Police in Stockton, California, have linked a 2021 Oakland homicide and a nonfatal shooting to a "series of killings" gripping the Central California town, bringing the total number of homicide victims to six.
The Stockton Police Department announced last week that five shooting homicides reported between July and September of this year were "related."
The first incident was reported July 8 and the most recent related homicide occurred Sept. 27, according to police.
All of the victims were men shot in the late-night or early-morning hours with no signs of robbery present, police said. Five of the six victims were Latino, according to police.
"It's just people caught by surprise," Stockton police Chief Stanley McFadden said Friday at a news conference.
The Stockton victims were identified as:
—A 35-year-old white man killed at 12:31 a.m. on July 8 in the 5600 block of Kermit Lane.
—A 43-year-old Latino man killed at 9:49 p.m. on Aug. 11 in the 4900 block of West Lane.
—A 21-year-old Latino man killed at 6:41 a.m. on Aug. 30 in the 800 block of East Hammer Lane.
—A 52-year-old Latino man killed at 4:27 a.m. on Sept. 21 in the 4400 block of Manchester Avenue.
—A 54-year-old Latino man killed at 1:53 a.m. on Sept. 27 in the 900 block of Porter Avenue.
On Monday, police confirmed that an April 2021 fatal shooting of a 40-year-old Latino man in Oakland was linked to the current string of homicides. The shooting occurred at 4:18 a.m.
A nonfatal shooting of a 46-year-old Black woman in Stockton, also reported in April 2021, was also related, police said. That incident occurred around 3:20 a.m.
A $95,000 reward is being offered to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest. The sum includes $10,000 donated anonymously from a Stockton-area business owner.
"We really don't know how things are playing out just because of a lack of witnesses," McFadden said Friday. "I can't say it enough: We need (the public's) help."
Stockton police released a photo of a "person of interest" in the case but did not say whether the person was considered a suspect or witness.
———
