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Former FBI agent: Serial Phoenix shooter could have grudge against shooting areas

Posted at 6:49 PM, Jul 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-15 21:02:07-04

On Thursday, Phoenix police released a new sketch of the murder suspect now called the Serial Street Shooter. The new composite drawing comes from information provided by a new witness in one of the cases.

RELATED: 5 things to know about the Phoenix serial shootings

So, who is this attacker?

Former FBI special agent and criminal profiler Brad Garrett said there are some conclusions he can draw about the suspect based on the facts.

The murders are seemingly indiscriminate.

Seven people have been murdered, including a 12-year-old girl, and there are nine total victims. So far, police have identified eight crime scenes -- more than half of which are in Maryvale.

“His motivation may well be some anger, rage, issue in reference to that part of the city, a history that he had years ago. It will probably not make any sense once it's determined, but that's what drives these folks,” said Garrett.

The killer is almost certainly obsessed with news coverage about himself.

“They may be keeping newspaper clippings, video, etc. because this has now become their identity.”

FULL COVERAGE: Phoenix serial shootings

After each attack, the suspect likely has a routine similar to other serial offenders in high-profile cases.

“Many of these kind of shooters in the past missed work the next day. They change their appearance. They talk about these events a little too much because they're so excited about them,” said Garrett.

Six of the seven murders have been in Maryvale. The question now isn’t if or when, but where the killer will strike next.

“A number of people have been killed in the Maryvale area. That's now heated up with police…” said Garrett, explaining why serial killers often move from one target area to the next. “So he displaces to another location where that isn't happening and he'll commit a number of acts in those locations, potentially, until they heat up and he'll move on again until he's caught.”