The Mysterious Shooting Message Case

Chronology
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Episode 14 (Int. Episode {{{int-episode}}})
Information
Title:	The Mysterious Shooting Message Case
Japanese title:	謎のメッセージ狙撃事件 (Nazo no Messēji Sogeki Jiken)
Original airdate:	April 29, 1996
Season:	1
Manga source:	TV Original
English version
English title:	The Shooter
English airdate:	June 16, 2004
Case
Cast:	Conan Edogawa Detective Boys Inspector Megure
Case solved by:	Conan Edogawa Detective Boys
Next Conan's Hint:	Answering machine
Staff
Director:	Kenji Kodama
Screenplay:	Kazunari Kouchi
Storyboard:	Kuchiru Kazehara
Episode director:	Masato Sato
Animation director:	Akio Kawamura, Kumiko Shishido
Voice Cast: Minami Takayama as Conan Edogawa Wakana Yamazaki as Ran Mouri Akira Kamiya as Kogoro Mouri Chafurin as Inspector Megure Wataru Takagi as Genta Kojima Ikue Otani as Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya Yukiko Iwai as Ayumi Yoshida Joji Nakata as Koichi Yamabe Keiko Onodera as Eri Kiyomitsu Mizu'uchi as Helicopter Pilot Keiji Fujiwara as Man A Naoki Makishima as Man B Isshin Chiba as Man C
Music
Opening song:	Mune ga Doki Doki
Closing song:	Step by Step

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya Ayumi Yoshida Genta Kojima Inspector Megure Kogoro Mouri Ran Mouri

Gadgets

Gadgets
Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes

Case

Situation

While fishing, Conan and with the Detective Boys spot a sniper shooting a balloon tied to a remote controlled boat on the river. This sniper is held at gunpoint by other men.

Missing Persons
	Victim: Koichi Yamabe, Eri

The Detective Boys go to find these men but when they get there, the gunmen have left.

Conan finds a calculator under a small concrete block which he believes was left behind by the sniper. Kogoro, Ran and Conan, joined by the Detective Boys, find a stretch of road that mirrors the river used for the test. They call the police and find out that the sniper, Koichi Yamabe, and his girlfriend, Eri, were recently reported missing. However, while waiting for the criminals to arrive at the supposed sniping spot, Conan realizes that the numbers on the calculator, when read upside down, spell out a different message entirely.

People

Koichi Yamabe
	Victim (abducted) Police officer and former rifle marksman (Olympic team)

Eri
	Victim (abducted) Koichi's girlfriend

Man #1
	Suspect Hostage taker

Man #2
	Suspect Hostage taker

Man #3
	Suspect Hostage taker

Man #4
	Suspect The lookout

District Attorney
100px	Koichi's target (shown with his family)

Resolution

  Show spoilers »

• Evidence
  • The sniper left behind a calculator with the numbers 3,135,134,162 on the screen.
  • The sniper's test was held at about one o'clock in the afternoon.
  • When Ran suggested that the numbers 162 might be a road, Kogoro declared that the shape of the river might be similar to the bends of the road for the sniping site.
  • When Conan accidentally sees the numbers upside down, the numbers can be read as "291 Heisei E".

• Resolution

The sniper that Conan saw was Koichi Yamabe, a police officer and former rifle marksman of Japan's Olympic team. He and his girlfriend, Eri, were abducted by the criminals while on vacation. The criminals held Eri hostage so that Koichi Yamabe would work for them.

When the criminals don't arrive at the site on Saitama Route 162, Conan and the Detective Boys try reexamining the code. As Mitsuhiko punches the numbers into his calculator, Conan accidentally sees that when upside down, the numbers can read as "291 Heisei E". The decoded message means the one o'clock train on February 9th of the Heisei Express train. The shape of the river turns out to mirror a double-curve in the train tracks of the Express. The criminals want Koichi to shoot someone inside the train and the balloon was just an accuracy test.

Conan sneaks into the helicopter taking Inspector Megure to the train line. Before Koichi can assassinate the target, Inspector Megure instructs the pilot to swoop down and distract the criminals. Conan uses his Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes to kick his helmet towards one criminal before he can shoot Koichi. Koichi is able to take down the remaining criminals and save Eri from harm.

• Motive

The criminals were former members of a gang whose leaders were caught in a sting operation last year. They wanted revenge on the district attorney who set up the operation, and planned to shoot him while he was on his way back from a vacation with his family.

See also

• Season 1