US police search for 'cold-blooded' killer of homeless men

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON - Police were stepping up a search on Monday for a man suspected of the "cold-blooded" shootings of five homeless men in Washington and New York.

The shootings, which took place over the past 10 days, have left two men dead and three wounded.

"The work to get this individual off our streets before he hurts or murders another individual is urgent," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a joint statement.

"We now have a cold-blooded killer on the loose, but we are certain that we will get the suspect off the street and into police custody," they said.

Police in Washington and New York released pictures of the suspect -- a shaven-headed and bearded man dressed all in black.

Police said the first shooting took place around 4:00 am on March 3 in northeast Washington. The victim was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A second homeless man was shot and wounded five days later, also in northeast Washington, police said. He also suffered non-life threatening wounds

The next day, a homeless man was found dead in northeast Washington with stab and gunshot wounds, police said. His tent, where he had been living, had caught fire.

On Saturday, a 38-year-old man was shot in the arm in Lower Manhattan at around 4:30 am, police said.

Then, shortly before 5:00 pm, police in the same neighborhood found the lifeless body of another man in a sleeping bag. He had been shot in the head and neck.

Video surveillance footage captured that attack, showing the shooter firing at the second man as he slept around 6:00 am.

"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 police commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

"We will use every tool, every technique and every partner to bring the killer to justice."

Washington police have offered a reward of $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) offered an additional $20,000 reward while New York has put up $10,000.

AFP