The police chief would not say how Nichols was able to flee downtown, but investigators believe that he boarded a subway and traveled to a fashionable nightclub and shopping district. Miscommunication with other law enforcement agencies had also added to the confusion and chaos immediately following the shooting, said Pennington, who promised to conduct a full review of the department's response to the incident.

The Atlanta police chief said on CNN's Larry King Live (March 11) that he had been out of town the morning of the shootings. Was there a protocol set up for crises that occur during such times? Was he reachable by phone? How soon did he return? Did he clearly delegate authority?

Will heads roll in Atlanta? I think they should. The failure to communicate and failure to seal off the area speaks volumes about the city's lack of preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack. If they couldn't catch one guy like Brian Nichols, how would they cope with a team attack?

A few weeks ago when the Capitol Hill rapist was terrorizing Denver, and it later turned out police from nearby Aurora, CO had failed to respond to emails and telephone calls that would have resulted in an arrest warrant being issued for the suspect, heads rolled. The City Manager and Deputy City Manager of Aurora both were suspended. The police chief resigned.