Stockton, California police arrest suspect in serial killings

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) – A man suspected of killing six men and wounding a woman in Northern California was arrested before dawn Saturday as he apparently sought out another victim, police said.

Acting on tips and police work, investigators followed and watched the man and pulled him over in a car around 2 a.m. in Stockton, where five shootings occurred, Police Chief Stanley McFadden said at a news conference.

Wesley Brownlee, 43, of Stockton, was dressed in black, had a mask around his neck, had a gun and “was hunting,” McFadden said.

“We are sure that we have stopped another murder,” he added.

It was not immediately clear if Brownlee had an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Police were searching for a man dressed in black who was captured on video at several crime scenes in Stockton, where five men were ambushed and shot dead between July 8 and September 27. Four were walking, and one was in a parked car.

Police believe the same person is responsible for killing a man 70 miles away in Oakland in April 2021 and wounding a homeless woman in Stockton a week later.

Investigators said ballistics tests and video evidence linked the crimes.

Authorities said they received hundreds of tips after announcing the manhunt.

No suspected motive was given for the attack, but McFadden said the killer appeared to be “on a mission.” Police said some of the victims were homeless, but not all. No one was beaten or robbed, and the woman who survived says her attacker didn’t say anything.

The FBI and various police agencies, including Chicago, assisted in the investigation, McFadden said.

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