Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, suspect a serial gunman is targeting the city’s homeless population after three people were found shot to death during the last month.
Investigators began sending warnings to homeless shelters in Louisiana’s capital after the most recent victim, a 50-year-old transient, was found dead from a single gunshot wound last Friday on the porch of a vacant home.
Earlier in December, police discovered two other homeless people shot dead nearby.
Each of the killings appears to be connected, but police have not revealed a definitive link between the three cases.
“At this time, we believe that the homicides are connected,” said Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul, according to Baton Rouge news station WAFB-9. “However, such connection cannot be positively confirmed at this time. If confirmation is made, further information will be released at the appropriate time,” Paul told reporters at a news conference last Friday, adding: “We will continue to work these cases aggressively.”
The first two bodies were discovered Dec. 13 at an overpass east of downtown Baton Rouge.
Christina Fowler, 53, and Gregory Corcoran, 40, were found dead from gunshot wounds underneath a bridge, police said.
Two weeks later, police found the 50-year-old, Tony Williams, dead only two blocks from the location of the other victims, according to WAFB.
The city’s homeless population is on edge as police have begun urging people in the community to not sleep outdoors.
“Based on the information that we currently have,” it's necessary to tell the public that “there is danger in sleeping outside,” Paul said.
The city's largest homeless shelter, St. Vincent de Paul, has expanded its capacity to ensure the safety of citizens.
“It’s kind of hard to put any of this into words because it’s shocking,” St. Vincent director Michael Acaldo told ABC News Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ. “Why would anyone target someone who’s vulnerable and homeless?”
Baton Rouge police said it has formed a task force with the FBI and Louisiana State Police to help in the investigation.
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