Shootings Targeting Homeless Men In New York And Washington, DC Are Linked, Police Say – CNN

The first shooting happened around 4 a.m. on March 3 in the 1100 block of New York Avenue Northeast, the MPD said in an earlier statement Sunday. Officers responded to a call of shots fired and found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. He was treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries, the statement said.

The second shooting was reported around 1:21 a.m. on March 8 in the 1700 block of H Street Northeast, MPD said. Officers found another man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and he was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Then, around 2:54 a.m. on March 9, an MPD member noticed a fire in the 400 block of New York Avenue Northeast and a man’s remains were discovered after the flames were extinguished.

“As a result of an autopsy, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was multiple stab and gunshot wounds,” the MPD statement said.

On Saturday, the NYPD said an armed suspect had opened fire on two apparently homeless people who were sleeping on the streets of New York City, killing one and wounding the other.

The shootings happened about 90 minutes apart in Lower Manhattan and were caught on surveillance footage, the department said.

Video of the first shooting shows a man who appeared to be homeless sleeping near the corner of King Street and Varick when an unknown suspect approached and shot him in his forearm, NYPD Deputy Chief Commanding Officer Henry Sautner said during a news conference Saturday. The man woke up and shouted, “What are you doing?” at the shooter, who then ran away, Sautner added.

Police were called to the scene around 4:30 a.m. Saturday and the 38-year-old victim was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Later Saturday, investigators became aware of a second shooting outside of 148 Lafayette Street. Officers found a man in a sleeping bag with gunshot wounds to his head and neck, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, Sautner said. Surveillance video shows a suspect approaching the sleeping victim around 6:00 a.m. and discharging a weapon, Sautner said.

“From the first incident, the Metropolitan Police has spared no resource in our efforts to identify the suspect behind these cowardly acts,” said MPD Chief Robert Contee. “We are committed to sharing every investigative path, clue and piece of evidence with our law enforcement partners to bring this investigation to a swift conclusion and the individual behind these vicious crimes to justice.”

“Our homeless population is one of our most vulnerable and an individual praying on them as they sleep is an exceptionally heinous crime,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “We will use every tool, every technique and every partner to bring the killer to justice.”

Authorities are offering a total of $55,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect, with the MPD offering a reward of up to $25,000, the NYPD offering $10,000, and the ATF Washington Field Division contributing an additional $20,000.

“One of these shootings occurred within blocks of our Washington DC headquarters,” ATF Director Marvin Richardson said. “We have used our advanced ATF systems to conduct real-time analysis backed up by our ATF National Lab in Maryland to expedite the evidence and assist in the investigations and Washington DC and New York City. Our three agencies are one team,” he said.

Shootings are ‘heinous crimes,’ mayors say

In their joint statement Sunday, New York Mayor Eric Adams and Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shootings “heinous crimes” and called on residents to report any information that could help the investigation.

“The work to get this individual off our streets before he hurts or murders another individual is urgent. The rise in gun violence has shaken all of us and it is particularly horrible to know that someone is out there deliberately doing harm to an already vulnerable population,” they said.

The mayors also called on residents who are homeless to seek shelter.

“It is heartbreaking and tragic to know that in addition to all the dangers that unsheltered residents face, we now have a cold-blooded killer on the loose, but we are certain that we will get the suspect off the street and into police custody,” they said.

“This was an intentional murder. This individual approached the two men, one at a time, you see him looking around, making sure no one was around, kicking the homeless person to make sure they were not asleep and just assassinated him,” Adams said at a separate news conference Sunday. “It was just something you would not imagine would take place in our city,” he added.

The shootings come as the NYPD grapples with upticks across every major crime category in the city. Major crimes spiked nearly 60% in February compared to the same month in 2021, police data showed.

New York City also recorded a 41% increase in overall major crime through the first months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, including a nearly 54% increase in robberies, a 56% increase in grand larceny incidents and a 22% increase in rape reports, the data shows.

Murders increased by 10%, while citywide shooting incidents decreased by 1.3%, with 77 incidents in February 2021 and 76 incidents last month, NYPD data shows.

Those living on the streets in New York “are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators,” the Coalition for the Homeless said in a statement Sunday.

City officials are working to get homeless individuals into shelters, Adams said Sunday.

“We’re also mobilizing on the streets to notify our homeless to try and get them in shelters, those who want to do so,” Adams said. “Being homeless should not turn into a homicide and I want to catch this guy bad.”

Adams unveiled his ‘Blueprint to End Gun Violence’ in January, which includes long-term goals to grow economic opportunities, improve child education and provide more access to mental health resources while addressing the gun crisis.