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Updated at 11:35 p.m. ET: Authorities are searching for a possible serial killer who has gunned down three Brooklyn business owners since the summer -- police believe the victims could have been targeted because they were Middle Eastern.
Detectives who specialize in hate crimes and FBI analysts who specialize in behavioral analysis have joined the case, authorities said.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Monday that police are trying to identify a tall, balding man with a mustache who was seen on surveillance video carrying a black duffel bag near the scene of the latest shooting. NBC 4 New York has learned the same man was also seen on video near the second shooting in August.
Authorities say two other possible witnesses seen on video have been questioned and released.
The latest victim, 78-year-old Rahmatollah Vahidipour, a Jewish man from Iran, was killed Friday in his women's clothing boutique on Flatbush Avenue.
"The possibility of a bias motive here is something that can't be excluded," Kelly said.
After the latest killing, detectives discovered the same gun was used in the fatal shootings of two other shopkeepers when ballistics matched the .22-caliber gun shell casings on all three.
On July 6, Mohamed Gebeli, 65, an Egyptian immigrant and a Muslim, was found shot in the back of his shop, Valentino Fashion Inc. On Aug. 6, Isaac Kadare, 59, also Egyptian but Jewish, was shot in the head in his store, Amazing 99 Cent Deal.
There were other similarities, authorities said: The bodies were all partially obscured by clothing or, in one case, a box. The shops all lacked surveillance cameras, and the owners were alone in the store. The locations of the shops are each about four miles apart, with addresses that contain the number eight. Money was taken from everyone but Vahidipour, who had $171 in his pocket.
"We're trying to put it together. We're talking to the FBI; we're doing an all-out effort to solve these murders," Kelly said.
Kelly said it's reasonable to think the shooter had canvassed the area to find locations where no cameras existed.
"Here you have three stores where the proprietor is there by himself, no cameras in any of these," he said. "You'd have to speculate that some sort of reconnaissance was going on before the murders took place."
Kelly said they would like the tall man to come forward and identify himself. The commissioner said no one has been named a suspect and no arrests had been made.
The killings chilled local shopkeepers.
"Pretty nerve-wracking that a serial killer is on the loose in Brooklyn. You know it's the third one with the same gun," said Howard Prince, the manager of a business near the She She Boutique. Prince said police were stressing that no one should work alone.
"I mean that's not the part that concerns me," Prince said. "The part that concerns me is you take somebody's life that's 78 years old for no reason."
Kelly said city shop owners should be alert and aware of their surroundings and should call police or 911 at the sign of trouble.
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How do they know its a serial killer. Is he leaving boxes of Captain Crunch at the seen
Sounds like somebody with an axe to grind. Perhaps an OIF or OEF vet with a hatred towards people of middle eastern descent.
New serial killer for the list!
Need to make a new card.
Yes, i make bubblegum cards for serial killers.
let the butthurt flow.
So the man is black and wears sunglasses in NYC? Must be Carmelo Anthony............
The killer could be a returning Vet with PTSD.
The sketch seems to portray a somewhat young man who looks sharp with a short hairstyle. Soldiers do have such close cropped hair. He could have joined the military, been stationed overseas, and thought that he would be returning to "home sweet home" and to the same country as it was when he left, but the country has changed. America may now seem like a foreign country with a lot more foreigners and foreign languages being spoken than when he left. Instead of feeling that "this land is your land," maybe he didn’t feel at home anymore in America because of all the strangeness and foreignness. He may feel lost and out of place like his roots, identity and past history don't exist anymore.
I hope they are looking for the owner of a local security store. If he keeps killing those without surveillance camera's, he's going to have a nice pay day when they all hire him to start installing.
I don't think a millitary man would use a .22, I think a millitary man would use a 9 millimeter. I don't think it's a millitary man.
Could of, should of, would of. Anything is possible. Who knows what this means?
Here is another possibility: could have been a turf war. Someone from one ethnic group resents that another ethnic group might be gaining in population, in popularity, and in influence and doesn't like the other ethnic group continuing to move into their neighborhood(s). What kind of neighborhood does garment district in New York City suggest? As an outsider, I wonder if the Arabs and Jews are getting along in that neighborhood. The video clip showed some ethnic dude with long braids for sideburns. Reminds me of the movie staring Adam Sandler entitled "Don't Mess With The Zohan." Reminds me off a lot of stuff; remember the Israeli agents apparently filmed while anticipating the 9-11 attack? Can't we all get along together?
Scary stuff.
I'm a cereal eater. I don't know if theres a law on the books for that but if he had a big bowl of Frosted Flakes in the other hand, we'd all be in jail.
Not me, there doesn't seem to be any truly healthy cereal on the market. If there was, I would eat it everyday. I ate Frosted Flakes when I was a kid, but now I can't find a cereal I want to eat because I want to eat healthy, but I have a very limited food group to choose from to eat healthy. I still don't think an x-millitary man would use a .22, I think a millitary man would use a 9 millimeter.
Time to allow New Yorkers to arm themselves legally to protect themselves.
For a New Yorker to protect themselves legally, wouldn't they need to step out the door in the morning armed with an Uzi, a stinger missle launcher, a load of grenades, and whatever other military weapon I am not able to think of at this moment? After all, isn't New York one the worst and most decadent places to live on the entire earth? Isn't it the most undesirable place to live in the U.S.? Don't people live there just because they are the greediest people on the planet?
Ok, here is my tip of the day: Dear FBI, go straight to the home of Kayne West. Ring the door bell. Kim Kardashian will answer the door. Tell her to call Kayne West to the door. Get your handcuffs ready.
The killer(s) has known the stores and the store owners, not random act, but meditated. The killer(s) has gone to the stores before and has done the investigation of the surrounding environment of the stores. The killer(s) has monitored the owner's routine and has waited for his prey. He knows the areas and he is very tactful, including the timing.
Condolences and prayers go to the victims' family and friends.
Perhaps "The Amazing 99 Cent Deal" was not all that amazing.
Can you say inferiority complex? I knew you could.
It's a proven fact that mustaches are an attempt to improve the self-esteem of men with inferiority complexes. Ask any psychologist.
171 dollars.....
Hmmm
Pay me a respectable fee to go undercover and if this shooter doesn't go off the grid within three months, I'll catch him and probably have to be given the legal right to shoot him when I catch him, hopefully I wouldn't have to be the one to kill him, but if the authorities gave me the right I would if it came to that situation. Considering all the turmoil in the world this should be just a minor inconvenience, which has been blown up into a big story because it happened in New York. When something bad happens in the dirt bag city of New York it's always major news.
Why, with this maniac on the loose, would any store owner consent to an interview where he and his store is identified?
Police are looking for a balding man with a moustache? Yes, I guess that would explain the drawing of a clean-shaven man with a full head of hair.
That's what I said !!!
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/duffel_man_sought_in_klyn_slay_spree_CIbjUHwPNUaiyGgi7SRZiJ?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Brooklyn
Just keep quiet like the rest of the sheep and all will be fine.
I feel very badly about the murders of 3 men who most likely have left grieving families behind. I hope the person responsible for these murders is caught quickly enough to prevent another killing.
who drew that sketch of the suspect...susan smith