Police have arrested a man over attacks on homeless men that left two dead and three injured across Washington DC and New York City during a 10-day crime spree.
The arrest comes after the Mayors of both New York City and Washington DC released a closeup photograph of the suspect they believe to be responsible for the killings and shootings.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Washington DC's police department confirmed officers had arrested the suspect in the city on Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast.
'He is currently being interviewed at our Homicide Branch. Additional information will be forthcoming. Thanks to the community for all your tips,' the department said in a Tweet.
Crystal clear images of the male suspect's face were shared on Monday evening in a joint press conference chaired by NYC Mayor Eric Adams and his DC Counterpart Eric Adams, as well as their respective police chiefs.
The snap of the suspect - which cops refused to comment on further - but which is suspected to have been taken by an ATM camera - is the clearest image yet of a man now feared to be a serial killer.
Video footage of the suspect strolling down a DC street on March 9 - the evening of the murder in that city - have also been shared. At Monday's press conference in New York, cops revealed they suspected the same weapon had been used in the shootings in both cities, thanks to forensic examination of cell casings found at the scenes.
The Mayors of New York City and Washington DC have released a closeup photograph of the suspect they believe to be responsible for the killings of five homeless men, two in New York and three in the nation's capital
In the last month, at least five homeless men have been shot - two of them fatally - and one has been found dead in what police fear may be a string of attacks by the same person
A reward of $70,000 was also made available as law enforcement agencies in both cities work flat out to catch the man with $25,000 coming from the NYPD, $25,000 from Washington's police force and a further $20,000 from the ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, speaking in NYC, warned the killer: 'We're coming for you.'
The D.C. attacks were on March 3, March 8 and March 9. The third was fatal; the victim was found in a burning tent, having been shot and stabbed to death. During Monday's press conference, investigators said they believe the victims were given no warning, and that the killer attacked them without speaking.
After the DC shootings, the suspect is then believed to have struck in New York City over the weekend. One homeless man was shot while he slept in Soho during the early hours of Saturday, March 12 while a second was shot and escaped with his life after waking up.
'Homelessness should not be a homicide. This was a cold blooded attack when you look at the premeditated action of this shooting. It sends a clear, loud message that we need help from the public, from the NYPD, MPCD and ATF,' Mayor Eric Adams said.
Several clear images were released of the map whom police believe is responsible
'Someone knows this person. We're asking for the public to find him. We don't want to lose another resident in this city, in New York or anywhere else. This person is carrying out a premeditative act of shooting innocent people.
'In the shooting in New York he looked around, made sure no-one was there and intentionally took the life of an innocent person. He must be brought to justice. We will bring him to justice. If he's watching we're telling him to turn himself in. This is Unacceptable,' Mayor Adams said.
'The case also highlights the over proliferation of guns in our cities. It is creating an encounter that's causing bloodshed across our nation and it is time to top this sick fixation with guns. There are too many guns on our streets. We need to stop the flow of guns to our streets,' Adams asserted.
'Washington DC is not manufacturing guns. New York is not a gun manufacturing city but the guns are ending up our streets. It is time to end this.'
Investigators say that ballistic evidence that was found at the scenes of the shootings in both cities links the incidents to a single firearm.
Law enforcement authorities are also asking agencies along the East Coast to see if they have any similar unsolved cases.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams answers a question from a reporter during a news conference about recent shootings of homeless people in both New York and Washington, at the John A. Wilson Building in Washington D.C.
New York Mayor Eric Adams listens as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference
New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell speaks during a news conference about the search for a gunman that has been targeting homeless men sleeping on the streets of Washington, and New York City. From left, New York Mayor Eric Adams, Sewell, Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser
Images from of shell casings that were recovered and examined in both cities were then entered into ATF's National Integrated Ballistic Information Network and suggested that the same weapon had been used in the killings. It also produced leads based on comparisons of the unique markings on the recovered shell casings.
The link between the two sets of killings and shootings was made by Captain Kevin Kentish, Head of the Homicide Unit in Washington DC.
Kintish, who hails from Queens, New York 'happened to be scrolling through social media and saw the image of the NYC suspect.'
'During that review, he took that image to his team, based upon the similarities, came together with ATF and forensically connected these cases,' Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department Robert Contee said.
The killer's motive remains unknown.
New video footage has been released of the suspect strolling along a street in Washington D.C. has been released
Other images in color show the suspect eating a snack while walking along a street in the nation's capital
A total of $55,000 has been put up by the Washington DC police force at the ATF. A further $25,000 has been put up by NYPD
Chief Contee III had similarly strong words to Mayor Adams about the perpetrator.
