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Joseph Christopher was an American serial killer who was active from September 22, 1980 until his arrest on May 10, 1981. He was known as the ".22-Caliber Killer" and the "Midtown Slasher." It is believed that he killed twelve individuals and wounded numerous others, almost all of them African American with one Hispanic male. [1] The motivation behind the attacks is generally accepted to be deep pathological racism. [2]

Buffalo Murders

Joseph Christopher's homicidal rampage began on September 22, 1980 when he was twenty-five. [3] 14-year-old Glenn Dunn was shot and killed outside a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. [4] Dunn was sitting in a stolen car when he died, and witnesses described his assailant as an unidentified "white youth." [5] The next day, 32-year-old Harold Green was shot while dining at a fast-food restaurant in suburban Cheektowaga. [6] That evening, 30-year-old Emmanuel Thomas was killed by a sniper while crossing the street to his home, seven blocks from the scene of Dunn's murder. [7] On September 24, the Christopher moved to nearby Niagara Falls, where he murdered a fourth African American male, Joseph McCoy. [8]

Detectives found that all four victims were killed with the same .22-caliber gun, but they remained no closer to catching the perpetrator. [9]