Suspect Arrested In The Serial Shooting Of 5 Homeless Men In NYC And D.C.

Police have arrested a suspect in what appears to be the work of a serial shooter in New York City and Washington, D.C. One man shot at least five people, killing two of them. CNN reports that law enforcement was able to connect the shootings using a ballistics match.

The crime spree is believed to have started on Thursday, March 3 at 4:00 a.m., when members of the Metropolitan Police Department responded to reports of gunshots at the 1100 block of New York Avenue, Northeast in Washington, D.C. The police found an adult male who was suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital and survived.

Two subsequent attacks on unhoused men in the Washington, D.C. area occurred on March 8 and 9. In the last attack, a man was found dead in a burning tent. He had been stabbed and suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Then, March 12, two men who were sleeping on the street were shot between 4:36 a.m. and 6 a.m., according to New York Magazine. The last shooting on that Saturday proved to be fatal. The suspect shot a man who was sleeping in a doorway in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The New York Times explained that the police are further investigating whether the suspect is responsible for the death of another unhoused man who was discovered on Sunday, March 13.

Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said in a Monday night news conference, “We know that our unsheltered residents already face a lot of daily dangers and it is unconscionable that anybody would target this vulnerable population."

Both the NYPD News and the DC Police Department tweeted images that were captured of the suspect, seeking the public’s help in tracking the suspect down. In an early Tuesday morning tweet, DC PD tweeted an update and thanked the community for their tips.