Since August 29, there have been 11 confirmed shootings, primarily along an eight-mile stretch of Interstate 10, so that is where the group has started their hunt. So far, the only person injured by the sniper has been a 13-year-old girl who had her ear wounded by broken glass after the vehicle she was in had its windshield shatter from a bullet.
On Friday, the police took a “person of interest” into custody, but no arrests have yet been made.
Tony Rowley, aka “Bolt,” a 48-year-old Marine who started the Bolt Force, went out wearing head-to-toe black SWAT gear armed with a loaded 9mm pistol one afternoon when he was tackled by officers mistaking him for the shooter.
“The only reason it happened is the first time we [the Bolt Force] interacted with DPS [Department of Public Safety],” Bolt told the Daily Beast, calling the incident a miscommunication. “We usually interact with other law enforcement agencies so they are aware of us going out. But for some reason our informational meetings with the higher ranks did not get down to the street.”
Bolt claims that all agencies in town are now aware of his vigilante group of 17 armed crime fighters.
“We’re trying to be as transparent as we can and so they know our every move and they know what our attire is and how we go and how we patrol and our methods. With that knowledge they can look at us and say, ‘That’s Bolt Force,’” he continued on to say.
Bolt Force was not created in reaction to the sniper, but has existed for approximately five months, and is made up of former bounty hunters, ex-cops, and security personnel from Arizona, Nevada, and even Durban, South Africa.
A promo video they created gives introductions to some of their cast of characters, including a woman who goes by the name Harley, who talks about her weaponry, including her “dangerous good looks."
Arizona law enforcement recognizes that the group is likely well intentioned, but worries that their outfits may cause some to mistake them for actual police officers, and has asked them to leave the investigation to the professionals.
“We’ve advised them to stay back and let us take over the investigation,” Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Tim Case told the Daily Beast.
Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead has called the shootings "domestic terrorism,” and an organization called Silent Witness is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the sniper’s capture.
