It was the first of eight seemingly random shootings that continued throughout New York City for more than a year afterwards. It was a year of terror, in which the streets of New York City were uncharacteristically silent at night. Scared of being the next shooting victim, people stayed home, off of the streets and out of their cars. From the summer of 1976 until the summer of 1977, fourteen people were shot in parked cars throughout the city, from the Bronx to Brooklyn. Six of them died. Creepy, cryptic letters were sent to the police and to journalists from “the Son of Sam,” claiming responsibility for the violent murders, mocking the police, and threatening more to come.