't see it.
We heard movement at 3:00.
Hey, Frank, I'm done with this guy.
We're taking him down.
Tim? You don't have to sell me on that.
Be advised: we are going for breach.
All right, you have to keep talking to him to distract him.
?????????? Hey, Donald listen, we got your message, okay? We got it loud and clear.
You heard the lady.
You've been clear about it from the very beginning.
Switch back your scopes.
You said that this wasn't gonna stop, and we believe you now.
So, we're gonna get those camera crews up.
They're coming up right now.
Why don't you take a look out your window? You might see 'em.
Donald? Our SIMS entry team is in position.
Lights! Damn it! Please please I have a little boy.
What do you do? What do you do? I surrender! Surrender! We have a surrender.
GLA is alive.
GLA! Subject appears to be unarmed.
It's it's not over! Duff, hold your shot.
Entry team, double-time it.
GLA lives.
Get on your knees.
Get down on your knees.
We got him.
It isn't over! It isn't over! GLA lives! This isn't over! This isn't over! All right, something is not right.
It just feels a little anticlimactic 'cause we're obsessed with this guy; he's a legend.
But you know, it's like you said, he-he just lost a step.
Probably went off his meds.
He took a hostage.
That's never been his MO.
Look at this.
Okay, he's obsessed with himself.
Yeah, he keeps saying that it's not over.
What-what if his MO has changed in some way? Or what if he's planning something else? I-I-I don't know.
You know what, maybe you should go get some rest.
I'll finish up.
Huh? I'll finish up.
All right, look, I owe you an apology, okay? I shut you down back on that first phone call, and then I almost did it again back there, and I was wrong and I'm sorry.
I want to be very clear about this because your contribution to the case was huge.
Okay, see, that is exactly what I was afraid of.
What, being paid a compliment? No, losing my credibility.
We hook up, and now it's just a little bit easier for you to blow me off in front of the team.
Okay, okay, flag on the play, all right? Look, we're both a little bit punchy, all right? We've been up all night, the coffee's unsweetened, and we just caught a big serial killer.
We got him.
You got him.
Then why don't I feel safe? She wants to hold off on the press conference, debrief the guy first.
He's in custody-- why not tell everyone and let the city get back to normal? Tim issue a release.
Hold the press conference in the afternoon.
Look, the newscasts are over in 30.
I'm not missing that window.
Besides I bought a new tie.
Look, I just want to give people some good news for once.
So, why did you want to see me? You told your doctor that, uh, you've been hunting since childhood? Is that how you learned? Dad used to say, um He used to say you don't kill anything; you just set it free.
I had a dog, Kip.
Last time I saw him, it was through my scope.
Uh-huh.
Your dad he made you do that? Well, you know, he gave me a skill, I guess.
How am I gonna learn how to cope? Um, we were going to ask you some questions when you called, but after we discovered that you, uh, wrote the letter Yeah, I wrote the letter.
Yeah, and you killed the construction workers, but who'd you kill in 1982? Nobody.
It was '83.
There's a blonde at the, uh, third floor of the Third floor? Yeah, uh, third floor is what the book say because that's what we released, but it was the fourth floor.
So how about the Tribeca building in '93? Sixth floor.
You're not GLA, are you? Talk to me, Donald.
You are not GLA.
You want to be, but you're not.
I can't remember, um I really want you to help me find them.
Can-can you help me find him, please? Mmm.
Please.
Please.
MAN: Caging this monster took tremendous team work by the finest men and women of law enforcement.
Some of them paid the ultimate price.
And we remember them today as the cloud is lifted on Los Angeles.
That's what we're here for today: to proclaim very, very clearly we won.
??????????? ht the nightmare was over, but now with the brutal slaying of Captain Timothy Bailiss, chaos has returned to greater Los Angeles.
Southland schools that were supposed to open this morning have abruptly shut down again.
Traffic is snarled throughout the city as people race home to hide out, held hostage in their own city.
Wondering just who the FBI caught yesterday.
Was it GLA? Or was Donald Leisen a copycat? MATT: Okay, Frank.
Yeah, I got it.
Thanks.
Based on GLA's homemade bullets, Frank tags a muzzle velocity at 893 meters a second.
So, we going to call this thing up or not? LEA: If we can isolate the time between the muzzle crack and the actual hit of the bullet.
It'll tell us how long the shot was? Yeah.
