Detectives with the NYPD who are searching for a suspect who shot and killed a homeless man while he slept and fired at another homeless man in Manhattan early on Saturday morning has now widened it’s investigation after a spread of eerily similar incidents in the nation’s capital.
On Sunday night, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington D.C. announced that they were looking for the same person, wanted the shootings of several men in the city releasing several photographs of the suspect.
Between New York and Washington D.C., there have been a total of five shootings and two homicides.
The Washington shootings happened between March 3rd and 8th.
On March 3 at 4am, a man was found after police say gunshots were heard on New York Avenue, Northeast. They went to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
At 1:21am on March 8, police responded to a shooting in H Street Northeast in DC where they found a man with non-life-threatening injuries having been shot.
The following day, on March 9, around 3am, police in DC saw a fire happening in a building. After the flames were extinguished investigators found a dead body.
Police believe the man had been murdered after an autopsy revealed gunshot and stab wounds.
Detectives with the NYPD searching for a suspect who shot and killed a homeless man while he slept have now widened their investigation after a spread of eerily similar incidents in Washington D.C. The wanted suspect is pictured in the capital
In one of the New York incidents this weekend, a homeless man who was seconds away from being shot to death pretended to call police, likely scaring off his assailant during an attack in the middle of the night.
The 38-year-old victim, who doesn’t even have a cellphone, was asleep on King Street, between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue when the shooter approached him at 4:30am.
When the suspect fired at him, he woke up and yelled: ‘What the hell are you doing?’ according to police.
But then the quick-thinking victim then pretended to call 911 as he put his fingers to his ear, reports the New York Daily News, fooling the gunman into thinking law enforcement were on their way.
The suspect then ran off into the night, only to find a second unsuspecting homeless man 90 minutes later.
The NYPD is now offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can help them catch the ‘cold-blooded’ killer who shot the two homeless men.
The second victim died after being shot in the head and neck at 6am on 148 Lafayette Street, opposite the luxury 11 Howard hotel. It took 12 hours for police to realize the man was was dead and recover his lifeless body – riddled with bullet holes – from the bright yellow sleeping bag he’d been in.
In the Lafayette Street killing, the suspect was filmed in chilling surveillance footage wearing a black ski mask and black clothing. He was seen prodding the helpless victim several times before looking around before firing his fatal shots. The man’s age is not known but he was described by police as a Hispanic man.
In an urgent appeal yesterday, Mayor Eric Adams said: ‘Homelessness turning into a homicide. We need to find this person and we need New Yorkers to help us. This is a cold blooded act of murder.’
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website.
Given the similarity in the modus operandi of the perpetrator, common circumstances involved in each shooting, circumstances of the victims and recovered evidence, the NYPD, the MPDC and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will jointly investigate these offenses.
Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: ‘Our homeless population is one of our most vulnerable and an individual praying on them as they sleep is an exceptionally heinous crime. We will use every tool, every technique and every partner to bring the killer to justice.’
Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said: ‘From the first incident, the Metropolitan Police has spared no resource in our efforts to identify the suspect behind these cowardly acts. 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.’
ATF Director Marvin Richardson said: ‘Our Washington and New York City field offices have been working hand-in-hand with the DC metropolitan police and the New York Police Department from the outset. One of these shootings occurred within blocks of our Washington DC headquarters.
‘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.’
Police are looking for a man who shot two homeless men in Manhattan within hours of one another, killing one
Video shows the suspect walking up to the homeless man and kicking him several times before taking out his weapon
The suspect can be seen looking around to see if anyone was watching before carrying out the horrific act
After prodding the man with his foot several times, the suspect walked up to homeless man and shot him dead
‘Homelessness turning into a homicide,’ Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference on Saturday night.
‘I believe that’s what makes this case so horrific, watching the video, watching the individual intentionally walk up to innocent people that are dealing with the challenges of homelessness – and it’s quite possible that one of our citizens is still alive merely because he woke up,’ Adams said.
‘Homelessness turning into a homicide. We need to find this person and we need New Yorkers to help us,’ Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference on Saturday night.
‘And I’m here today to send a very clear message, that all New Yorkers matter.’
‘Two individuals were shot while sleeping on the streets, not committing a crime but sleeping on the streets,’ said the mayor with an air of disbelief.
Chief Hank Saunter added: ‘We’re talking about two individuals that are homeless.
‘The most vulnerable population in the city right now.’
Police said that they will be out in droves trying to get men and women sleeping on the streets to head to a city shelter for their safety.
Separately, two Museum of Modern Art employees were stabbed by a crazed former member yesterday.
The man had just had his membership revoked, according to the authorities.
He went to the museum yesterday and stabbed two female employees.
The brutal killing comes as the city is reeling from a February crime wave that saw a nearly 60 percent spike in incidents from this same period last year.
The city’s latest crime figures show 9,138 incidents in February, as opposed to 5,759 during the same period in 2021 – with double-digit surges in nearly every major category.
There were 32 murders in February, three more than the same month last year.
One of the men was shot at 54 King Street, pictured above (file photo). It is a quiet, residential street in SoHo
The second man was shot and killed at 148 Lafayette Street (file photo). The location is next door to the expensive 11 Howard hotel
During the month of February, the NYPD reported a 58.7 percent increase in total crime. The latest figures showed 9,138 incidents as opposed to 5,759 in 2021 – with double-digit surges in nearly every major category
Multiple other categories saw shocking jumps, including car theft, which soared by nearly 105 percent; grand larceny, which jumped nearly 80 percent over the previous year; robberies, which surged 56 percent; a 44 percent bump in burglaries and a 22 percent spike in assaults. Rapes also saw a terrifying 35 percent rise in February.
The crime wave comes during Adams’ first few months in office. The former NYPD cop has vowed to crack down on the influx of incidents on the city’s streets and subway system – which has seen a rash of violent incidents in recent weeks. Former Mayor Bill De Blasio’s policies contributed to the current crime wave, experts said.
In response to the crime wave, Adams pleaded with lawmakers in Albany recently to consider a controversial bail reform law that would allow judges to consider whether a person is dangerous before releasing them from jail.
Adams wants to see changes in bail reform laws and other criminal justice measures, saying they will bring down crime rates in the city and reduce gun violence.
In February, Adams, who campaigned last year on getting people to get back to work amid the Covid pandemic and cleaning up the crime-ridden subway system, outlined his plans for city bail laws, which can allow for suspects to roam the streets often within hours of an arrest.
‘Let’s remove the cash bail system, because one should not be able to get out of jail just because you can pay bail. Let’s take that away. Judges should look at the case in front of them and say, ‘This person has two gun arrests, and he’s continually saying to the people of the city that I don’t care about the safety of you,” the mayor said.
‘That judge should have the right to make the discretion that this person just be held.’