Stockton Police Department
Authorities investigating the recent murders of five men in Stockton, California, now say that two other unsolved shootings that took place last year are related.
The two shootings, connected with ballistic evidence, occurred in April 2021 and left a 40-year-old Hispanic man dead and a 46-year-old Black woman wounded, the Stockton Police Department said.
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Like the five most recent shootings, which occurred between July 7 and Sept. 27 this year, both incidents occurred after dark. One difference is that the man killed last year was shot in Oakland, roughly 70 miles west of Stockton.
Detectives are looking into whether the woman who survived her attacker last year may have information that could be helpful to the ongoing investigation. They’re also looking into whether any other unsolved shootings could be related, said Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva.
Stockton Police Department
“We have a team of detectives that are going back through some of our old homicides, shootings, and also starting an outreach to the different law enforcement agencies in our region to see if they have anything similar,” he told HuffPost Tuesday.
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Authorities on Friday released an image of a “person of interest” wearing dark-colored clothing, a hat, and what appeared to be a high-collared jacket.
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It’s not clear how, if at all, the individual could be related, Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said at a press conference.
“At this time, we don’t know if it’s a person, two or three. We just don’t know,” said McFadden. “By definition, you could probably very well call this serial killings.”
He has urged residents to stay alert and aware of their surroundings, especially after dark.
A reward for information that leads to an arrest in the shootings was boosted to $95,000 on Monday by a local construction company owner who chipped in $10,000, police said.
Information about the killings can be submitted to 209-937-8167 or emailed to policetips@stocktonca.gov or shared anonymously at stocktoncrimestoppers.org.
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