The muzzle crack will be after he struck.
The bullet's traveling faster than the sound.
Uh-huh.
That's a personal best.
GLA's longest shot was 900 in '83.
The copycat's was 500.
Guess we know who we're dealing with.
We got something.
If you're up for it.
The new shooting was ego-driven.
GLA clearly wants the world to know that he is the real thing.
So we hold a press conference and say the exact opposite.
He's a legend.
We call him a copycat.
What if that pisses him off, he starts shooting again? That's a risk we take, figuring he's probably going to do it anyway.
We have never had a better chance to hook him.
I should have called off that press conference.
Nah, hey, you can't blame yourself for that.
We're in this together.
Yeah, it's like you always say: we're a team.
Five fingers, one hand.
I love you guys.
Just don't quote my pep talks back to me.
Here's the statement we drafted.
CHERYL: The brutal murder of Captain Timothy Bailiss had all the earmarks of GLA.
However, the FBI's ongoing investigation has confirmed the shooter that killed Captain Bailiss is a copycat.
He is not GLA.
He's a mere imitation.
Nothing further.
Thank you.
"Mere imitation.
" You think this will work? All we can do is wait.
It's not just that I blew you off.
It's that I, uh I took you for granted.
Thanks.
Don't do that.
I I got to get a couple.
EMILY: Matt.
Wake up.
LEA: Hey, guys, I just transferred that call.
Middle-aged man says he can't wait.
He told me how long the shot was that killed Captain Bailiss.
The computer was off by 20 feet.
You're primary.
How come? I'm in over my head with this guy.
CHERYL: Lea, did you start that trace? He's using a high-end sat phone.
Don't know how much luck I'll have with it.
All right, everyone, listen, I need absolute silence.
This is Special Agent Lehman.
Who am I speaking with? I think you know.
Do I? I'm sure you've already figured out I, uh, set a record this morning.
Yeah, we got that.
Great.
Here's what's going to happen: you're going to kill Donald Leisen.
Excuse me? You're going to kill him or I start shooting civilians.
One person every hour on the hour, starting at dawn.
That's an hour away.
Stall him.
I know this is what you want and I know you'll keep your word when you say that you will kill again, but if I'm going to bring this to my superiors, I'm-I'm going to need you to confirm who you are.
Wentworth Building, 1983, the strawberry blonde with the red shorts from the fourth floor, not the third.
the fat man with the suit and tie from the roof of a school, not a factory.
You need me to keep going? No, that won't be necessary.
Common ground.
You know, I have to say that this is well, it's really a moment for me.
You know, I studied you in at least two of my doctoral courses.
Never understood the interest.
Yeah, well, I guess Donald does.
That kid is a joke.
Yeah, well, he seems to channel his rage through his gun.
Isn't that what you do? I saw that police footage on TV.
That whack job is out of his mind.
The kid is an embarrassment.
But you are? Sun comes up in 57 minutes.
Anything? The stall worked.
Um, I got the transponder, then broke down to the gateway station.
Good.
Where the hell is he? Somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area.
I was thinking we give GLA what he wants.
Sort of.
Okay, we put out a statement that says Donald Leisen committed suicide in his holding cell.
No, GLA's not going to buy that.
He's going to want proof.
Great.
He'll make contact with us.
We could kill Donald.
He's going to get the chair eventually, right? Write the release.
Get it to me in five.
It's not going to work.
Go with me for a second on this, okay? Look at the original demand.
He wants Donald Leisen dead.
Why? He already proved he's a better shot.
Exactly.
So why kill him? GLA: That kid is a joke.
There.
He calls him "that kid.
" Yeah, there's a familiarity in the tone.
Yeah, maybe they've been in contact; you know there are cases where the copycats have connected with the original killers.
Play that part at the end.
GLA: I saw that police footage on TV.
That whack job is out of his mind.
The kid is an embarrassment.
"Embarrassment.
" What are you thinking? MATT: You said your father taught you to do this.
Was that just you? Donald.
Were you an only child? You found him, didn't you? ???????????? f you'rejust joining us, a startling development in the GLA case.
FBI officials are reporting that Donald Leisen committed suicide in his holding cell.
We got 15 minutes left.
What have we got? Donald Leisen had a brother, Lucas.
He had a birth certificate, school transcripts.
