Just recently there was some post floating around FaceBook, saying that there was a serial killer on the loose in Buffalo. As it turns out, the Buffalo Police released a statement, saying that it's not true and that it was just a rumor. Although that turned out to be the case this time, back in the 80s, it was a different story.

I remember growing up on the east side of Buffalo and hearing about a white man that was going around black neighborhoods and killing black people. We were young teenagers at the time and when the story first hit the streets, we thought it was a rumor back then too. As it turns out, it was not a rumor, it was very real. Joseph Gerard Christopher began his killing spree in Buffalo in the 80s and he is believed to be linked to at least 12 murders in our city.

Joeseph got the nickname "22 Caliber Killer" because he used a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic rifle. I remember my parents telling me not to leave the street, play in front of the house, and being in before the street lights came on took on a whole new meaning. This was something that still sits fresh in my mind, remembering the confusion I had as a youth of why a white man was running about killing people that weren't white.

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Some of my friends made jokes about it, because to us, in the beginning, it seemed like something you would only hear about on TV in a movie. When the story actually came out that this was not a game, we took it very seriously.

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