http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38630490...ws-detroit_mi/
FLINT, Mich. ? Two cities halfway across the country are on high alert after police said a serial killer committing racially motivated crimes has crossed state borders.
Police in Flint, Mich., and Leesburg, Va., said the same man who is responsible for the stabbing death of five men and wounding at least another nine men in Michigan since May stabbed three more men in Virginia last week.
The 16th victim told police on Monday that he was assaulted on July 27 while walking on Pierson Road around 3 a.m. The suspect approached the victim and stabbed him repeatedly.
Police say the method of assault is similar to the other attacks. The suspect lured in the victim by asking for help with his car.
The last reported stabbing by the attacker was on Friday evening in Virginia, police said.
Investigators said that in most cases, the serial killer is targeting small-framed African-American men.
After the word went out that the man was on the loose in Flint, detectives in Leesburg, Va., reached out to the Michigan State Police on Sunday and began sharing information.
Leesburg police said three separate incidents in the past week may be linked to the Flint serial killer. The first incident was on Tuesday evening when a 15-year-old was stabbed, police said.
The second incident was last Thursday, when a 67-year-old man was followed into the lobby of his apartment complex, police said.
The man told police that suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back. He said he turned around and saw a man attacking him.
Both men remain hospitalized. The 67-year-old man lost a kidney as a result of the attack, police said.
The third incident was on Friday evening. A 19-year-old was approached by a man from behind and hit with a hammer. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the first two men are African-American and the third victim was Hispanic.
Leesburg police said they also believe the crimes are racially motivated and that in the last instance, the serial stabber yelled obscenities. He would not go into detail about what the serial killer said.
Investigators think there may be a link in the stabbings is because the perpetrator's vehicle description is similar and so are the physical characteristics.
Advertisement | ad infoThe serial killer is described as a white man in his late 20s to early 30s, about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall with a heavy or muscular build. He may have light-colored hair and usually wears a baseball cap during the attacks.
Many of the victims have described his vehicle as a dark green, possibly two-toned Chevrolet Blazer or GMC Jimmy.
Leesburg police said that in the attack at the apartment complex, surveillance cameras captured the attacker's vehicle, which police identified as a green 1995 to late 2000 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, with lighter-colored panels. Also, the vehicle did not have any VA required inspection stickers or a front license plate tag.
Police said that in all the cases, the victims were alone and vulnerable.
On Saturday night, a church custodian taking a cigarette break in Toledo, Ohio, was stabbed. Police have said they do not think the attacks are related, but they are looking into the possibility.
The Flint police have stepped up their patrols and resources in order to find the killer, said Genesee County prosecuting attorney David Leyton during a news conference Monday.
Leyton said a MSP-led task force, which includes detectives from Flint and Burton Townships, has been established. Fourteen investigators have been assigned to work full-time on the case and nearly 175 tips have poured in as of Monday afternoon.
A 24-hour tip line has been established to coordinate all tips that the public may have. Anyone with information is asked to call 866-246-9500.