'This is a depraved individual but I feel the knot is tightening in. We dont know this suspect's mental health. We don't know if this person is homeless. But there are certain things we know that suggest this person has already murdered more than one time.'
Mayor Eric Adams and Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a joint statement:
'Our communities in DC and New York City are heartbroken and disturbed by these heinous crimes in which an individual has been targeting some of our most vulnerable residents. The two of us spoke about how our teams can coordinate and help one another, and we are calling on everyone in our cities to look at the images of the suspect and report any information, however small, that may be useful.
'The work to get this individual off our streets before he hurts or murders another individual is urgent. 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. As our law enforcement agencies work quickly with federal partners to locate the suspect, we are also calling on unsheltered residents to seek shelter.
'Again, it is heartbreaking and tragic to know that in addition to all the dangers that unsheltered residents face, 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.'
On Monday, homeless men and women on the streets of New York City have said they would prefer to sleep on the streets instead of heading to a homeless shelter, despite the lingering threat of a serial killer on the loose.
The Mayors of New York City and Washington DC are advising those living on the street to seek to seek shelter in public facilities to avoid the suspect who they believe has shot at least five homeless men in the last month, killing two.
DailyMail.com spoke to several people living on the streets. Many did not seem thrilled at the idea of spending in the night in a homeless shelter rather than a doorway or even a subway station.
'There's a lot of sick people out there but I'd prefer to be on the street instead a shelter. There's more freedom. I can do what I want when I want,' said Daren, a homeless man sitting outside Penn Station.
'There's a lot of sick people out there but I'd prefer to be on the street instead a shelter. There's more freedom. I can do what I want when I want,' said Daren, a homeless man sitting outside Penn Station in Manhattan
'I spend the night on corners. I am not afraid. People are not usually aggressive,' Marie said firmly to DailyMail.com Monday
Darrius Carr a homeless man said that he stays in a shelter in Uptown Manhattan and feels perfectly safe
J'ai Muhammed who normally sleeps in a subway station overnight suggested the mayor should see for himself what it is like to be living on the streets
It was a view echoed by Marie who was also sitting on some steps outside the Post Office in Midtown.
'I spend the night on corners. I am not afraid. People are not usually aggressive,' she said firmly to DailyMail.com.
Darius Carr, another man who has been homeless for about one year said that he felt safe going to a shelter uptown each night.
J'ai Muhammed who normally sleeps in a subway station overnight said the mayor should see for himself what it is like to be living on the streets.
'Maybe the mayor should try being homeless for the night so he can see how it feels either on the street or in a shelter,' he suggested.
Police are looking for a man (pictured) who shot two homeless men in Manhattan within hours of one another, killing one
Detectives with the NYPD searching for a suspect who shot and killed a homeless man while he slept have now widened their investigation after a spread of eerily similar incidents in Washington D.C. The wanted suspect is pictured in the capital following the second attack
The serial killer most recently struck in the early hours of Saturday morning, killing one homeless man and shooting another in the arm within a period of just one hour.
A third New York City homeless man who was found dead in Tribeca does not appear connected to the shootings.
There was no indication of criminality, and an extensive video canvass did not turn up any evidence that the 43-year-old man was the victim of a crime.
Detectives are waiting for the autopsy before making a final determination, but it is believed that the man died from an overdose.
Earlier this month, three homeless men were shot and killed in separate attacks in Washington DC. Police now believe that the three DC men- and one New York City man who was shot on Saturday - were all targeted by the same person.
As NYPD officers work to catch the suspected serial killer, Mayor Eric Adams and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser are telling homeless people to seek shelter urgently.
DailyMail.com obtained an internal memo that the NYPD sent out to precincts alerting cops about the pre-dawn attacks on homeless men in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., noting that 'in all incidents, victims were sleeping in a public space during the first platoon.'
Officers were directed to immediately survey their patrol areas and engage with homeless individuals, advise them about the incidents and show them wanted flyers with pictures of the person of interest, while also checking on their well-being and offering shelter and other services.
'Members assigned to the Patrol Services Bureau precincts area to conduct frequent grid canvasses of their assigned sector or area of deployment, utilizing a systematic block by block method,' the memo adds. 'Special attention should be given to areas prone to encampment.'
NYPD officers at the scene where another homeless person was found dead on Murray Street near Varick Street in New York on Sunday night. The death is believed to be an overdose and not connected to the other NY and DC killings
Washington DC Metro Police and the NYPD have issued a joint statement saying they believe the same suspect is behind multiple attacks on homeless men in both cities that have, so far, left three victims dead
In a joint statement on Sunday night, the pair said: 'Our communities in DC and New York City are heartbroken and disturbed by these heinous crimes in which an individual has been targeting some of our most vulnerable residents.
