Officials: Suspect in custody in 5 NYC, DC shootings of homeless men
A Washington, D.C., man was arrested early Tuesday in connection with the shootings of five homeless men — two fatally — in the nation’s capital and in New York City, officials said.
Police and federal agents took Gerald Brevard III, 30, into custody in the capital following an intense search involving the NYPD and Washington, D.C., law enforcement agencies. Investigators used clear surveillance video images of the suspect allegedly carrying out five attacks in the past two weeks, which spurred helpful leads from the public, according to law enforcement officials.
Brevard was reportedly taken into custody at a gas station in southwest Washington after cops received numerous tips. He is being held without bail in Washington, authorities said.
He faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill and homicide, according to police.
Investigators quickly suspected the person on the video images had carried out all five attacks with a .22-caliber handgun, said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig, who did not identify Brevard by name at a news conference. Essig credited "extraordinary cooperation" between law enforcement agencies for making an arrest so quickly after the last attack, Saturday in Manhattan.
Two of the shootings, including one that proved fatal, took place in Manhattan. The three in Washington also included a shooting where the victim died.
Essig said New York City officials are still compiling evidence to formally charge Brevard with the Manhattan shootings. The suspect had no arrest history in New York, Essig added, but he has an arrest record in other jurisdictions.
"We don’t have enough to make an arrest, we are working with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, gathering all our evidence …we are very confident we will get there," Essig said about potential charges of a man he described as a "person of interest."
NYPD officials said there was no rush to try and bring Brevard back to the city, since he is being held in Washington. Search warrants were being executed in the capital as cops sought to locate the handgun used in the attacks, Essig said.
A motive in the attacks remained unclear, the chief said, adding that the suspect had no known ties to New York. Essig also said he had no information about published reports that Brevard had mental health issues.
The New York City attacks occurred Saturday. In one, on Lafayette Street in lower Manhattan, an unidentified man was fatally shot in the neck and head as he slept in a yellow sleeping bag. A video released by police showed a tall man, dressed in dark clothing, a hood and face mask approach the sleeping man, look around and then point a gun, apparently fire and quickly leave the scene.
A second attack earlier Saturday left a 38-year-old man wounded in the arm after he was shot while sleeping at the intersection of King and Varick streets, according to the NYPD. That man was expected to recover, police said Monday.
The three Washington attacks took place on March 3, last Tuesday, and on Wednesday. Three homeless men were shot, police said. Two of the victims suffered non-life-threatening wounds but the Wednesday shooting victim died from his injuries, according to police.
Police in both cities said the surveillance issues were very clear and prompted at least a dozen viable tips that proved useful in tracking Brevard down.
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser held a joint news conference in which they appealed for help from the public to track the suspect. Both mayors condemned the attacks and urged homeless people to seek shelter.
Police said investigators in the two cities began to suspect a link between the shootings on Sunday after a Metropolitan Police Department homicide captain — a former resident of New York City — saw surveillance photos released Saturday night by the NYPD while scrolling through social media. The man in those photos looked similar to the one being sought by his own department.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
