City officials: Jeri Williams chosen as Phoenix police chief

A string of shootings in Phoenix, Arizona, has left seven dead and two wounded since March. On March 18, the killer shot and injured a 21-year-old man.

The suspect is a lanky Hispanic male under 5 feet, 10 inches tall, said Sgt. Jonathan Howard of the Phoenix Police Department.

June 12, 2016: At approximately 3:00 a.m., Angela Linner, Maleah Ellis, and Stefanie Ellis were shot and killed in front of a home in the area of 6300 W. Berkeley Rd.

Prior to Tuesday’s announcements, all of those believed to have been killed by the shooter were targeted within the area between 55th and 67th avenues and Campbell Avenue and McDowell Road in the Maryvale area of west Phoenix.

Authorities have released a sketch of the suspect, described by witnesses as a light-skinned Latino or white man in his 20s.

Police are hunting for a serial killer terrorizing the Phoenix area. One attack claimed the life of a 12-year-old. Victims have been shot at night, many outside of their homes with the killer using a handgun, arriving and departing in a sedan. The teen was killed in June, and is one of a growing number of victims associated with a serial killer according to police.

“I’m honored to have served the Oxnard community for the past five-and-a-half years”, said Chief Williams.

An urgent manhunt continued today in Phoenix, as authorities provided new details and chased leads hoping to find out who has been killing people seemingly at random.

So far, officers have not identified a motive, unsettling Maryvale residents who say gunfire at night is relatively routine but call the latest killings scarier because they’re not attributed to the neighborhood’s longstanding problems with drug violence and gang members settling scores.

Ellis was hit by 14 bullets, including in the stomach, chest, nose, chin and through the head. Ellis later succumbed to her injuries.

There have been no related shootings since June 12.

Both the police and the FBI are investigating the shootings, and Silent Witness is offering a reward of up to $30,000 to anyone with information.