Five Homeless People Shot Consecutively in Washington and New York, Police Say "Same Perpetrator"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] It has been reported that over the past ten days, five homeless people were shot in Washington DC and Manhattan, New York, with two of them dying.

According to a report by The New York Times (NYT) on the 13th (local time), the police have identified these series of shootings as the work of the same individual and have placed a $35,000 (approximately 43 million KRW) reward for information leading to the suspect's capture.

The report states that three of the five shootings occurred in Washington DC.

According to local police, a man shot homeless people on the streets of Washington DC on the nights of the 3rd and 8th. Neither of the two victims sustained fatal injuries.

On the morning of the 9th, police found a homeless person who had been shot and stabbed to death inside a tent near the site of the first shooting. In the early hours of the 12th, a 38-year-old homeless man was shot in the right forearm near a tunnel in Manhattan, New York.

The victim told the police, "I was sleeping on the street when I was shot, and when I shouted at the assailant, he ran away."

Within hours after the fourth shooting, a man sleeping on Lafayette Street in Soho, Manhattan, was shot in the head and neck and died.

The Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department and the New York Police Department stated in a joint press release that based on the perpetrator's method, the circumstances of each shooting, the victim's condition, and evidence, they believe the shootings were committed by a single suspect.

The police have launched a joint investigation with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). To obtain information necessary for the arrest, Washington police have offered a $25,000 (approximately 31 million KRW) reward, and New York police have offered $10,000 (approximately 12 million KRW).