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Manhunt for shooter who targeted homeless men in NYC, DC

By FOX 5 NY Staff
Updated  March 14, 2022 5:21pm EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 5 NY

NYC and DC killer on the loose

The police departments in New York City and Washington, D.C., are hoping someone recognizes a man seen in security camera images in connection with the shooting of several homeless people in both cities.

NEW YORK - Police in New York City and Washington, D.C., are searching for a gunman who has shot several homeless people sleeping on the streets in both cities, killing two people.

Early Saturday morning, the gunman shot a homeless man who was sleeping near King Street and Varick Street in Tribeca, the NYPD said. His injuries were minor. About 30 minutes later, the gunman shot and killed a sleeping homeless man near Lafayette Street and Howard Street in Soho. The victim was hit in his head and neck, police said. 

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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.

The NYPD released images of the man wanted in the shootings. He was wearing all black and appeared to have a blue surgical glove on the hand he used to fire the gun.

Police in Washington released these images of the suspected killer. (Metropolitan Police Department)

"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 over the weekend. "Two individuals were shot while sleeping on the streets, not committing a crime but sleeping on the streets."

Homeless men targeted in deadly NYC, DC street attacks

Gunman wanted

The NYPD is looking for a man who shot several homeless men in Manhattan.

Authorities in D.C. said the New York City shooter could be the same person wanted for three similar incidents in the nation's capital that began on March 3. Two of those victims survived while a third victim died. That victim was found dead inside a tent fire on March 9. He had been shot and stabbed to death before the fire, authorities 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," D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said in a news release.

Reward for homeless shooter

The NYPD is offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect wanted for shooting homeless people in New York City and Washington, DC.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting in the investigation.

"Our homeless population is one of our most vulnerable and an individual praying on them as they sleep is an exceptionally heinous crime," New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said over the weekend. "We will use every tool, every technique and every partner to bring the killer to justice."

With The Associated Press. 

Police released these images of a man believed to have shot several homeless men. (Via NYPD)