LOVELAND — The law enforcement task force investigating a series of roadway shootings in northern Colorado is now looking into whether a recent fourth attack is related, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities also appealed for the public’s help in finding a “vehicle of interest” in that fourth shooting in Loveland, which the task force said was “likely” linked to the fatal shooting of 65-year-old William Connole.

Connole was gunned down June 3, the same night and at roughly the same time as the fourth shooting, but just two miles away. The victim in that incident was shot at but not injured, authorities said.

The other shootings happened in the past three months. The multi-agency task force stressed, however, that so far it had found “no indication of a direct link” between the Loveland shootings June 3 and the two previous shootings in northern Colorado, one of which left a bicyclist in Windsor dead.

The four shootings have left many in Larimer and Weld counties on edge, even prompting the cancellation of a triathlon. The organizer said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution.

The task force released the new information at a news conference Tuesday outside the Loveland Police Department.

The fourth shooting

David Moore, a spokesman for the task force, said the group “continues to vigorously pursue any and all leads related to this investigation.” The task force includes Windsor police, Loveland police, the FBI, and the Weld and Larimer county sheriff’s offices.

In the fourth shooting, authorities say, a person late last week reported to the task force that he or she was shot at — but not injured — in the area of Denver Avenue and East Eisenhower Boulevard in Loveland. The victim has not been identified.

Moore declined to release details, including why it took so long for the victim to come forward.

“Investigators believe it is likely these two incidents are related and (are) seeking information about this vehicle of interest,” he said at the briefing.

Authorities say the vehicle is a 1970s model full-size, single-cab Chevrolet or GMC pickup that is faded orange. Officials believe it is a 1973-1979 model General Motors pickup based on the round headlight shape. The pickup has black primer on the driver’s side body, police said.

The vehicle description was obtained, Moore said, after investigators canvassed the area following Connole’s slaying.

“Ultimately, we need someone to call the task force with information about this pickup,” Moore said.

The task force was formed last month after officials linked the killing of John Jacoby, who was shot twice while bicycling along a county road in Windsor, and the April 22 wounding of Cori Romero, who was shot in the neck while driving on Interstate 25. Authorities said evidence, which has not been disclosed, connected the two incidents.

“The tough thing about a case like this is (that) without evidence, you’re really just kind of thrashing around in the dark,” Jim Davis, who was in charge of the FBI’s Denver bureau from 2008 to 2011, said of random shooting investigations in general. “Anything where there is no motive, you lose the ability to go to a logical set of suspects. You’re just dealing with everybody. It could be anybody at that point.”

He added: “You’re hoping that you catch something on a security camera, that somebody saw something. The really hard part is trying to find anything else that will tie back to the shooter.”

Authorities say there appears to be no links between the victims.

Relatives of Jacoby, who had developmental disabilities, and Connole — described as a loving father and grandfather — expressed shock at the deaths. They said the two men had no enemies.

Romero and her family, in interviews with several media outlets, have expressed similar bewilderment at why the 20-year-old was targeted on I-25.

Connole’s granddaughter, 15-year-old Sadie Rogers, told he Loveland Reporter-Herald after his death: “He just did everything for everyone that he could.”

Police dispatch archives show that first responders who arrived this month to the spot where Connole lay dying on a sidewalk initially thought he had been hit by a car. A dispatcher described Connole as “bleeding uncontrollably” before officers tried resuscitating him.

As authorities sought a description of a vehicle in what appeared to be a hit-and-run, an officer at the scene made a startling discovery, the archives show.

He told other responders, “We’ve got a casing on the floor here, guys.”

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul

Reward offered

The FBI has doubled the reward for information leading to an arrest, prosecution and conviction in the shootings to $20,000.

The task force said it is interested in talking to anyone near East First Street and St. Louis Avenue in Loveland between 10 and 11 p.m. June 3, the time Connole was gunned down.

Authorities say they also want to speak with a motorist who was driving a white Ford SUV on May 18 near Weld County roads 72 and 15, where Jacoby was slain. Authorities believe this person may have important witness information.

The task force tip line number is 970-498-5595 and their e-mail is taskforce@larimer.org.