加利福尼亚州斯托克顿加利福尼亚州斯托克顿市市长周日表示，该市居民在周末逮捕了一名涉嫌在加利福尼亚州北部三个月内连续枪杀六名男子和一名女子的男子后，可以放心了。
市长凯文·林肯说，当他得知警方认为自7月以来一直恐吓斯托克顿的嫌疑人于周六凌晨2点左右被拘留时，他流下了宽慰的眼泪。
警察局长斯坦利·麦克法登在周六的新闻发布会上说，韦斯利·布朗利穿着黑色衣服，脖子上戴着面具，带着一把手枪，当他在中央山谷市开车时被捕时，“正在寻找另一个可能的受害者”，其中五起枪击事件发生在那里。
“这个城市昨晚睡得好一点了，”林肯周日早上说。"这座城市的居民不应该提心吊胆地在镇上四处走动。"
市长赞扬了斯托克顿的居民，他们向调查人员提供了数百条线索，最终导致这名43岁的嫌疑人被捕。
周日尚不清楚斯托克顿的布朗利是否有律师代表他发言。预计他将于周二因谋杀指控被传讯。
“这个人造成了很多伤害，造成了很多创伤，”林肯说。“作为市长，我的祈祷，我的希望是，我们的社区开始了系列杀人事件后的愈合过程。”
警方一直在寻找一名身穿黑衣的男子，他在斯托克顿的几个犯罪现场被视频拍摄到，7月8日至9月27日期间，有五名男子在那里遭到伏击并被枪杀。四个在走路，一个在一辆停着的车里。
警方认为，同一人于2021年4月在奥克兰杀害了70英里(113公里)外的一名男子，并于一周后在斯托克顿伤害了一名无家可归的妇女。
调查人员表示，弹道测试和视频证据将这些罪行联系在一起。一张警方照片显示了嫌疑人携带的黑灰色武器。这似乎是一把半自动手枪，含有一些非金属材料。
在周六的新闻发布会上，为遇难者举行了默哀。
39岁的胡安·瓦斯奎兹·塞拉诺于2021年4月10日在奥克兰被杀，46岁的娜塔莎·拉图尔于当年4月16日在斯托克顿被枪击，但幸免于难。今年在斯托克顿被杀的五个人是保罗·约，35岁，死于7月8日;小萨尔瓦多·德布迪，43岁，死于8月11日;乔纳森·赫尔南德斯·罗德里格兹，21岁，死于8月30日;胡安·克鲁兹，52岁，死于9月21日;54岁的老劳伦斯·洛佩兹于9月27日去世。
警方表示，布朗利有犯罪史，据信还在斯托克顿附近的几个城市居住过，但他们没有提供进一步的细节。
在收到数百条线索后，调查人员找到并监视了布朗利居住的地方。
“根据部门和Stockton犯罪制止者提供的线索，我们能够锁定一名可能的嫌疑人，”麦克法登说。"这个人开车时，我们的监视小组一直跟着他."
警长说，调查人员观察了他的模式，并确定他在寻找另一名受害者。
“我们确信我们阻止了另一场杀戮，”他说。
麦克法登补充说，布朗利在从事了似乎是威胁的行为后被拘留，包括去公园和黑暗的地方，在开车前停下来四处看看。
警方发言人约瑟夫·席尔瓦警官周日表示，调查人员仍在处理证据，并试图确定袭击的动机。警方表示，一些受害者无家可归，但不是全部。没有人被殴打或抢劫，幸存的女人说袭击她的人什么也没说。
这位警察局长感谢参与调查的各个地方、州和联邦机构，包括联邦调查局、美国法警和美国缉毒署。
当地调查人员还与芝加哥警方合作，以确定这起杀人事件是否与该市罗杰斯公园附近的两起2018年谋杀案有关。当局表示，嫌疑人的视频显示，一名黑衣男子走路姿势独特。
然而，芝加哥警方周五表示，似乎没有任何联系。
California city rests easier after serial killings arrest
STOCKTON, Calif. --Residents of Stockton, California, were able to rest easier following the weekend arrest of a man suspected of killing six men and wounding a woman in a series of shootings over a period of three months in Northern California, the city's mayor said Sunday.
Mayor Kevin Lincoln said he shed tears of relief when he was informed that the suspect who police believe had terrorized Stockton since July was taken into custody around 2 a.m. Saturday.
Wesley Brownlee was dressed in black, wore a mask around his neck, had a handgun and “was out hunting" for another possible victim when he was arrested while driving around the Central Valley city, where five of the shootings took place, Police Chief Stanley McFadden said at a Saturday news conference.
“The city was able to sleep a little bit better last night,” Lincoln said Sunday morning. “No resident of this city should have to walk around town looking over their shoulder in fear.”
The mayor credited residents of Stockton who called in hundreds of tips to investigators that eventually led to the arrest of the 43-year-old suspect.
It wasn’t immediately clear on Sunday whether Brownlee, of Stockton, had an attorney to speak on his behalf. He was expected to be arraigned Tuesday on murder charges.
“This person caused a lot of hurt, caused a lot of trauma,” Lincoln said. “My prayer, my hope, as mayor is that our community begins the process of healing as a result of the serial killings.”
Police had been searching for a man clad in black who was caught on video at several of the crime scenes in Stockton, where five men were ambushed and shot to death between July 8 and Sept. 27. Four were walking, and one was in a parked car.
Police believe the same person was responsible for killing a man 70 miles (113 kilometers) away in Oakland in April 2021 and wounding a homeless woman in Stockton a week later.
Investigators have said ballistics tests and video evidence linked the crimes. A police photo showed the black-and-gray weapon allegedly carried by the suspect. It appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun containing some nonmetallic materials.
At Saturday’s news conference, a moment of silence was held for the victims.
Juan Vasquez Serrano, 39, was killed in Oakland on April 10, 2021, and Natasha LaTour, 46, was shot in Stockton on April 16 of that year but survived. The five men killed in Stockton this year were Paul Yaw, 35, who died July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, who died Aug. 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, who died Aug. 30; Juan Cruz, 52, who died Sept. 21; and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54, who died Sept. 27.
Police said Brownlee has a criminal history and is believed to have also lived in several cities near Stockton, but they did not give further details.
After receiving hundreds of tips, investigators located and watched the place where Brownlee was living.
“Based on tips coming into the department and Stockton Crime Stoppers, we were able to zero in on a possible suspect,” McFadden said. “Our surveillance team followed this person while he was driving."
Investigators watched his patterns and determined that he was out searching for another victim, the chief said.
“We are sure we stopped another killing,” he said.
McFadden added that Brownlee was detained after engaging in what appeared to be threatening behavior, including going to parks and dark places, stopping and looking around before driving on.
Investigators were still processing evidence and trying to identify a motive for the attacks, Officer Joseph Silva, a police spokesperson, said Sunday. Police said some victims were homeless, but not all. None were beaten or robbed, and the woman who survived said her attacker didn’t say anything.
The police chief thanked various local, state and federal agencies that took part in the investigation, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Local investigators had also worked with police in Chicago to determine whether the killings might be linked to two 2018 murders in that city’s Rogers Park neighborhood. Authorities said videos of suspects showed a man in black with a distinctive walk.
However, Chicago police said Friday that there didn’t appear to be any link.