Then somewhere in his 20s, he's gone: no employment records, credit cards, but no death certificate either.
Probably took over another identity.
When did he disappear? It was 1977.
The year the killings started.
My daddy just came in and just told me that he and Lucas had a fight and he was gone.
I just never saw him again.
And then it was later, it was much later that I realized who he was.
How? You told me.
Or people like you, in the books.
The theories about the GLA's dysfunctional family, his patriarchal abuses, the exposure to long guns, I mean, it just sounded just like my brother and me.
Wasn't much of a life.
Here.
Mother's death certificate.
They were only little kids when they lost her.
In and out of Child Services.
Somehow they always ended up with the abusive father again, who, by the way, was in construction.
Okay, hardhat.
That answers one question.
When did the old man die? It was two weeks ago.
Is that when you went off your meds? I didn't want to kill those people.
You made a choice.
You were also nurtured, Donald, by your father.
Just when he died, I You know, I thought I, I thought I'd be free, but I, I I missed him.
I really missed him.
I thought I wou I was just so alone.
You went looking for your brother.
You thought if you made yourself as famous as him that you might find him.
It worked, didn't it? How did you know? That they were brothers? I have one.
Oh, yeah.
There's that.
He's LAPD, right? Yeah.
Probably.
What do you mean, "Probably"? I haven't talked to him in five years.
Flannery, Lehman.
Call's coming in.
We're ready in here.
This is Emily.
I heard the news.
Yeah.
So you know that we took you seriously.
I'm gonna want proof.
Yeah, I figured that you would; let's talk about how I can get that to you.
I want to see his body on TV.
Why would you want to see your brother dead, Lucas? I don't have a brother.
Are you sure about that? Lucas? You sound busy.
Just about the top of the hour.
Be advised: he is prepping a shot.
Copy that.
Keep units 43 and 63 south of Sunset.
Lea, where are we on that trace? LEA: South of Pasadena and north of Downey.
That's still, like, a 20-mile radius.
EMILY: No more innocent lives need to be lost, Lucas.
We can give you Donnie.
You sure about that? He's a loose cannon.
Yeah, that's what I'm hoping.
All right.
MATT: Lea, go ahead.
Put him on.
Lucas? Lucas, it's me.
It's Donnie.
Don't want to talk to you, Donnie.
What? I-I'm your brother, Lucas.
We're family.
Do you have any idea what he did to me after you left? I mean, you could've taken me with you.
I got out.
I made a way for myself.
You should've done the same.
I couldn't.
'Cause you're pathetic.
You've always been pathetic.
That sounds a lot like your father, Lucas.
The old man was right.
Your brother's sick.
He couldn't cope.
You're the lucky one.
You're the one who had a release.
Still do.
We are taking fire at FBI Los Angeles.
We are taking fire.
Either one of you moves, I start taking people out in the building next door.
Not a lot of bulletproof glass over there.
Lucas, listen to me Bring Donnie to the window or I fire again.
Eventually, we find out how well that cubicle of yours holds up.
Lucas, you know that we can't do that.
Tell him Donald's suffering already.
You know, he cried, Lucas.
Your brother cried when I told him that I found you.
All he wanted to do is see you again.
Then bring him out! Bonaventure.
250 yards.
Keller Center.
300 yards.
I can get a distance.
I just need a muzzle crack and a hit.
All right, you know, all Donnie wanted to do is find you; I am losing him.
Lea, listen, record this call, get the muzzle crack off his line, get the impact off mine.
Get him to shoot again.
All right, you sound like you're angry at Donnie, Lucas.
But I can hear the truth in your voice.
You're scared of him.
You got that backwards.
No, he's weaker.
But you're terrified of him anyway, aren't you? Because Donnie is everything that is small and weak inside of you, isn't he? And it just creeps up on you.
And it takes over, and you're ashamed of it, aren't you? And it makes you want to kill again.
He's way further than those buildings.
Copy that.
That's got to be Laneborn Tower.
Got him! He's, like, I can't make that shot.
You can make the shot.
EMILY: Killing Donnie is not the answer, Lucas.
All he wanted you to do is look out for him.
I tried.
You did help him, Lucas.
Why do you think he reached out for you the second that Dad was gone? He loves you.
What did you say? Your brother loves you.
What'd you say about my father? He died t-two weeks ago.
Subject is down.
?????????? Lucas? Lucas?