Homeless men targeted in deadly NYC, DC street attacks

NEW YORK - The NYPD was searching for a gunman who was targeting homeless people sleeping on the streets of Manhattan.  They were looking into whether the case could also be linked to violence against homeless men in Washington, D.C.

In the first incident around 5 a.m. on Saturday, police found a 38-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the right arm on King St. between Varick St. and 6th Ave.

The victim was sleeping there when a man walked up and shot him.

EMS took the victim to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition.

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Then just before 5 p.m., the NYPD responded to a 911 call outside of 148 Lafayette Street.

Police found a dead man inside a sleeping bag who had been shot in the head and neck.

Officers found a video that showed a man went up to the victim about 6 a.m. and shot him before taking off on Howard St.

The NYPD initially believed that the death of a homeless man found with a wound to his right leg in TriBeCa on Sunday evening was related to the serial killer, but sources told FOX 5 News that investigators were leaning towards a drug overdose as a cause of death. Drug paraphernalia was found at the scene.

There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.  A photo of a man wanted in connection with the Saturday shootings was released.  He was wearing all black and appeared to have a blue surgical glove on the hand he used to fire the gun.

"The case is a clear and horrific intentional act of taking the life of someone, it appears, because he was homeless," Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. "Two individuals were shot while sleeping on the streets, not committing a crime but sleeping on the streets."

The NYPD is working with Washington, D.C. police to see if the same man might be responsible for three shootings involving homeless men there.

On Thursday, March 3, 2022, at approximately 4:00 a.m., a man was found shot on the streets of Washington, D.C.  He was expected to survive.

Then, on March 8, 2022, at around 1:20 a.m. a man was found shot again and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Finally, in the third D.C. case, a man was found dead inside a tent fire on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, just before 3 a.m.  He had been shot and stabbed to death before the fire.

New York City 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."