Police release surveillance footage they believe to be Californian serial killer 'on a mission'

Police have released footage of a potential serial killer roaming the streets of California.

California residents have been gripped by fear of a potential serial killer on the loose as police investigate a string of six murders that started in April last year.

The eerie footage shows a person walking with an 'uneven stride' and upright posture, police described him as being 'on a mission.'

The crimes took place in Stockton and Oakland, with police actively investigating the situation. On 10 April 2021, Juan Vasquez Serrano, 39, was shot dead at around 4.15am, he was shot multiple times. A few days later, on 16 April a woman was shot multiple times in Stockton at around 3.20am, she survived.

She described the attacker as wearing a dark sweatshirt, dark trousers, and a black Covid mask.

Things quietened down after that until 8 July this year, when Paul Yaw, 35, was killed. On 11 August Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, was shot dead and on 30 August Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, also died.

The most recent attacks were on Juan Cruz, 52, on 21 September and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54, on 27 September.

Police said that five men were separately ambushed, shot, and left to die on the dark streets of California.

Four of them had been walking alone and one was in a parked car at the time of the attack.

These killings were just a few miles apart, and though police did not say whether all the shootings had been linked to the same gun, Stockton police chief Stanley McFadden suggested that a singular gun ties together the shootings last year and the most recent string: "I have absolutely no answer as to why that pistol went dormant for over 400 days," he told a news conference.

The police then released footage of a person of interest, who seemed to be on video at several of the crime scenes.

They posted a $125,000 reward for any information that led to an arrest.

Police asked people to note the figure's uneven stride as he walked along a dimly lit area.

Little else is known about the attacks, with McFadden saying: "We don't know what the motive is. What we do believe is that it's mission-oriented. This person is on a mission."

The police chief added: "[We] do believe we could have a potential serial killer. That’s how we’re going to treat it as such."

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