STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Ballistics tests have linked the fatal shootings of six men and the wounding of one woman in California — all potentially at the hands of a serial killer — in crimes going back more than a year, police said.

Authorities last week announced that five men in Stockton had been slain in recent months, ambushed and shot to death alone in the dark. Late Monday, police said two additional cases last year — a man's death in Oakland and the non-fatal shooting of a woman in Stockton — had been tied to those killings.

“It definitely meets the definition of a serial killer,” said Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva. “What makes this different is the shooter is just looking for an opportunity, and unfortunately our victims were alone in a dark area.”

Police would not say whether all seven shootings had been linked to the same gun.

In the fatal Stockton cases, none of the men was robbed or beaten before the killings — which all took place within a radius of a few square miles between July 8 and Sept. 27 — and none appeared to have known each other, Silva said. The shootings also do not seem to be related to gangs or drugs.

The other Stockton crime — in which a 46-year-old woman was shot but survived her injuries — occurred April 16, 2021, around 3:20 a.m., police said. The woman was also alone at the time.

The shooting death of a 40-year-old man in Oakland has also been connected to the violence in Stockton, police said. The man was shot to death around 4:15 a.m. on April 10, 2021. It was not immediately clear whether the man was also unaccompanied when he was killed.

The city of Stockton, Stockton Crime Stoppers and a local construction company owner offered a total of $95,000 for information leading to an arrest in the slayings.

Police released a grainy still image of a “person of interest," dressed all in black and wearing a black cap, who appeared in videos from several of the homicide crime scenes in Stockton.

The San Joaquin County’s Office of the Medical Examiner identified the Stockton victims on Monday as Paul Yaw, 35, who was killed on July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, who died on Aug. 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, who died on Aug. 30; Juan Cruz, 52, who was killed on Sept. 21 and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54.

Lopez was shot shortly before 2 a.m. on Sept. 27 in a residential area just north of downtown.

He “was just a person who was out here at the wrong place, at the wrong time, at the wrong circumstance,” his brother, Jerry Lopez, told KXTV-TV. “It’s hard to process that this has happened.”

There may even be multiple people involved in the violence.

“To be honest, we just don’t know,” Silva said. “This person or people who are out doing this, they are definitely very bold and brazen.”

Police said four of the Stockton homicide victims were walking alone and a fifth was in a parked car when they were killed in the evening or early morning in the city of 320,000 residents, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the state capital, Sacramento.

A family has been reunited with its dog more than a decade after it went missing after the animal was found in rural California earlier this month.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said that it received a call on Feb. 10 that a dog had been "dropped off on a rural property" outside of Stockton, California.

According to SJCSO, Animal Services Officer Brandon Levin responded to the scene, where he found a dog that was "old and unwell."

Levin scanned the dog for a tracking chip and found that the dog, Zoey, had been reported missing in Lafayette, California, in 2010. Stockton is located more than 50 miles east of Lafayette.

Zoey's owners had since moved to another town in California but had luckily kept the same phone number listed on the microchip.

Zoey's owner, identified by the SJCSO as Michelle, was stunned when she got a call that her dog had been found. In fact, the SJCSO says that the company that keeps microchip records had listed Zoey as "deceased" since 2015.

"I'm still in shock. I definitely didn't expect this to ever happen, so I'm really excited," Michelle told the SJCSO.

Michelle added that her family had adopted Zoey from the pound and had her for about six months before she went missing in 2010.

"We went to the store for about 20 minutes and came back, and she was missing," Michelle told the SJCSO.

Zoey returned home with Michelle, where the animal share the home with the family's other dog, which is also 13 years old.

STOCKTON, Calif. —

Two employees at Stockton Unified School District in Stockton, California, are being credited for helping save a family from a burning home.

The two spotted a house on fire across the street from an elementary school on Friday.

"We were on our home visit ... so we were heading down that way and we see smoke, and I'm thinking, 'Oh it's somebody barbequing, something happened or someone's burning paper,' but as we get closer we see smoke coming out of a window and its black smoke," Sally Forgach, a truancy outreach specialist with SUSD recalled.

Forgach said she and Markis Scrivens pulled over when they saw two women and a baby stuck in their yard.

"They can't get out ... They had a rod iron gate and the gate's not opening. It's locked and they don't have the keys to unlock the gate," Forgach told sister station KCRA.

The two helped hand the baby over the fence. But they had to convince the grandmother to leave the burning home.

Forgach recalled that she told Scrivens he needed other men to help get them out.

"Across the street was Harrison Elementary, and I think they were on recess so there were some staff there. He shouted out to them and they came across the street and they were yanking on the gate," Forgach said. "They were pulling on it until finally, they got it off its hinges."

