A suspect who authorities say may be linked to a series of shootings — including two slayings — of homeless men in Washington, D.C., and New York City could be seeking out the vulnerable group because they are “easy targets,” a criminology expert said.
There have been a combined five homeless men shot in the cities since March 3, including a fatal shooting and stabbing in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, and a deadly shooting of second homeless man on Saturday in Manhattan, authorities said.
Former FBI agent Bryanna Fox, an associate professor of criminology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said Monday that a suspect killing a stranger is a rare type of homicide. However, in cases in which the perpetrator doesn’t know the victim, it is not uncommon for suspects to target susceptible groups.
“Vulnerable people are often the prime victims. And the reason for that is, Number One, they are just frankly easy targets,” Fox said. “If you’re going to kill a stranger, would it be a mayor? A politician? A business person? … Or would it be a person who is a homeless person? A sex worker? A runaway?”
The suspect may believe a homeless person might not be identified by authorities as quickly, and the case may not be investigated as thoroughly, Fox said.
In a joint statement Sunday, the New York City Police Department and The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, announced they suspect the shootings of the five homeless men are connected.
“Given the similarity in the modus operandi of the perpetrator, common circumstances involved in each shooting, the circumstances of the victims, and information from ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), we will move forward jointly investigating these homicides and shootings,” police said.
The suspect, a man, carries a semiautomatic handgun, police said.
Metro police and the NYPD declined to release new information Monday.
The mentioning by officials of the ballistic information network used by federal authorities means evidence from shell casings “trace back to the same gun,” Fox said.
It’s also possible, whoever is behind the shootings could be mad at the world and has scapegoated the homeless, she said.
“The motivation is anger toward society,” Fox said. “If they had a person to take it out on, they would have.”
The violent attacks to New York City’s homeless took place Saturday and less than two hours apart, authorities said. The first shooting occurred about 4:30 a.m. when a 38-year-old man was shot while sleeping and woke up shouting, “What are you doing?” police said during a news conference.
The second shooting, which was fatal, is believed to have happened around 6 a.m., police said. But they weren’t notified of a dead man in a sleeping bag with wounds to his head and neck until about 11 hours later. The two Saturday shootings occurred about a 1 mile apart, police said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday during the media briefing that one of the victims is lucky to be alive.
“It’s quite possible that one of our citizens is still alive merely because he woke up,” Adams said. “Two individuals were shot while sleeping on the streets. Not committing a crime, but sleeping on the streets. … We need to find this person, and we need New Yorkers to help us.”
Brian O’Hara, public safety director for Newark, New Jersey, said that since Sunday the city’s police officers have been talking to homeless people and telling them to be vigilant given Newark’s proximity to the attacks in New York City.
City police helped five homeless people into shelters overnight from Sunday to Monday, O’Hara said.
He said the homeless are sometimes hesitant to talk to police because of past run-ins with the law or substance abuse problems.
But, O’Hara said, police are telling them: “We are just trying to keep you safe, keep you alive and keep you off the streets.”
The initiative will continue until the “threat is over,” O’Hara said.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, or call police in Washington D.C. at 202-727-9099.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
