WINDSOR — Authorities said Friday the killing of a 48-year-old bicyclist in Windsor earlier this month and the April shooting of a woman driving on Interstate 25 through Larimer County are connected.

The two victims appear to have been randomly targeted, officials say, and two shots were fired in each case. The announcement was made at Windsor Police Department headquarters during a brief news conference with authorities from Weld and Larimer counties and the FBI.

Windsor Police Chief John Michaels said there is evidence that links the two shootings.

“The type of evidence I will not discuss,” he said. “I will keep that for the integrity of the investigation.”

“There is no indication” the two victims knew each other, Michaels said.

He said the two shootings had not been linked to cases of broken windshields in northern Colorado, which have raised speculation and several reports over the last month. Officials have said they believe the bulk of those incidents were caused by road debris.

A task force has been formed to investigate the shootings and includes the FBI, Windsor police, Weld County prosecutors and the sheriff’s offices of Weld and Larimer counties.

Michaels declined to comment on whether the two shootings could be characterized as sniper attacks.

The FBI has offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case, and another $2,000 is offered by Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers.

John Jacoby, a part-time park caretaker and King Sooper’s bagger well-known around the small town of Windsor, was gunned down on May 18. He was found dead by a passing motorist along Weld County Road 15, a sparsely traveled highway lined with farm fields. Jacoby, who was developmentally delayed, was pronounced dead at the scene, and officials say he was shot twice.

Cori Romero, a 20-year-old Milliken woman, was shot April 22 in the neck as she drove southbound through Larimer County on Interstate 25 near Windsor.

Romero was able to stop her vehicle and call 911. Authorities say her driver’s side window was shattered.

“That’s crazy,” Romero’s mother said Friday after the news broke of the connection between the shootings. “I don’t know what to think.”

Jacoby’s family could not be immediately reached for comment.

“It’s not surprising that the FBI is getting involved,” said Troy Eid, who served as Colorado’s U.S. Attorney from 2006 to 2009. “I’m not surprised to hear the two shootings are linked. When you think about it, it’s a very rare event. It’s pretty serious. It is something that could cause pretty serious concern among a lot of people.”

Eid said federal prosecution in the case isn’t imminent just because of the involvement of federal agents. It’s likely, he said, the FBI was called in just to add another tool to the investigation.

“They don’t mess around,” he said.

Thomas P. Ravenelle, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver office, said at the Windsor news conference that federal authorities can provide additional manpower and will assist as needed.

“We will not release ballistic information,” said David Moore, a spokesman for the Larimer County sheriff’s office said. “It’s just too vital to the investigation.”

Authorities are asking anyone with information on either of the shootings to call Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Officials say tipsters can also contact a local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate.

Michaels said officials still want to talk with anyone who was on CR 15 between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.

“We need the public’s assistance — any information whatsoever. People often think of something but dismiss it as insignificant. They have to tell us and let us decide if it’s beneficial.”