It is early 1977 and New York is in a state of panic. For a year, a serial killer has been roaming the streets. He has no known name or face; the public cannot identify it. It could be the neighbor next door or the person who delivers their mail every morning. Maybe he's the one who always complains about the dog barking in the street. Or maybe, just maybe, he is both. But to New York State, he's known simply as the ".44 Killer," named after his weapon of choice. That afternoon, someone opens their newspaper and discovers astonishing news: the killer has finally given himself a name in a letter written to the police. The .44-caliber killer, whose true identity would not be known to police for several months, said he would be called the Son of Sam. The Son of Sam, or David Berkowitz as it would eventually be revealed, had debuted on July 29, 1976. It was late at night and two young women were talking in their car when, to their surprise, David shot them both, killing one. Since this was the first of the attacks, the police assumed it was an isolated, random incident (Newton 16). When the killer continued to strike, usually shooting young women or couples in the middle of the night, the public began to notice a pattern. In an attempt to protect themselves from becoming the serial killer's next target, many women "cut their hair, wore hats to hide it, or wore them regularly" since it seemed his targets were usually "women with long, brown hair” (Cannon). Apparently in an attempt to taunt them, Sam's son began writing letters to newspapers and the police. This prompted New York Daily News reporter Jimmy Breslin to comment that Son of Sam was "...... middle of paper ......p://sks.sirs.com.nctproxy .mnpals.net/cgi -bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN13484-0-5039&artno=0000109805&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=son%20of%20sam&title=Crime%20Stories%20of%20the%20Century&res=Y&ren=N&go>. Chan, Sewell. "30 years since Sam's Summer." New York Times August 6, 2007. Web. November 20, 2013. .Dodenhoff, Peter. “An unforgettable summer.” John Jay 2007: 7-9. Internet. November 20, 2013. .McFadden, Robert D. “Postal Worker Found Through Car Suspected of Being Used in Getaways.” » New York Times August 10, 1977: A1. Internet. November 20, 2013. .Newton, Michael. “BERKOWITZ, David Richard.” The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. 2nd ed. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. 16-19. Internet. November 14. 2013.