We were so scared.

Cowering in fear is anathema to Bronx residents. We’re bred to be tough; why walk when you can swagger?

Son of Sam changed that. Serial killer David Berkowitz, who murdered six people and wounded at least seven, started in his home borough in 1976, before branching out to Brooklyn and Queens. The killings peaked in 1977 and terrorized a broken city, already filled with violence and teetering on bankruptcy.

Berkowitz’s crimes and his motivation are detailed in a three-part documentary series, Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, on Netflix July 30. (There’s no significant date being commemorated. The closest temporal tie is slight; the series drops the day after the 49th anniversary of his first killing.)

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger created the Conversations

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