2 more shootings linked in Stockton serial killings; woman survived 2021 attack
Woman in 2021 attack becomes first known survivor of connected shootings
Woman in 2021 attack becomes first known survivor of connected shootings
Woman in 2021 attack becomes first known survivor of connected shootings
Two more victims, one of them a woman who survived a shooting attack, were linked in connection with serial killings in Stockton, police said Monday evening.
What's also noteworthy is that these two shootings happened in 2021, the Stockton Police Department wrote in its update. The five homicides police have previously connected happened in 2022, from July to late September.
The first shooting happened on April 10, 2021, at 4:18 a.m., when a 40-year-old Hispanic man was killed in Oakland, police said.
The second shooting happened on April 16, 2021 at 3:20 a.m. at Park and Union streets in Stockton, police said. However, this 46-year-old woman actually survived her injuries, making her the first known survivor of a series of deadly shootings. Stockton police in their original crime log state the woman was shot multiple times.
As of Monday night, police are seeking a person of interest in connection with these shootings. It is unclear if the person of interest is a suspect or a witness, Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said.
He said it is "very hard" to determine who is involved in the string of killings that happened from July through this month.
"These incidents are occurring in the hours of darkness, these incidents are occurring where folks are alone by themselves, not in lit areas," McFadden said.
Family and the medical examiner's office has identified the first five victims identified in this series of killings.
- 35-year-old Paul Alexander Yaw
- 43-year-old Salvador William Debudey Jr.
- 21-year-old Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez
- 52-year-old Juan Cruz
- 52-year-old Lorenzo Lopez
McFadden said these shootings have a pattern; they happened when it's dark and late at night where people are by themselves and not in lit areas.
While most of the victims are Hispanic, Stockton police don't believe that there is any indication that these are hate crimes.
Police confirmed that ballistics tests have linked the shootings.
There is a $95,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 209-937-8167 or Stockton Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600.
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