Gerald Brevard III, a 30-year-old man, has been identified as the serial shooter involved in the killings of the homeless in New York and Washington DC. Brevard was arrested by the authorities in the capital on Tuesday.
The alleged accused has been charged with first-degree murder in the March 9 shooting of a homeless man and stabbing death of another 54-year-old homeless.
Brevard Started Targeting Homeless Since Early March
Chilling footage had captured a masked man gunning down a homeless man sleeping on the street in the SoHo area of Manhattan. In the incident, which took place at 148 Lafayette Street, the masked shooter is seen walking slowly near one of the homeless men asleep inside his bright yellow sleeping bag. He then takes out a gun and fires directly into the man's head and neck, several times at point-blank range.
Addressing a press conference, James Essig, the NYPD's Chief of Detectives, said that Brevard, who also faces additional charges of assault with the intent to kill and assault with a dangerous weapon, is also a suspect in two other cases in NYC. However, there's not enough evidence yet to bring charges. "We don't have enough to make an arrest. We're working with the Manhattan District Attorney. We're gathering all our records. This is two days old. We're very confident we'll get there," Essig said.
Reportedly, the authorities claimed that Brevard started targeting the homeless on March 3, before he arrive in Manhattan. The DC Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms field office confirmed that the ballistics examinations found the same firearm connected to all five shootings.
Brevard is a Homeless
It isn't Brevard's first brush with crime. As per the court records, he was charged with assault and battery after attacking a 23-year-old woman in Fairfax County, Virginia, in December 2020. Brevard is also a wanted man in Maryland on 33 counts of alleged credit card theft.
Brevard's father claimed that he was suffering from mental health issues. Speaking to the New York Post Gerald Brevard Jr., said, "My son never had a violent bone in him as far as I know. He had mental problems ... He wasn't himself. He's talking in the third person and stuff like that."
"The bigger picture is not that he has mental illness, but the number of times that he's been within the judicial system and how the system has failed regarding the treatment of so many, including my son," he went on to add.
Brevard's cousin revealed that he was a homeless who occasionally stayed at a great aunt's house in Maryland. "When he wanted to be off the street he came, you know, to seek solace right here at my mom's house ... she would take him in every time. He would come in and out, stay a couple of nights and continue to move on," cousin Dearell Brevard Sr. told the outlet.
