Police fear a serial killer is on the loose after six slayings saw men ambushed and shot dead.
The fatal shootings in California have given cops belief the shooting of six men and one woman are all linked - after the crimes go back more than a year.
In recent months, police in Stockton said there were five men who had been killed after they were ambushed and shot dead whilst walking in the dark alone.
Yesterday, authorities said two more cases had been linked to the killings - including a man's death in Oakland and the wounding of a woman in Stockton.
Image:
Getty Images)Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva said: “It definitely meets the definition of a serial killer.
“What makes this different is the shooter is just looking for an opportunity, and unfortunately our victims were alone in a dark area.”
The police have not confirmed whether all seven shootings were linked to the same gun.
However, in the Stockton shootings where the men were killed, none of them were beaten or robbed.
The killings took place within a few square miles between July 8 and September 27 - with the men not knowing each other.
Police said the shootings are not related to drugs or gangs.
A 46-year-old woman, who was shot in Stockton but survived from her injuries, was injured on April 16, 2021 at around 3.30am.
The attacker shot the alone woman but did not steal or assault the victim.
Whilst a 40-year-old man in Oakland was shot dead police have connected the killing to the serial killer.
The man was shot to death at around 4.15am on April 10, 2021 but police have not said whether the man was also alone when he was killed.
Locals in the city of Stockton, Stockton Crime Stoppers and a local building company owner have offered $95,000 (£83k) for any information leading to the arrest of the killer.
Police have only been able to release a low-resolution image of a 'person of interest' wearing all black along with a cap.
The individual appeared in several videos of the murder scenes in Stockton.
San Joaquin County’s Office of the Medical Examiner identified the victims on Monday as Paul Yaw, 35, who was killed on July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, who died on August 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, who died on August 30; Juan Cruz, 52, who was killed on September 21 and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54.
Lawrence was shot dead on September 27 in a residential area just before 2am.
According to his brother, Jerry Lopez he was "just a person who was out here at the wrong place, at the wrong time, at the wrong circumstance."
“It’s hard to process that this has happened.”, he told KXTV.
Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva revealed there could be more than one person involved in the shootings.
He said: “To be honest, we just don’t know. This person or people who are out doing this, they are definitely very bold and brazen.”
