Man Arrested After Shootings Of Homeless In New York, DC

A male suspect has been arrested after shootings which left two homeless people dead and three wounded in Washington DC and New York City, according to an early Tuesday tweet by DC Police.

ARRESTED: Early this AM, law enforcement arrested the suspect in Washington, DC. He is currently being interviewed at our Homicide Branch. Additional information will be forthcoming. Thanks to the community for all your tips. pic.twitter.com/lvFu3LeMTd

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) March 15, 2022

On Monday the mayors of NYC and DC announced a $70,000 reward for information in connection with the attacks.

“Homelessness should not be a homicide,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a Monday joint press conference with Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser. “This was a cold-blooded attack.”

The reward is being provided by the DC district police, the NYPD and the ATF.

Police are jointly investigating the shootings of five homeless people across both cities that they said may have been committed by the same suspect.

Because of similarities in “the modus operandi of the perpetrator, common circumstances involved in each shooting, circumstances of the victims and recovered evidence,” both police departments in New York City and Washington D.C., will jointly investigate the shootings with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, they said in a Sunday news release. –ABC News

The first shootings occurred on March 3, 8 and 9 in DC – with police discovering the last body while responding to a tent fire in the northwest part of the city. The man was found stabbed and shot.

Then on March 12, two homeless men were shot in New York – with one injured and the other killed, according to a joint press release.

“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 Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, while DC top cop Robert J. Contee III added that: “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.”

“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,” said Adams and Bowser in a Sunday statement.