Man charged with murder after four homeless men beaten to death while sleeping
‘The motive appears to be, right now, just random attacks,’ detective says
A man has been charged with murder after four homeless men were beaten to death with a metal pipe as they slept in New York City.
Randy Santos, 24, was charged with four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, a police spokesman said.
Santos, who is also homeless, allegedly used a metal pipe to kill the men as they slept in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighbourhood in the early hours of Saturday.
He was taken into police custody later that day.
Officers identified one of the victims as an 83-year-old man, however no information on the other men has been released.
A fifth homeless man was injured in the attacks and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The attacks reportedly left blood splattered on the doorways and pavements where the men had been sleeping.
Michael Baldassano, Chief of Manhattan South Detectives, said: “The motive appears to be, right now, just random attacks.”
He added that there was no evidence yet that the victims were “targeted by race, age, anything of that nature”.
Santos was charged on Sunday and used a Spanish interpreter when he appeared in court. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody.
Santos is next due to appear in court on 11 October.
Agencies contributed to this report.