Good morning on this dry-to-drizzly Friday.

Forty years ago, David Berkowitz, known as Son of Sam, terrorized New York City in a string of attacks that left six people dead and seven others wounded.

His last victim was shot on July 31, 1977, and he was arrested a few days later.

At the time, The New York Post and The Daily News were locked in a battle for readers, and “Son of Sam” was the perfect tabloid story.

“It had absolutely everything going for it as a tabloid perfect storm,” said Sam Roberts, a reporter at The New York Times, who was the Daily News city editor in 1977. “It was an ongoing, unfolding crime story that New Yorkers were genuinely terrified about.”

Mr. Berkowitz heightened the drama by sending handwritten notes to the police and to reporters, including the columnist Jimmy Breslin.