Animal

Animal (real name not revealed) was a serial shooter who appeared in Brothers in Arms.

History
Nothing specific is revealed about "Animal's" past, not even his real name. He obtained that nickname at a fight club in Phoenix, Arizona which he went to in an attempt to prove his manhood. He challenged the largest and toughest member of the club, a bouncer called Boom. Due to his physical weakness and small stature, he lost every fight and was humiliated by the other members. He later extracted revenge on Boom outside the club by shooting him with a .357 Magnum revolver. He later killed Bobby Q, a member of the 12th Street Gang, led by a gangster called Playboy, and took his gold chain as a trophy. He then started killing police officers. After three murders the BAU were called in, although most officers were certain that Playboy was somehow responsible. After bringing him in for questioning, they found out about the murder of Bobby Q, whom Playboy was very close to. After looking into past similar murders, they connected Boom's murder to Animal. They then went to the fight club whose captain, "Beanie", told them about Animal and gave them a description. In order to draw Animal out they pretended to take over the investigation, effectively placing their authority over the Phoenix PD's, and making Hotch the target by having him announce it at a press conference. Animal called 911, leading the authorities to an empty motel room. He waited out their search, hiding in the darkness, then spotted Hotch wandering alone and started following him with the intention to shoot him. The BAu had already predicted his move and arrested him when he entered a blind spot. As he was brought in, Playboy, who was in the nearby crowd, pulled out a gun and killed him in revenge for Bobby Q.

Modus Operandi
Animal targeted people he percieved as having a higher authority than his. He would make up plans of increasing complexity to draw his victims close, such as in the case of, using a beer bottle to pretend to urinate, or, as in the case of the Phoenix officers, calling 911, lying in wait in some alcove at the location and shooting them in the neck with a .357 Magnum revolver. In order to avoid detection, he used different revolvers at each murder. He always operated at night, presumably to have the cover of darkness. He would also linger by the bodies and grab their throats, a gesture used at the fight club towards defeated opponents. When killed Phoenix police officers, he would take their badges as trophies. When he killed Bobby Q, he took a large gold necklace from him.

Profile
Animal was a narcissistic psychopath whose goal was to prove his masculinity. He had incredible temper problems, was very violent, believed everybody was after him, so he would always pick fights with everyone, even though he knew he was going to lose. He was fairly smart and cunning, being able to make plans to lure his victims.

Known Victims

 * Mickey "Boom" Reese (Animal pretended to urinate to draw him close, then shot him in the neck)
 * Robert "Bobby Q" Quinones (a local gangmember, Animal took a gold chain from him)
 * Officer Jason Kessinger (Animal speeded, was pulled over and shot Kessinger in the neck)
 * Sergeant Manuel Rodriguez (investigated a report of domestic violence and was shot along with Kayser)
 * Officer Thomas Kayser
 * Officer Mark Cunningham (was drawn close when Animal set a mannequin on fire, was then shot)
 * Officer Ron Mercer (attempted, got into a gunfight with him)
 * SSA Aaron Hotchner (attempted)

Appearance

 * Season 4, Episode 10: Brothers in Arms