Police Suspect Serial Killer Behind Phoenix Murders

Police Suspect Serial Killer Behind Phoenix Murders

A series of unsolved shootings in Phoenix, Arizona has led local authorities to believe they’re dealing with a serial killer.

Few things capture the eerie side of the American imagination like a a person who hunts and kills other humans. Countless books and films have been based on the subject.

Still, it’s a horrifying thing when it’s actually happening.

CNN reports:

Phoenix police: Suspected serial killer linked to 9 shootings, 7 deaths

This time, the target was a car with a 4-year-old boy and his young father inside.

The same man who has killed seven people has struck again, Phoenix police said Wednesday.

Neither the boy nor his father was injured in the shooting. But just like in the other attacks, the gunman’s motives remain a mystery.

And that leaves residents fearing who the gunman might randomly kill next.

“It’s unbelievable that there is this monster that has done so much harm, that nobody is coming forward,” the sister of one of the slain victims told CNN affiliate KNXV-TV in Phoenix.

“All of these people were so good. Good people with good families. And now they are gone in the blink of an eye because of a monster.”

The woman said she was too scared to give her name or that of her slain brother.

Police said the last shooting took place the evening of July 11 when the gunman shot at a vehicle in a residential area of Phoenix.
The 4-year-old boy and his 21-year-old father were sitting inside but were not hit.

Police said they didn’t reveal the shooting’s connection until nearly a month after the attack because “it took awhile for investigators to connect the evidence and witness information to draw the conclusion that this incident was linked to the serial shooter,” Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said.

Investigators found physical evidence and similarities between the latest shooting and the previous eight, Howard said.

And just like the other attacks, there was “no apparent motive, no pre-incident contact.”

Wochit News provides the basic facts and a sketch of the suspect:

CBS News has more:

Phoenix serial killer attacked for a 9th time, police say

Authorities investigating the first serial killer in Phoenix in a decade said Wednesday that they have linked a non-fatal shooting to the case, bringing the number of attacks under examination to nine.

The latest attack occurred in a central Phoenix neighborhood on July 11 when someone fired on a vehicle occupied by a 21-year-old man and a 4-year-old boy. Neither was injured, said police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard, who declined to reveal other details of the shooting.

In all, seven people have been fatally shot and two others wounded in attacks that began March 17. Most of the attacks occurred in the blue-collar Maryvale neighborhood, though two shootings — including the latest — occurred in central Phoenix.

Police say the victims were attacked as they stood outside their homes or sat in vehicles after dark. They were fired upon by someone who was sitting in a car or had just stepped out of a vehicle.

This report from ABC News is three weeks old but provides a lot of details:

Let’s hope the Phoenix Police catch a break in the case soon.

Featured image via YouTube.

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