Joint task force hunting for serial killer who has shot at least 5 homeless men in NYC and Washington DC, 2 fatally
A joint task force was hunting Monday for a serial killer who has shot at least five homeless men, two of them fatally, in Manhattan and Washington D.C.
A sixth possible victim found dead in Tribeca does not appear to have been shot, as first believed, police said Monday.
Further tests will have to be done by the city Medical Examiner’s office to determine if the 43-year-old man was the victim of a homicide — and if so, if he was the victim of the serial killer believed responsible for shooting two other homeless men, one fatally, in Manhattan on Saturday, and three more, one fatally, in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.
Mayor Adams spoke with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser Sunday night and the two leaders issued a joint statement.
“The two of us spoke about how our teams can coordinate and help one another, and we are calling on everyone in our cities to look at the images of the suspect and report any information, however small, that may be useful,” they said.
“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.”
In the Tribeca incident, police said the victim was found dead in his sleeping bag on Murray St. near Greenwich St. about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. He had an injury to his right leg, near the femoral artery, and died at the scene.
But there was no bullet hole in the sleeping bag or his clothing and the cause of death was not clear after an initial autopsy was done. Police said it does not appear likely he was shot.
A homeless outreach team had checked on the man earlier Sunday. His name has not been released.
Neighbors recalled his kind-hearted nature.
“Everybody saw him there,” said Mia Francis, 44. “People talked to him. People bought him food, gave him money.”
On Saturday, a 38-year-old man sleeping on King St. between Varick St. and Sixth Ave. in Hudson Square was shot in the arm about 4:30 a.m., cops said. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
That wounded victim may have saved his own life by holding his hand to his ear and pretending to make a 911 call to scare off the shooter, who still had the gun pointed at him, police sources said. The victim had no cellphone.
About an hour and a half later, a second homeless man was shot while asleep in a sleeping bag on the corner of Lafayette and Howard Sts. in Chinatown, police said. But police didn’t discover him until almost 12 hours later after a 911 caller alerted them of a shooting victim. He was dead at the scene.
“As our law enforcement agencies work quickly with federal partners to locate the suspect, we are also calling on unsheltered residents to seek shelter,” Adams and Bowser said in their joint statement.
“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.”
In the earliest incident, cops responding to the sound of gunshots at 4 a.m. March 3 found a homeless man shot on New York Ave., NE. He was taken to a local hospital and survived.
Five days later, cops responding to a 1:20 a.m. report of a shooting found a homeless man shot on H St., NE. He also was taken to a local hospital and survived.
The next day, about 2:50 a.m. March 9, back on New York Ave., NE, cops spotted a tent fire. When the blaze was extinguished, first responders found a homeless man dead. An autopsy found he had been both stabbed and shot multiple times.
It was just three days later the first victim was shot in Manhattan.
“Our homeless population is one of our most vulnerable and an individual praying on them as they sleep is an exceptionally heinous crime,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. “We will use every tool, every technique and every partner to bring the killer to justice.”
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has also joined the probe.
“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,” ATF Director Marvin Richardson said. “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.”
Cops have released surveillance images taken in both Manhattan and Washington D.C. of the suspect.
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest while the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC is offering $25,000 with the ATF offering an additional $20,000.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
