PicoSync

A serial shooter, or perhaps shooters, is on the loose in Phoenix, and police have told residents to be vigilant after linking a seventh homicide and three other shootings to the same person or people thought to be responsible for killing six others in recent months, police reported Tuesday.

The latest victim has been identified as 55-year-old Krystal Annette White. She was found dead early April 19 along a street east of downtown after neighbors reportedly heard gunshots.

That location is miles away from the Maryvale neighborhood where the other shootings occurred between April 1 and June 12. But after reviewing evidence, police say the shooting deaths are linked and are now urging residents to be extra cautious because of the wider geographical area. Police are reviewing all incidents since January that they think might be related.

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White’s death comes days after the sixth victim, 33-year-old Stefanie Ellis, died of injuries she sustained from a June 12 shooting, police say. She and two others were shot in front of a home.

The victims, including two women and a 12-year-old girl, were shot outside their homes or near their cars sometime during the evening or early hours when it was still dark outside.

A sketch of the perpetrator, who has been nicknamed the “serial street shooter,” has recently been released.

The city of Phoenix Police Department listed the timeline of events on their Facebook page, promising to continue to “aggressively investigate the series of unsolved homicides that have occurred in west Phoenix.”

“Someone out there knows who did this,” Police Chief Joe Yahner said. Police have yet to identify a possible motive.

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The shootings have shaken residents, and parents are especially worried, but the community has remained resilient and has united amid the tragedies. Residents gathered last week alongside community leaders and law enforcement officials outside the Maryvale Community Center for a candlelit vigil, according to the Arizona Central.

“It’s hard to process. But this does not define our community,” Biri Hernandez, 25, told local media. Hernandez reportedly said that her husband’s cousin was killed in a June 10 shooting.

The Silent Witness Program has offered $30,000 for information related to the case. “I remind people that we are a resilient community,” District 5 Council member Daniel Valenzuela told community members. “We look out for one another, take care of one another.

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