New York Cityauthorities said four men, who are believed to be homeless, were beaten to death with a ‘metal pipe’ while they were sleeping in what appears to be ‘random attacks.’
Officers responded to a 911 call for a person being assaulted in the vicinity of 2 Bowery in Manhattan’s Chinatown district around 1. 49 am Saturday morning.
When responding officers arrived at the location, they found an unconscious male in his 60 s lying on the ground with severe head trauma.
A second male, 49, who was also suffering from head trauma, approached officers at the scene. The elderly man was pronounced dead at the scene.
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One body was found shortly after police responded to reports of an assault around 2am Saturday morning in Manhattan (crime scene pictured)
A man in his 60 s and a man, 49, were both found on East Bowery Street. The elderly man was pronounced dead. This photo shows blood splattered along a window at the Bowery crime scene
The 49 – year-old was rushed to New York-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Hospital where he remains in critical condition
The 49 – year-old was rushed to New York-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Hospital where he remains in critical condition.
‘Motive appears to be, right now, just random attacks,’ said Chief of Manhattan South Detective Michael Baldassano at a press conference at police headquarters. ‘It doesn’t seem anybody was targeted by race, age, anything of that nature.’
At that point, two witnesses told officers that ‘an unknown male, wearing a black jacket and black pants, struck the victim numerous times in the head with a three-foot long metal object covered in blood ‘.
Officers immediately began searching the area for the suspect and found a male fitting the description and carrying the metal pipe, at the intersection of Mulberry Street and Canal Street.
Police said they arrested the 24 -year-old man and recovered the weapon without incident. The suspect is also believed to be homeless and reportedly has 14 past arrests, including an assault charge from earlier this year.
Sources identified the suspect as Rodriguez Santos, according to theNew York Post. Santos reportedly has 14 past arrests, including an assault charge.
Officers then expanded the search and found three more victims around 4am.
Two male victims were found in front of 2 East Broadway and one in front of 17 East Broadway.
All three had severe head trauma and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Chief of Manhattan South Detectives Michael Baldassano said during a news conference that the suspect’s actions appear to have been ‘random acts’ rather than motivated by race or age.
New York Mayor de Blasio said the rampage “flies in the face of the values” of the city.
“We’re stunned and horrified by this senseless act of violence against the most vulnerable members of our community, ”de Blasio tweeted. “We’re keeping the victims and their loved ones in our hearts tonight.”
Police said during a press conference that the attacks appear to be ‘random acts of violence’ and the men didn’t appear to be targeted
The Post published photos of two of the victims under a white sheet, one slumped in a blood-spattered doorway.
The other lay under a sheet on the sidewalk. The identities of the victims have not been released.
The NYPD is conducting a street-by-street canvass for any additional victims and an investigation is ongoing.
New York City’s homeless population has grown in recent years, to a great extent because of the lack of affordable housing.
The killings started on The Bowery, which cuts through Chinatown and has for decades been known as New York’s skid row, inhabited by homeless addicts and alcoholics.
During the day, the neighborhood is bustling with small businesses and street vendors offering discount goods, its sidewalks packed with pedestrians.
Late at night, when the shops close, it turns into a quiet, desolate neighborhood that was the setting for Saturday’s attacks.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1 – 800 – 577 – TIPS.
A short time later, police arrested a 24 – year-old man who was wielding a metal object in the vicinity of the last three murders
Authorities described the metal object as resembling a pipe. Police said the suspect is also believed to be homeless
The killings started on The Bowery, which cuts through Chinatown and has for decades been known as New York’s skid row, inhabited by homeless addicts and alcoholics
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