The suspect believed to have shot five homeless men in cold blood has been caught. Here’s how.
Homeless men shot in New York and D.C.
In the past fortnight, five homeless men have been shot on the streets of New York and Washington D.C. The attacks occurred between March 3 and March 12, and two victims are now dead.
All of the shootings occurred at night. Three took place earlier this month in Washington, and two more occurred in New York on Saturday 12. A suspect has now been arrested.
“Early this AM, law enforcement arrested the suspect in Washington,” DC Police tweeted at just gone 6.30 a.m. ET. “He is currently being interviewed at our Homicide Branch. Additional information will be forthcoming. Thanks to the community for all your tips.”
Catching a killer
According to CNN, Capt. Kevin Kentish, a Queens native who works with Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, had been investigating the March 9 killing of a homeless person. As he scrolled social media over the weekend, he spotted a vital clue.
Kentish saw footage that New York City police had released of a person of interest wanted in connection with the shootings of two homeless individuals, one of whom was killed. He forwarded the pictures to his colleagues, and they reached out to New York and federal law enforcement agencies.
“Our partners at the ATF tested our evidence that was recovered, they tested the evidence that was recovered in New York and we got a hit,” Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told CNN. They realized were looking for the same man.
ATF agents found and arrested 30-year-old Gerald Brevard III walking near his residence in Southeast D.C. at around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the Washington Post, his family said he suffered from mental illness.
Brevard III was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent to kill in connection with two non-fatal shootings of homeless people. He was also charged with first-degree murder while armed for the killing of 54-year-old Morgan Holmes, who was also homeless, DC police announced Tuesday.
The D.C. attacks
According to a statement from the MPD, the first shooting took place on Thursday, March 3, at around 4:00 am. Officers arrived at the 1100 block of New York Avenue, Northeast, in response to the sounds of gunshots. Upon arrival, they found an adult male victim, who was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
On Tuesday, March 8, at 1:21 am, a shooting was reported in the 1700 block of H Street, Northeast. Officers found an adult male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, and he was taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
On Wednesday, March 9, at 2:54 am, a member of the MPD spotted a fire in the area of the 400 block of New York Avenue, Northeast. DC Fire and EMS responded and extinguished the fire, but further investigation revealed the remains of an adult male. He was pronounced deceased. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was multiple stab and gunshot wounds. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The N.Y.C. attacks
The fourth and fifth shootings occurred in Lower Manhattan, about 90 minutes apart early on Saturday March 12. Both were caught on surveillance cameras, the department said.
NYPD Deputy Chief Commanding Officer Henry Sautner said Saturday that one video shows a man sleeping near the corner of King Street and Varick when an unknown suspect approached and shot him in the arm. The sleeping man woke and shouted, “What are you doing,” and the shooter ran away. Police arrived around 4:30 a.m., and the victim, who is 38 years old, was taken to a hospital.
The second shooting that day occurred outside 148 Lafayette Street. Officers discovered a man in a sleeping bag with gunshot wounds to his head and neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Sautner told reporters that surveillance video shows a suspect approaching the sleeping victim around 6:00 a.m. and firing a gun.
Anthony Pla, a New Yorker for 35 years and homeless since 2015, told the New York Times, that until this weekend, he had never been through anything as unsettling as the empty streets of Manhattan during lockdown.
“I survived that,” Mr. Pla, 58, said outside Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen on Ninth Avenue. “And now we have people killing each other.”
Who did this?
The NYPD and MPD said the attacks were linked by similar circumstances and characteristics but didn’t elaborate on what these were. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told Bloomberg Monday that law enforcement was able to connect the shootings due to a ballistics match, which confirmed that the same gun was used in all five shootings.
The D.C. Police Department released new images of the suspect on Monday, adding that “tipsters are eligible for a reward of up to $55,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell joined Bowser at a press conference in Washington, DC, on Monday.
“Someone knows this person. We’re asking for the public to find them,” said Adams. “We don’t want to lose another resident in this city, in New York or anywhere else…. This person is carrying out a premeditated attack of shooting innocent people.”
According to the BBC, mayors said in a joint statement that there is a “cold-blooded killer on the loose.”
“We know that this is a scary situation,” Bowser said at Monday evening’s news conference per NBC New York. “We know that our unsheltered residents already face a lot of daily dangers and it is unconscionable that anybody would target this vulnerable population.”
Asian woman targeted in savage racial attack
In an entirely separate incident, an Asian woman was targeted in a savage racially-motivated attack in NYC on March 11.
The victim, who is 67 years old, was approaching her apartment building in Yonkers at around 6:11 p.m., when she saw the suspect, whom police identified as Tammel Esco. Esco, who was standing in front of the building, allegedly called her an “Asian b*tch,” as she passed him.
According to the police statement, the victim ignored Esco, and entered the vestibule of the building. She was attempting to open the second door to get into her lobby when, without warning, he approached from behind and punched her in the head, knocking her to the floor.
Esco then stood over her and punched her in the head and face more than 125 times before stamping on her seven times and spitting on her. The entire incident was captured on surveillance video.
The victim, who is currently in stable condition and recovering in the hospital, suffered multiple contusions and lacerations to her head and face, facial bone fractures, and bleeding on the brain.
“This is one of the most appalling attacks I have ever seen; to beat a helpless woman is despicable and targeting her because of her race makes it more so,” Yonkers Police Commissioner John J. Mueller said in the department release. “This defendant must be held to the maximum punishment allowed by law to send a clear message that hateful, violent behavior will not be tolerated in our communities.”
“Hate crimes are beyond intolerable in our city,” added Mayor Mike Spano. “I applaud our Yonkers Police for swiftly apprehending this violent criminal and removing him from our streets. I expect the suspect to be charged to the fullest extent of the law for his heinous actions. I continue to keep the victim and her family in our thoughts and prayers.”
The suspect has since been arrested and charged with two violent felonies: attempted murder as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime.
Anti-Asian hate crimes have skyrocketed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 10,905 incidents targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to Stop AAPI Hate between March 19, 2020 and December 31, 2021. The true total is believed to be far higher.
