After the gunman killed for more than a year, the Stockton neighbourhood was under tension when police on Saturday announced an arrest in connection with the central California serial killings.

According to Stockton police, the location of the suspect, Wesley Brownlee, 43, was made available by tips from the general public. Detectives were monitoring Brownlee’s movements and driving behind him around two on Saturday morning.

Also read: Stockton serial killings: Police arrest suspect Wesley Brownlee

They “determined early this morning he was on a mission to kill. He was out hunting ,” Stanley McFadden, the chief of the Stockton Police Department, stated at a press conference on Saturday.

“We are sure we stopped another killing,” McFadden said. The suspect was holding a weapon and was dressed in dark clothing and a mask.

Police have linked seven shootings—six of which ended in fatalities—to the case using ballistics and video evidence. The attacks started in 2021.

Also read: Stockton killings: 5 active serial killers in the United States

Who is Wesley Brownlee?

Wesley Brownlee is a 43-year-old man arrested in relation to the Stockton serial killings.

Police determined around 2 am. on Saturday Brownlee was “out hunting” and “on a mission to kill,” according to Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden.

“His patterns were consistent with some of the patterns that we have seen,” McFadden said. “(He was) around parks, around dark places, stopping, looking around, moving again. And at that point, we thought, for the safety of the public, it was best to take this person in.”

Also read: Serial killer on the loose in Stockton? Cops find pattern in recent murders

Brownlee was arrested as a suspect in five shootings in Stockton, which resulted in homicides, between July 8 and September 27 which the police believe were related.

According to the officials, all five victims were shot either in the late evening or early morning. One white male, age 35, and four Hispanic men, ages 21 to 54, made up the other two victims.

Also read: Stockton serial killings: What police know so far

In addition, two early morning shootings from 2021—one deadly on April 10, 2021, of a 40-year-old Hispanic male in Oakland, and another on April 16, 2021, of a 46-year-old Black woman in Stockton—were also connected to the spate of attacks, authorities claimed earlier this month.

The suspect has a criminal past although the motive behind the Stockton killings was not revealed by the police.