Man Arrested for Attacking Five Homeless Men, Killing Two, is also Homeless

Police have arrested a dangerous man accused of targeting and shooting homeless people in Washington D.C. and New York City.

The suspect, identified as Gerald Brevard III, was arrested Tuesday morning around 2:30 a.m. in southeast D.C. for a slew of shootings that claimed the lives of two homeless men in NYC and D.C. Three other men were wounded. Brevard’s aunt, Sheila Brevard, says that her nephew has also been living on the street on and off for several years. At the time of the slayings, he was staying with a family member.

Authorities believe Brevard shot three men in Washington between March 3rd and March 9th and two more in Lower Manhattan on Saturday. All of the shootings occurred in the middle of the night as the men slept. The deceased Washington D.C. victim, 54-year-old Morgan Holmes, was also stabbed, and his tent was set on fire. Brevard will be charged with armed first-degree murder in that case. Police used shell casings and surveillance footage to zero in on their suspect.

Though authorities listed no motive, his family offered insight into what may have driven him to commit such heinous acts. Both Sheila and Brevard’s father, Gerald Brevard Jr., revealed that the man suffered from mental illness but could not get any help. Sheila believes that being estranged from his son was “the source of some of his issues.”

Brevard was previously spent several days in the mental ward but was released after a week. He says that while he is not blaming anyone for his son’s condition, he acknowledges that the tragedies could have been prevented had his son gotten proper mental health treatment,

In addition to murder, Brevard has also been charged with assault with intent to kill and assault with a deadly weapon.