Man who allegedly shot five homeless people in D.C. and NYC.
Update – 6:10 p.m.: Police identified the suspect as D.C. resident Gerald Brevard, 30.
Our original article is below.
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Authorities say they arrested a man suspected of shooting five homeless people, killing two. ATF agents apprehended the suspect early Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Authorities have released surveillance footage and images, which they say depicts the man who allegedly shot three in D.C., and two in New York City. Officers did not name him, with D.C. cops only saying that he was being interviewed at their homicide branch.
Incidents date back to March 3, where someone in D.C. shot and injured a homeless man in the 1100 block of New York Avenue, Northeast. Then, on March 8, someone shot and injured a man around the 1700 block of H Street, Northeast. This is approximately a 5-minute drive southeast from the first location. Officers in both incidents responded in the early morning.
Things turned fatal on March 9. At approximately 2:54 a.m., an officer in the area of the 400 block of New York Avenue, Northeast saw a tent fire. First responders put out the fire, but they found a man dead. He had been stabbed and shot.
The next shooting happened up north in New York City on Saturday, March 12. Someone shot and injured a 38-year-old man in the arm while he was sleeping on King Street near Varick Street, in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. Officers said the attack occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Then, later that day at 5 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call of a man suffering from gunshots to the head and neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said they heard gunshots back at 6 a.m.
Footage in one incident shows a masked suspect repeatedly jabbing his foot on someone sleeping in some kind of yellow fabric. He looked behind himself, as if to see there were any witnesses, and then he turned back around as if to shoot the victim. The video frame froze before the next moment.
“Our homeless population is one of our most vulnerable and an individual praying on them as they sleep is an exceptionally heinous crime,” NYC Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said on Sunday. “We will use every tool, every technique and every partner to bring the killer to justice.”
“From the first incident, the Metropolitan Police has spared no resource in our efforts to identify the suspect behind these cowardly acts,” D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Contee said. “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.”
[Image via D.C. Metropolitan Police Department]