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The shooting of Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti is widely recognized as the beginning of David Berkowitz’s Son of Sam killing spree. This attack introduced the core elements that would define the case: nighttime ambushes, use of a .44 caliber revolver, and targeting young women in parked vehicles. At this stage, the incident was not immediately linked to a serial offender, allowing Berkowitz to continue without early detection.
Berkowitz approached the parked car and fired multiple shots through the window without warning. The attack was sudden, targeted, and carried out at close range before he fled the scene.
Initially treated as an isolated shooting, the case did not immediately trigger a wider investigation. However, similarities to later attacks would eventually connect it to the Son of Sam series.