News

Actions

Phoenix serial shooter likely using multiple vehicles, police say

Posted at 8:21 PM, Jul 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-26 12:38:39-04

Phoenix police said they are getting new details and tips about a serial shooter connected to seven murders. But investigators can’t release most of what they’ve learned.

Sgt. Jonathan Howard, a Phoenix police spokesman, said that releasing too much information can be just as dangerous as not enough. Take, for example, a vehicle description for the car that the suspect has been seen driving. Police have not given specifics about the vehicle and they said there’s a safety reason for withholding that information.

“Early on we had a white Lincoln/Cadillac-type vehicle [witness description]. But we've also had dark sedans. So we are trying not to have somebody focus in on one particular vehicle because we know that this suspect has access to a variety of vehicles," Howard said.

Police haven’t publicly released new information since they unveiled two composite sketches of the suspect nearly two weeks ago.

Howard said every Valley shooting, regardless of city boundary, is now investigated by Phoenix police.
    
“We have a supervisor on call 24/7 who is evaluating the information as it comes in from the scene. Obviously, we're thinking any, or all, of these shootings could be related and we're trying not to miss any,” Howard said.

On Monday, several Phoenix City Council members told ABC15 that they believe police are doing a good job.

Councilman Michael Nowakowski agrees with the positive assessment of Phoenix police, but said the community could do more. He released the following statement (in part):

"There needs to be more involvement in the neighborhood by community leaders, residents and, most importantly, elected officials. The baseline killer reward was well over $100,000, with just $30,000 being offered today for this serial shooting case, I encourage the business community to donate to the reward."

Silent Witness said it's very common for communities, organizations, businesses or individuals to contribute reward money.