Breaking News: Police Say a Serial Killer Could Be Behind Shootings in Stockton

Six homicides since April that have unsettled residents in California’s Central Valley might be the work of a serial killer, police said Tuesday.

The police in Stockton, Calif., said last week that five victims, all men between the ages of 21 and 54, were fatally shot while alone in dimly lit areas at night or in the early morning between July 8 and Sept. 27. Four of the men were Hispanic. One was white.

On Monday, the police said they had linked two additional shootings. A 40-year-old Hispanic man was killed in Oakland, Calif., about 70 miles west of Stockton, on April 10. And a 46-year-old Black woman was shot in Stockton on April 16 but survived her injuries.

He added that the authorities had connected the killings through ballistics and video footage, but he did not give details. The Stockton Police Department released footage on Tuesday of a “person of interest.” Chief McFadden asked residents to help police find the person in the video, who is seen walking with an uneven stride and an upright posture.

Investigators have interviewed the Black woman who survived, Chief McFadden said. She told investigators that she was in her tent when she heard someone walking around her campsite. When she stepped outside, she saw someone wearing dark clothes and a mask pointing a gun at her, Chief McFadden said.

She rushed toward the shooter and was shot multiple times, he said. The shooter then lowered his gun, Chief McFadden said.

When asked if homeless people were at risk, Chief McFadden said, “Well, to be honest, I would say everyone is at risk.”

None of the five men shot in Stockton were robbed; their keys and wallets were not taken, Chief McFadden told reporters last week. The attacks happened in different neighborhoods.

It was not immediately known if the victims in the two additional shootings were robbed.

The police said on Friday that investigators had reviewed hours of surveillance video and were seeking a “person of interest” whom they asked the public to help identify. The police published a photo of that person walking, though the photo offered few identifiable clues.

Investigators do not know if that person was responsible for all the killings or if others were involved, Officer Joe Silva, a Stockton police spokesman, said on Monday.

“There could be one person; there could be multiple people,” he said. “We just don’t know.”

While the investigation continues, the police have asked residents to remain vigilant, to avoid isolated and dimly lit areas and not to travel alone, if possible.

“We’re pleading with our community,” Officer Silva said, asking for information and mentioning the reward. “We do have grieving family members who want some type of closure and we’re asking people to do the right thing and contact us.”

The killings have spread anxiety among some residents and prompted some to wonder whether other unsolved homicides in the city might be connected, said Nuri Muhammad, a program strategy manager at Advance Peace Stockton, a community-based organization dedicated to eliminating gun violence.

“Something is going on in the city of Stockton, and it’s not gang violence,” Mr. Muhammad said.

“People are clearly shaken by it,” he added, and some are concerned that because most of the victims were Hispanic, “there’s an undertone of some kind of racism.”

Residents are feeling unprotected and sense that “things are very, very unsafe — more than usual,” he said.

Officer Silva said that investigators do not believe that the victims were targeted because they were Hispanic. “At this point, we don’t believe that to be a factor,” he said.

Stockton has recorded 43 homicides this year, compared with 39 last year, Officer Silva said. About 12 of this year’s homicides are believed to be gang-related, he said.

Harry Black, Stockton’s city manager, said on Monday that the killings did not align with what city officials knew about the crimes that typically occur in the city.

“We track it daily, obviously, we know the ins and outs, and we became aware of this because something just felt irregular about these particular crimes,” Mr. Black said. “It didn’t fall in line with the historical pattern of crime we have from one year to the next, so this is a different situation, an outlier.”

He said that the killings had created anxiety and unease but said the city was trying to respond by communicating frequently with residents and by working to “catch this particular person or persons as soon as possible.”

Toni McNeil, a community organizer at Faith in the Valley, a community group in California’s Central Valley, said that the community has noticed the police were taking the killings seriously and increasing patrols.

“What I have heard from community members is they feel like law enforcement is really stepping up, that they feel a strong presence,” she said. “Even people who don’t necessarily engage with law enforcement feel like they’re doing a good job.”