A series of shootings that have occurred this month in New York City and Washington, D.C., were committed by the same man, authorities say.
New York City Police Department (NYPD) Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell and Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Robert Contee III released a joint state on Sunday announcing that five shootings have occurred between the two cities, resulting in two deaths. The joint statement also said that “the same suspect” was involved in both cities and that the departments would be investigating the shootings with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“Between the two cities, there have been five shootings, including two homicides. In each offense, the victims were experiencing homelessness,” the statement said. “The most recent shootings occurred in New York City in the early morning hours of March 12. Both incidents involve homeless men who were sleeping on the street and were shot, without provocation, by a male suspect.”
The shooting spree began in D.C. on Thursday, March 3, at around 4 a.m. when police received a call from residents hearing gunshots. They discovered a wounded man with gunshot wounds who was then transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
A few days later, on March 8, police received another call about a shooting. Another wounded adult male was found with gunshot wounds and transported to a local hospital. He, too, had non-life-threatening injuries.
The next day, March 9, at around 2:54 a.m., a policeman in Northeast D.C. saw a fire and called D.C. Fire, who extinguished it. When the fire was put out, police found the remains of an adult male. An autopsy revealed that he had been stabbed and shot multiple times.
“In all three offenses, the victims appear to be individuals experiencing homelessness. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating these cases as being related. The suspect was captured by a surveillance camera,” the D.C. police said in a statement.
“The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a homicide offense committed in the District of Columbia. In partnership with MPD, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division, has offered an additional $20,000 bringing the total possible reward amount for this case to $45,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible,” the statement added.
Kevin Rincon, a reporter for CBS New York, said that the first attack in New York City occurred on Saturday, March 12. The next shooting occurred on Sunday.
“A day after two homeless New Yorkers were shot, one of them killed, another homeless man has been found dead near the WTC. Police say the 42-year-old man was known to them, and officers had spoken with him at 6 this morning. At around 6:30p he was found dead,” Rincon tweeted.