Need info for a novel

Question
Perhaps you can help me, Vince. 營'm currently writing a novel which
involves a sniper who injures several people in a mall parking lot using a
high powered rifle. The shooter strikes 4 people and fatally wounds one.
He shoots from the roof of a six-story building and the year is1998. I
would like to know the name of a rifle that could be used in the shooting
and acquired in Santa Fe. The rifle had to exist as far back as 1970,
because it belonged to the shooter's father who died in 1978, and he
owned the rifle years prior to his death.

Any info you can offer would be greatly appreciated. If you need further
info to help me, please email me the phone number where you can be
reached, and I'd be happy to phone you with any further information you
may need. ?br>
Thanks so much for your time spent reading this, and I hope to hear from
you soon.

Sincerely, Ed Rambeau

PS:  Didn't intend to call you Vince, but I copied this question from an
email I sent to someone named Vince, and couldn't scroll back up to
remove it. So please ignore it.  

Answer
Ed,

If I were your sniper, I'd probably use a Mauser 98k rifle.  It was a mainstay of the German Army in WWII, was highly reliable, extremely accurate and had great stopping power with the 7.92mm ammo.  Since there were a large number of these rifles available in surplus after the war, many importers bought thousands of these rifles and re-barreled them in a wide range of calibers and sold them as 'sporterized' hunting rifles.  One of the largest of these importers was an Alexandria, VA based company called Interarms.

You could get these modified Mauser rifles in virtually all of the popular hunting calibers including .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield.  Drop a scope on one of these and you have a VERY effective rifle for a sniper.

They were also very inexpensive to obtain.  You could pick up a sporterized Mauser for $250-$300 bucks...

These rifles were manufactured starting in 1935, so it would be a reasonable pick from the standpoint of your timeline as well.

Hope this helps you out...

Doug Little