Possible serial killer in California
A total prize of $85,000 has been offered for information leading to arrests in five fatal shootings since July in Stockton, California, which investigators believe are related, police said.
After reviewing surveillance footage, detectives have found an unidentified “person of interest” in the murder, Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden wrote on the department’s Facebook page on Saturday. Police released stills of a person filmed from behind, dressed all in black and wearing a black hat.
Police told CBS News that there was also firearm evidence linking the murders.
The latest killings occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, when a 54-year-old man was shot in a residential area north of downtown, McFadden said.
Police said he was the fifth person to be shot dead since July 8 within a radius of several square miles. Detectives believe the five murders are related “based on our investigation and the reports we have received,” McFadden said.
“By definition, you could probably call this a serial murder,” McFadden told CBS News.
Police said the victims were each walking alone when they were killed at night or early in the morning in the city of 320,000 residents about 50 miles south of the state capital, Sacramento. In each case, tribal chiefs said five male victims were ambushed and shot while alone in poorly lit areas.
The ages of the victims ranged from 21 to 54 years; four of the men were Hispanic and one was white, McFadden said.
“No family should be walking around their town in fear or looking over their shoulder,” said Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln.
“We are committed to protecting our community and solving these cases using all the resources at our disposal including YOU. We need YOUR help!!!! If anyone has information regarding this investigation, please contact us immediately. Please remember that our victims have a grieving family. members need resolution. If you know something, say something,” the head wrote on Facebook.
The City of Stockton is offering a $75,000 prize, and Stockton Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $10,000.
Stockton Police said they were now reviewing another unsolved murder to see if there was a connection.
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