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This is a hoax. Police in Monroe, Louisiana, said the reports of a serial killer on the loose are not true.
The photo included in the post did not show a man named Jaden Williams. It showed Shannon Atkins, who was arrested Jan. 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, after making violent threats on social media against President Donald Trump.
The Better Business Bureau warns people against these kinds of bait-and-switch scams. The social media posts initially warn of criminal activity in an area, but once shared, scammers change the posts to deceptive ads for rental properties, for example.
A recent Facebook post painted an alarming picture: an armed serial killer on the loose endangering residents of a northern Louisiana city.
The Feb. 2 post showed a screenshot of another Facebook post from a Monroe, Louisiana, rental and housing group that claimed the serial killer was targeting people in that community. It included a photo of the supposed suspect.
"Warning: Alert! Please lock your doors properly and stay vigilant. A Dangerous Serial Killer Jaden Williams (49) is breaking into people’s houses and murdering them in cold blood here in #monroe," the post read. "Warn others! He has many counts for child abduction. He is also going around preying on elderly people, spray painting and vandalizing parked vehicles. He ruthless and very dangerous. Jaden is armed so if you see him please do not approach just call the police. Let’s bump this post and help warn others."
But this is a hoax.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
The Monroe Police Department addressed this rumor in a Feb. 2 post on its Facebook page.
"We’ve seen a false post circulating online claiming there is a serial killer in the Monroe area. We want to assure the public that this information is not true," the police department wrote. "We take all safety concerns seriously, and there is no ongoing threat of this nature in our community."
The photo included in the Facebook post is authentic, but it doesn’t show someone named Jaden Williams.
PolitiFact conducted a reverse-image search of the photo using Google Images and found it shows Shannon Atkins, a 46-year-old man who was arrested Jan. 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, after making violent threats on social media against President Donald Trump.
We’ve fact-checked similar false claims about at-large serial killers and missing children in multiple neighborhoods.
The Better Business Bureau has warned about these kinds of bait-and-switch scams before. They work like this: Someone is scrolling through Facebook and sees a post about a wanted serial killer. The person shares the post. But after the person shares the post, the scammer changes the post to something, such as a deceptive rental ad.
"These bait-and-switch ads aim to either get a deposit for a rental property before the user gets a chance to see the home — or get your personal information, which could lead to identity theft," the Better Business Bureau said in a November 2024 article. "This scheme has many variations, but the commonality is the emotionality or urgency of the message that encourages concerned people to share the news with their friends."
We rate the claim that a photo shows "a dangerous serial killer" named Jaden Williams in Monroe, Louisiana, False.
Facebook post, Feb. 2, 2025
Monroe Police Department, Facebook post, Feb. 2, 2025
Reverse-image search using Google Images, Feb. 3, 2025
WFLX-TV, "West Palm Beach man arrested for making violent threats to Trump on social media," Jan. 25, 2025
Better Business Bureau, "BBB Scam Alert: Facebook scams in local buy and sell groups are on the rise," Nov. 5, 2024
PolitiFact, "Don’t fall for Facebook posts warning about purported, wanted serial killer Jeffrey Thomas," Jan. 24, 2025
PolitiFact, "This viral social media photo does not show a missing child in Pike County, Missouri," July 2, 2024
PolitiFact, "Posts about unidentified child supposedly "found" in several cities aren’t authentic," Jan. 6, 2025
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.