- Authorities arrested a suspect who they say shot multiple homeless people in Washington, DC and New York City.
- Two of the five victims who were shot since the beginning of March died.
- Advocates for the victims blamed city officials for "dehumanizing" the homeless.
The suspect accused of shooting multiple homeless men in New York City and Washington, DC was arrested on Tuesday morning.
Law enforcement took the unidentified suspect, who allegedly shot five men, into custody in DC.
"Early this AM, law enforcement arrested the suspect in Washington, DC," the DC Police Department said in a statement. "He is currently being interviewed at our Homicide Branch. Additional information will be forthcoming. Thanks to the community for all your tips. "
The string of shootings began on March 3 in DC and spanned over a week. The latest attack occurred last weekend in New York City. Here's a complete timeline of the shootings across the two cities:
All five shootings were connected to the same weapon, police say
During the early hours of March 3 in the District when authorities found where a victim, identified as Jerald Bernard Turner shot in the back and right shoulder, according to a police report obtained by Insider.
Turner told police he had been sleeping when he was awoken by the suspect and shot. He was transported to a local hospital and treated for his non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect fled the scene.
A few days later on March 8, officers discovered another man, Charles Maurice Harris, who was shot multiple times near 1700 block of H Street. He was also sent to the hospital "with no further incident," the police report said.
On March 9, officers responded to a report of a fire on the 400 block of New York Avenue. When police arrived at the scene, police found an unidentified man unconscious, the police report said. The man died of his injuries, and an autopsy report revealed that he had two gunshot wounds and was stabbed multiple times.
Days later on March 12 at about 4:30 a.m., the New York Police Department assisted a 38-year-old man who suffered a gunshot wound to the right arm while he was asleep on King Street near Varick Street in Hudson Square. The victim screamed "What are you doing?" at the assailant, who fled the scene, the New York Times reported, citing NYPD Deputy Chief Hank Sautner. The police said the victim was taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
Later that same morning, at about 6 a.m., police said the same suspect fatally shot a man who was sleeping outside in a sleeping bag, per the Times. Police found the victim dead at the scene at 148 Lafayette Street in SoHo at about 5 p.m. with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, according to a police report.
The NYPD did not release the names of either victim. Police said ballistic evidence connected all five shootings to the same weapon, WABC-TV reported.
'Communities in DC and New York City are heartbroken and disturbed'
Following the shooting incident, officials in both Washington, DC, and New York raised the alarm and called for the capture of the suspect.
In a joint statement that came days before a suspect was detained, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, "Our communities in DC and New York City are heartbroken and disturbed by these heinous crimes in which an individual has been targeting some of our most vulnerable residents."
"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," the statement added.
Advocates condemn policies to clear out the unhoused amid violent attacks
In late February, Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced an aggressive plan to clear homeless riders from the subway system in an attempt to quell the string of violent attacks on riders that spiked amid the pandemic. Amid calls for an increased presence of law enforcement on trains and platforms, the plan sent more police and mental health workers into the subway system.
Advocates, however, blamed the attacks against homeless New Yorkers on these "subway sweeps."
Housing Works, a non-profit that advocates for victims of homelessness and HIV/AIDS, said in a tweet to Adams, that "whatever you want to call subway sweeps this year, they will always fail."
"People fear shelters, survive on the streets, and the constant criminalization of street survival ends like this. Is this what you want?"
Housing Works's co-founder and CEO Charles King told Insider said "there has been a massive effort towards dehumanizing and de-legitimizing homeless people."
Representatives for Adams and Hochul did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Jacquelyn Simone, the Policy Director for the Coalition for the Homeless, said Adams should prioritize more housing for the homeless instead of focusing on subway sweeps to remove them from public transportation.
"How many examples like this do we need to see before the City starts valuing the lives of homeless New Yorkers as much as the lives of those lucky enough to have homes?" Simone said in a statement to Insider.
"Despite the headlines, homeless New Yorkers are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators. Instead of feeding into the dangerous narrative of homelessness as a blight — a quality of life issue for housed New Yorkers — Mayor Adams needs to recognize that his policies are placing them in harm's way," Simone added.