A serial killer thought to be responsible for the fatal shooting of six men and the wounding of one woman in California since April 2021 seems to be “on a mission”, police said.
Ballistics tests and some video evidence have linked the crimes in the cities of Stockton and Oakland, located about 70 miles apart in the US state, police said.
Stockton police chief Stanley McFadden said: “We don’t know what the motive is. What we do believe is that it’s mission-oriented. This person’s on a mission.”
The first fatal shooting took place in Oakland in April 2021. The woman was wounded in Stockton days later.
Homicide Series Update: Today Chief McFadden released a video of the "Person of Interest" in regards to this series. If you have any info, please call 209-937-8167. There is a $125,000 reward for info that leads to an arrest. pic.twitter.com/QLhcobVFJZ
Advertisement— Stockton Police Dept (@StocktonPolice) October 5, 2022
More than a year passed before five killings took place in Stockton between July 8th and September 27th, all within a radius of a few square miles.
Although police would not say whether all seven shootings are linked to the same gun, Mr McFadden alluded to a single pistol during a news conference.
The police chief said he has “absolutely no answer as to why that pistol went dormant for over 400 days”, between the April 2021 shootings and the first case this summer.
Authorities said five men in Stockton were ambushed and shot dead, alone in the dark.
On Monday, police said the two additional cases last year have been tied to those killings.
A person of interest is being sought in connection with the bloodshed – they appear on video at several of the crime scenes – but no evidence directly links them to the shootings, McFadden said.
He said some of the victims were homeless and some were not.
Photo of a "Person of Interest" in a series of homicides being committed in Stockton. There is an $85,000 reward for info that leads to an arrest. Please call SPD or @StocktonCrime with info or scan the QR code to send any pertinent videos related to this investigation. pic.twitter.com/i2q4t8C6bg
Advertisement— Stockton Police Dept (@StocktonPolice) September 30, 2022
There is a $125,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Police are fielding hundreds of tips every day, as well as submitting additional evidence in case other crimes in the state can be connected to the spate of shootings.
The first killing targeted Juan Vasquez Serrano (39) in Oakland at around 4.15am on April 10th, 2021.
He was shot multiple times, according to the Alameda County coroner’s bureau. It was not immediately clear if he was alone when he was killed.
In the non-fatal attack, the 46-year-old victim told investigators that she was inside her tent on April 16th, 2021 at about 3.20am when she heard someone walking around outside.
“When she came out of her tent, she encountered someone holding a gun,” Mr McFadden said.
The suspect fired multiple shots, wounding the woman, but she tried to defend herself by advancing toward her attacker, the chief said. The shooter then lowered the gun.
Homicide Series Update: The ATF just donated $25,000.00 to the reward fund. The new total amount is $125,000.00!!!! pic.twitter.com/6LIQjZCCvI
— Stockton Police Dept (@StocktonPolice) October 4, 2022
“She said there were no words mentioned at all,” Mr McFadden said.
The woman described the attacker as wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, dark trousers and an all-black face mask, of the type commonly used during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the fatal Stockton cases, none of the men were robbed or beaten before the killings, and none appeared to have known one another, Stockton police officer Joseph Silva said. The shootings do not appear to be related to gangs or drugs.
The San Joaquin County Office of the Medical Examiner identified the Stockton victims as Paul Yaw (35) who was found dead on July 8th; Salvador Debudey Jr (43) who died on August 11th; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez (21) who was shot on August 30th; Juan Cruz (52) who died on September 21st; and Lawrence Lopez Sr (54) who was killed on September 27th.
Stockton is a city with a population of 320,000, about 50 miles south of the state capital, Sacramento.
