Are Northern Colorado shootings 'serial' incidents?

UPDATE 4 p.m. Thursday: PD refuses to rule out Loveland shooting link

Loveland police are working with a Northern Colorado task force to establish what, if any, characteristics tie Wednesday's shooting death of 65-year-old William Connole to the already-linked attacks that killed a Windsor man and seriously injured a Milliken woman.

Regardless, residents, officials and media organizations are beginning to describe the string of incidents as "serial" shootings and even serial killings — the Twitter hashtag "#serialsniper" was featured on an HLN program last month.

So what exactly defines a "serial" shooting or killing? Definitions vary widely, but here's a few things to consider.

The FBI defines a serial murder as "the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events."

With that definition in mind, some in law enforcement — currently and formerly — have already considered the shootings serial incidents. The deaths, however, cannot yet be classified that way.

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Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith in an online statement determined the Windsor and I-25 incidents constituted "a serial shooting situation."

Ray Martinez, a former undercover narcotics detective with Fort Collins police, said the two already linked shootings, "indicates this is a serial problem. If you punch someone once, it might be an accident. A second punch is reckless. A third punch is intentional. A third event that is linked indicates you have a pattern.''

Law enforcement gathered in Loveland on Thursday afternoon for a joint briefing. At that time, the Loveland Police Department said it was engaging members of a special task force that includes the FBI, Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Windsor Police Department and Larimer and Weld District Attorney's Offices. The task force was established last week after law enforcement linked two previous shootings.

"There is no positive link...but we have not been able to rule out a link, either," said David Moore, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

But with the given definitions, it appears safe to say the already-linked shootings are serial, meaning more eyes will likely turn to Northern Colorado as this new investigation deepens.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.

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How are serial shootings defined

•The FBI defines a serial murder as "the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events."

•Merriam-Webster defines "serial" as "arranged or happening in a series of a crime; performing a series of similar acts over a period of time."

•Likewise, Oxford's criminal definition reads, "repeatedly committing the same offense and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior."

•The Associated Press Style Book — the media dictionary that helps guide many organizations' word usage — does not have established guidelines for the use of the word.

•There was even an attempt to formalize a definition. The United States Congress in 1998 passed a law that includes the definition of serial killings as "a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors."

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