NBC New York’s Chris Glorioso reports.
BREAKING UPDATE: Suspected Shooter in NYC, DC Serial Homeless Attacks Caught While Roaming Streets Again
The suspect in at least two attacks on Manhattan homeless men over the weekend, one of them fatal, may be linked to three attacks on homeless people in Washington D.C. earlier this month, three law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation say. One of the attacks in the nation's capital city was deadly as well.
The D.C. attacks were on March 3, March 8 and March 9. The third was fatal; the victim was found in a burning tent, having been shot and stabbed to death.
The NYPD, D.C. Metropolitan Police and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all assisting in the investigation, the sources said. D.C. police confirmed they are exploring whether the attacks are linked.
On top of tracking surveillance video, law enforcement authorities are also asking agencies along the East Coast to see if they have any similar unsolved cases, two senior law enforcement officials said Monday.
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The attacks are already having a chilling effect. Newark police said Sunday that teams of cops and outreach workers would fan out that night to warn those experiencing homelessness of the recent attacks and urge them to seek shelter.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell also stressed the all-out effort to bring the person responsible to justice in a tweet Monday morning.
NYC Homeless Men Killings
Police appear confident that one suspect was responsible for both Saturday shootings in New York City, one of which was fatal. Both of those victims were shot in Manhattan between 4:36 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday.
The suspect, pictured below, appeared to intentionally approach the first two men separately on the street and shoot them, cops say. One of the men was on Lafayette Street. He was sleeping in a sleeping bag when he was shot, police say.
According to police, security video showed the suspect, wearing all black and a black ski mask, approaching and shooting the man in the sleeping bag about 10 blocks away and 90 minutes after the first attack.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. A reward in the shooting has increased to $10,000.
Initially, a homeless man's death Sunday night in New York City was also thought to be possibly linked to the other cases. But police sources said Monday that on further investigation, there was no evidence of criminal activity.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams condemned the Saturday attacks as "horrific," and called the video chilling.
"We need to find this person, and we need New Yorkers to help us," he said.
Adams said a task force composed of police officers and a homeless outreach team would focus on finding unhoused people in the subways and other locations and would urge them to seek refuge at city-owned shelters.
In response to a recent surge in crime on the subway system, Adams implemented an aggressive enforcement campaign to clear the subways of homeless and connect them with shelters, food banks and other services, and also enforce rules barring smoking, drinking, sleeping across train seats, behaving aggressively and riding without paying fares.
In the first week, police said they had arrested 143 people in the city’s subways and removed 455 people from trains and stations.
The attacks were reminiscent of the beating deaths of four homeless men as they slept on the streets in New York’s Chinatown in the fall of 2019. Another homeless man, Randy Santos, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in those attacks.