She explained there was a language barrier, but that they tried their best to calm the family down. Scrivens ran into the yard and grabbed the mother and convinced the grandmother to leave, she said.

No one was seriously injured in the fire. The fire department arrived and put out the fire.

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It was one of the family's daughter's birthday on Friday when the fire broke out, Forgach said. SUSD gave gift cards and other resources to the family.

"It was a community effort, thanking everyone who helped, the firefighters, the staff at Harrison Elementary. It wasn't just one person. It was a community effort," Forgach said. "It's about the community helping each other in a time of crisis."

Stockton, California, police said that an arrest was made after a man was shot seven times in what authorities had been investigating as a possible hate crime. The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office confirmed later that it will be moving forward with hate crime charges.Detectives with the Stockton Police Department arrested Michael Hayes, 31, in connection with the Friday shooting of 45-year-old Bobby Gayle Jr., a news release said. Hayes was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail and is facing attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and weapons charges.“I would like to thank the anonymous tipster and the hard work of our detectives for bringing a quick resolution to this case for the victim and his family,” Stockton police Chief Eric Jones said in a prepared statement. “Gun violence is not tolerated in our community.”Part of Friday night's violence was captured in surveillance footage obtained by KCRA 3. Bobby, a cement mason, was preparing to do some work with a friend near the Wells Fargo Bank on Pacific Avenue near Rivara Road when a driver going backward almost hit them, said Bobby's brother, Dr. Marlon Gayle."My brother threw his hands up, was like, 'Hey, man, slow down. What's going on, like slow down,'" Marlon said. “And the guy got out his truck, parked his truck, got out, and he started saying the 'n' word and just started shooting."Bobby is seen on the right of the video holding his hands up as a gunman on the left shoots. Marlon said two of the shots hit Bobby in his face.Even though he was injured in the shooting, Bobby managed to call for his brother, Marlon recalled, and played a voicemail that said, "Marlon, I've been shot. Pray for me. I swear to God. Please. In the name of Jesus. Hallelujah."Marlon said none of the bullets pierced any major arteries. He is expected to survive.Gayle remains in the hospital, but his family said he's recovering."I'm in pain a little bit right now. But it's a good pain and just I can feel myself being carried by the lord. This is the lord's work. My brother wants me to slow down — I can't go back out there and work," Gayle said in a recorded video to KCRA 3.The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office said Hayes could be arraigned on Monday.

STOCKTON, Calif. — Mannequins floating in water near a California highway were mistaken for bodies and prompted people to call 911.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) – Stockton posted photos of the plastic models and reassured the Stockton community that nobody was harmed.

CHP told KOVR that officers received a 911 call around 8 a.m. Monday from a trucker who spotted the mannequin carnage.

CHP Officer Ruben Jones told KOVR that the incident was taken very seriously, since homicides have surged in the area over the last year.

But once officers realized real humans weren’t involved, they got the green light to have a little fun with the situation online.

CHP jokingly posted on Facebook about “the Stockton Kraken” getting revenge on Valentine’s Day. Officers hoped the community would find humor in the situation, as they did.

"Sometimes we see the worst scenarios in different situations, but this one we got a good laugh out of it and a good chuckle,” Jones told KOVR.

The mannequins were quickly removed from the water, so others wouldn’t mistake them for bodies.

As for where they came from, that remains a mystery. Though, authorities say litter is often found in the area.

Saturday marked a major milestone for one Stockton, California, man. As one of the longest-living veterans of World War II, Maj. William White celebrated his 106th birthday with a parade down the street he calls home.

“I can’t think of enough words to express my thanks,” said Maj. White, staring at the many cars full of people passing by celebrating his birthday.

The highly decorated veteran was entertaining others at his celebration by telling stories of his experiences in combat.

"My most memorable moment was when the flag was raised over Iwo Jima,” said Maj. White.

Surrounded by his two daughters, as well as his many grand and great-grandchildren, he beamed with love as people from across the city drove by playing music, waving and yelling out their well-wishes.

“It is an honor and we’re so thankful to everyone who showed up,” said Maj. White's eldest daughter, Mary Houston.

"He just has a youthful spirit, he's a joy to be around and we’re lucky to have him,” said Blaine Lyons, executive director at The Oaks Assisted Living Center.

“Surviving World War II as a U.S. Marine is truly amazing, he's a national treasure,” Lyons said.

Born in 1915, and joining the military in 1934, Maj. White has proudly dawned his Marine dress blues for decades.

“Maj. White is just what it symbolizes to be a Marine,” said Miraya Alvarado, with the Stockton Marine Corps. Club, and sergeant in the Marine Corps.

“To get to this age and still be recognized is very important,” Alvarado said.

Maj. White's daughters told sister station KCRA that Veteran Affairs informed their family that their father is one of the three longest-living World War II veterans.