Stockton police say they believe a “potential serial killer” is “on a mission” after ballistics evidence linked seven different shootings.
During a press conference on Tuesday, per a video shared by regional outlet KCRA, Stockton Police Department Chief Stanley McFadden first addressed the national discussion of California presently “having a serial killer,” a description he suggested was in alignment with how law enforcement is handling the investigation.
“By definition, these shootings are a series of killings, so we do believe we could have a potential serial killer,” McFadden said. “That’s how we’re gonna treat it. … At this time, we don’t know if it’s a person, or persons. As I said before, we have absolutely no evidence that connects a person, or persons, to any of these incidents. We are still receiving tips and we still will continue to review those tips, and hopefully more information will come forward.”
Also on Tuesday, police released a brief video (see above) showing someone they described as a “person of interest.” Before playing the clip, McFadden clarified that there is currently “no evidence” of this individual having committed any of these shootings “but it’s a person that we are interested in talking to.” McFadden made a point to highlight the person in the video’s “uneven stride,” as well as their posture.
Of the seven cases, six occurred in the Stockton area while one occurred last year in Oakland. As for how police have come to the conclusion that all seven shootings are linked, McFadden pointed to ballistics evidence on Tuesday, although he didn’t go into detail due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
“We don’t know what the motive is,” McFadden said Tuesday. “What we do believe is that it’s mission-oriented, right? This person’s on a mission.” According to police, the average age of victims is 42. Most of the victims have been male, while, per McFadden, “the races are mostly Hispanic.”
When reached for comment by Complex on Wednesday, a Stockton Police Department rep directed us to the department’s recent Facebook posts. In the department’s most recent update, the suspect in an April 2021 shooting is described (per a surviving victim) as a thin “unknown race male” whose face was obscured.
The AP reported Wednesday that local officials had identified the six homicide victims as Juan Vasquez Serrano, Paul Yaw, Salvador Debudey Jr., Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, Juan Cruz, and Lawrence Lopez Sr.
