(CNN)Capt. Kevin Kentish, a Queens native who now works for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, was scrolling through his social media over the weekend when something caught his eye.
Kentish, still keeping up with news from his home state, saw footage released by the New York City Police Department of a person of interest being searched in connection the shootings of two homeless people there, one of them was killed.
In DC, Kentish and his team investigated a March 9 murder of a homeless man. The detective tagged the photos with his colleagues, and they contacted New York and federal law enforcement and began comparing evidence, including bullet casings left at the scene.
“Our partners at the ATF tested our evidence that was obtained, they tested the evidence that was obtained in New York, and we got a hit,” Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said. They were looking for the same person.
DC authorities linked two other local shootings to the suspect. Leaders from both cities held a joint press conference on Monday, asking the public for help in identifying the suspect. An anonymous tip helped lead to his identity.
ATF agents found and arrested 30-year-old Gerald Brevard on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
He was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent to kill in connection with two non-fatal shootings of a homeless person and first-degree murder while armed for the killing of 54-year-old Morgan Holmes, who also had no fixed address, the authorities said DC police on Tuesday. CNN was not immediately able to identify an attorney for Brevard.
“We have our man,” Contee said during a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. “This case is an example of what happens when there is good policing, science and community support.”
In a separate news conference on Tuesday, NYPD detective chief James Essig said while authorities in New York City have yet to announce charges against the individual, they believe it is the same individual as the DC suspect because they used the weapon through ballistic Have attached evidence and his clothes through pictures.
“We don’t have enough to make an arrest, we’re working with the Manhattan District Attorney, we’re gathering all of our evidence,” Essig said. “I’m very confident that we can do it.”
“A harrowing act against a defenseless person”
The first known shooting happened around 4 a.m. on March 3 in DC, police said. Officers responded to gunfire and found a man with obvious gunshot wounds who was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
On March 8, shortly after 1:20 a.m., DC authorities responded to reports of another shooting and found a man with apparent gunshot wounds who was also being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Both victims are recovering, Contee said this week.
At approximately 2:52 am on March 9, a DC police officer noticed a fire. The remains of a man – who police later identified as Holmes – were discovered and pronounced dead at the scene. A coroner determined that the victim died from multiple stab and gunshot wounds.
All three victims appeared to be homeless, DC police said.
At around 4:30 a.m. on March 12, New York City officials responded to a 38-year-old man who had been shot in the arm while he slept, Essig said. About 90 minutes later, another man sleeping on a sidewalk was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene, Essig said.
“You’re kind of baffled and shocked that someone could commit such a harrowing act against a defenseless person,” Essig said.
As soon as they linked the two shootings, the New York City Police Department held a press conference Saturday night and published pictures of her person of interest. According to officials, Kentish, the DC detective, saw the images at the time.
DC police contacted the NYPD Sunday morning, Essig said, and as of 2 p.m. “all five cases — the three in DC and the two in New York City — are confirmed to be consistent and a ballistic lead.”
Authorities say they are still investigating how the suspect moved between the two cities but suspect he took public transport, Essig said.
A weapon was not secured as part of the investigation, the authorities said. The suspect had “several contacts with the police in different states,” said Essig.
Brevard has not given a motive, Contee said, and authorities are not sure what links he may have to the victims.
What proponents say the shootings highlight
While police searched for the perpetrator of the crimes, DC and New York City leaders urged homeless residents to seek shelter.
But advocates say shelters can also be unsafe and dangerous environments for some people affected by homelessness, and that the recent spate of violence shows how important it is for elected leaders to get involved in securing housing and resources for homeless residents invest.
“We know that the homeless are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators, but unfortunately much of the discourse lately has vilified homeless New Yorkers and portrayed them as dangerous, rather than acknowledging the inherent dangers that homeless people face.” Jacquelyn Simone , policy director of the Coalition for the Homeless, told CNN affiliate WABC.
The group has also linked New York Mayor Eric Adams’ recent initiative to clear the subways to the violence.
Officials say the city’s plan, which Adams unveiled in a joint news conference with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last month, will help fight crime and homelessness in the subway system, but critics said it criminalizes those living with homelessness and mental illnesses.
“We had said at the time that if the city didn’t actually invest in the types of housing and permanent housing that people want and need, people would just move out of the subways and into the streets,” Simone told the subsidiary.
Adams stood by the initiative this week, telling reporters, “We will not allow the residents of our city to be in a position where they cannot take care of themselves or are dangerous to others.
Upon request on the Monday after efforts To help vulnerable residents find permanent housing, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city is continuing a pilot program aimed at providing people living in certain camps with resources to move them into affordable housing and evacuate unsafe residential areas.
But advocates have raised concerns that the program could marginalize many people again if vulnerable residents are not adequately housed when officials vacate the sites – and could contribute to the further criminalization of homelessness.
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