An urgent manhunt has been launched for a man suspected of shooting at least five homeless men in New York City and Washington, D.C., over the past two weeks, CNN reported Monday.
The mayors of both cities issued a joint statement declaring that there was a "cold-blooded killer on the loose," saying that all of the shootings took place in the middle of the night between March 3-12.
Two of the homeless men have died.
The NYPD and Washington's Metropolitan Police Departments stated that there were similar circumstances and characteristics in each shooting and recovered evidence as the basis for the joint investigation.
For example, ballistics found in New York were of the same caliber as casings found in Washington, D.C., the New York Post reported.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that "our homeless population is one of our most vulnerable, and an individual preying on them as they sleep is an exceptionally heinous crime." Sewell vowed that "we will use every tool, every technique, and every partner to bring the killer to justice."
The joint statement added that "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," according to Bloomberg.
The shootings come as both mayors deal with a rise in violent crime. Shootings are up by 14% in New York City compared with the year before, while violent crime has risen 20% so far this year in D.C. compared with the same period in 2021. Both cities also have among the highest rates of homelessness in the nation.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping the two departments in their investigations, according to the New York Post.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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