Criminal Minds (TV Series)

Public Enemy (2010)

Joe Mantegna: David Rossi

Photos 

Quotes 

• David Rossi : [voiceover]  Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy. -F. Scott Fitzgerald.

• David Rossi : [voiceover]  William Shakespeare wrote: When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.

• David Rossi : [talking with Father Kendellen]  I don't like to see crime tape in front of church doors. I can't imagine how you feel.

• Aaron Hotchner : We suggest that you think of this unsub not as a slasher but as an arsonist. Because the gratification he's getting isn't from the physical act of murder, but from the public's reaction to it.

  Emily Prentiss : Arsonists draw attention to themselves through the fires they set. The locations they choose are highly symbolic to them. While this unsub will never set an actual fire, he has the same psychosis as one who does.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Our unsub fits that model. His locations have been pillars of the community. The victims he picks aren't as important as the effect of killing them outside of your favorite restaurant or place of worship.

  Derek Morgan : By picking locales with the highest visibility, he's creating the highest level of fear in that neighborhood, which reinforces his feeling of power.

  Detective Jake Moreland : Yeah, but arsonists don't set out to hurt people. This guy clearly does.

  Derek Morgan : That's true. And this unsub definitely falls in the category of sociopath.

  Emily Prentiss : His victims are there only to achieve his goal. He doesn't have the ability to empathize with them. To him, they're just... tools for him to use, no different than a can of gasoline and a match.

  David Rossi : But even how he kills tells us something. Slashing a throat is a messy, visual act. It's designed to create attention, just like a fire.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Arsonists are often mission based. They need to make sure their first fire has burnt out before they set another one. They're also highly disciplined and focused. If conditions aren't right to set a fire or, in this case, slash a throat, they'll move on.

  Aaron Hotchner : In addition to his need to kill, he has self-control. He has a short cooling off period because he's enjoying what he's doing. This in turn feeds his ego and keeps him covering his tracks.

  David Rossi : This makes him even more dangerous. If he gets frustrated, encounters too many obstacles, or suffers a blow to his narcissistic ego, he could go on an all-out rampage.

• Derek Morgan : [reviewing the case file]  Aside from m.o., victimology's all over the place. It's like this guy doesn't care who he's killing, just how.

  David Rossi : And he's doing it in public without compunction for who sees him.

  Aaron Hotchner : Do we have a sketch?

  Jennifer Jareau : All anyone can agree on is that it's a white male between 25 and 40.

  Emily Prentiss : Well, that narrows it down to all of Providence.

  David Rossi : Hard to fault the witnesses, given how bloody these murders must be.

  Derek Morgan : What bothers me is the cooling-off period is getting shorter and shorter, but no attempt to hide who he is or what he's doing. I mean, an unsub this bold could be suffering from a major psychotic break.

  Jennifer Jareau : I already asked Detective Moreland to pull recent releases on prisons and mental hospitals.

  Aaron Hotchner : We need to get to Providence ASAP. Whether he's suffering a psychotic break or not, this could be the start of a spree.

  David Rossi : And anyone is a potential target.