Stockton police chief responds to claims of active serial killer
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Police are eyeing a breakthrough in the California serial murder case which could link it to murders across the country. Five people, between the ages of 21 and 54, were killed in Stockton, California between July and September 2022. Police have since linked a killing in Oakland, California in April 2021 to the Stockton murders. All of the victims were shot and police confirmed through ballistics evidence that the same man was linked to all six killings.
When police in California released footage of the killer, alarm bells went off in Chicago.
In 2018, Douglas Watts, 73, was walking his dogs when he was shot in the head by a masked subject.
The same suspect shot Eliyahu Moscowitz, 24, while he was walking home. Neither victim had been robbed and police struggled to determine a motive.
However, the killer left a clue for police on local CCTV – his distinctive “duck walk”. Police urged residents to be on the lookout for a man with a distinctive gait who walked with “his toes pointed out”.
The walk of the masked man in the California footage seems to match the stride of the “duck walk” killer who remains at large.
In both cases, the victims were shot in the head and were not robbed. Police don’t believe the killings are gang or drug related.
CBS’s Brad Edwards told CBS Sacramento: “This double murder that happened struck a chord in Chicago – no one’s forgotten about it, and we have a lot of crime in Chicago.”
He added that his police “sources” told him the two police departments were sharing information.
Mr Edwards told the broadcaster the two departments have fostered an “open book” approach to the two cases.
He said: “My sources tell me high-level conversations are going on. There is an absolute open book sharing of information.”
The Stockton serial murders rocked the small city in California for two months in 2022.
City police first warned a serial killer may be responsible for several killings committed between July and August this year last week.
A perpatrator killed five men walking alone in the nighttime or early morning under the cover of darkness between July 8 and September 7.
Each victim was shot in the head with a gun, and the shooter left the scene without taking any of their possessions, leading investigators away from associating the attacks with gang violence.
Police Chief Stanley McFadden said police are treating the suspect as a “potential serial killer”, and his force is “going to treat it as such”.
Stockton Police have appealed for information and issued advice to the local public.
City manager Harry Black has offered a $75,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest.
And Stockton Crime Stoppers have put up an additional $10,000 cash reward, with $85,000 on offer in total.
In a statement, the police department said: “We would like to remind everyone to remain vigilant and have good situational awareness.
“Please avoid isolated areas and travel in well-lit areas. Remember, there is safety in numbers so if you can, travel with a friend.”
The warnings come as police apprehend another shooter in North Carolina.
Officers were able to capture a teenage gunman who killed five people on a hiking trail in Raleigh and the Neuse River Greenway yesterday.
The unidentified shooter is in critical condition in hospital, and police have revealed the identities of his victims.
His first victim was a 52-year-old woman who lived on the street 49-year-old mother-of-three Susan Karnatz and 35-year-old Mary Marshall, who was walking her dog.
The shooter later killed 29-year-old off-duty police officer Gabriel Torres and an unidentified 16-year-old boy.
Source: Read Full Article