SAN DIEGO (CN) — San Diego's homeless population and advocates were on edge Thursday as authorities continue to search for a suspect accused of setting homeless men on fire in attacks that have left two dead and two with critical injuries.
Beginning on July 3, a man identified as a suspect by the San Diego Police Department has been setting homeless men sleeping alone on fire, with some of the victims also suffering stab wounds and trauma to their upper bodies. The attacks happened in and around downtown neighborhoods and as far away as Ocean Beach.
One of the attack survivors has life-threatening injuries while the other is expected to survive, according to SDPD Capt. David Nisleit.
SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman told reporters at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that "these evil acts of violence" were the worst she's seen in 34 years in law enforcement.
Authorities said they believe the same person is responsible for all the attacks.
The first victim, 53-year-old Angelo De Nardo, was found on fire shortly after 8 a.m. on July 3 near the train tracks in the Clairemont neighborhood. An autopsy determined he had been killed before being set on fire, according to police Lt. Manny Del Toro.
Manuel Mason, 61, the second victim, was found bleeding from stab wounds just before 5 a.m. Monday morning near the Valley View Casino Center in Point Loma. He was hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive, police said.
A third man, Shawn Longley, 41, was found dead less than an hour later at the Robb Athletic Field in Ocean Beach, about three miles away from the second attack.
The latest attack victim — whose name has not yet been released — was set on fire early Wednesday morning while asleep downtown near the federal courthouse. The 23-year-old man was hospitalized with critical injuries after bystanders pulled a burning towel off the man, according to Nisleit.
The targeted attacks against San Diego's homeless come at a time when tensions between homeless residents, the city and other San Diegans are already high due to the sharp increase in homeless residents living on downtown streets. One report from the Regional Task Force on the Homeless found the number of homeless people downtown has gone up 52 percent in the last two years, as the total number of homeless residents region-wide has gone down slightly.
While the suspect in the murders has not yet been caught and a motive for the attacks is not known, some homeless advocates believe the city's response to addressing homelessness through "anti-homeless tactics" that "criminalize" those living on the streets adds to an already hostile environment for San Diego's most vulnerable population. Courthouse News talked to three well-known advocates about what these attacks mean in light of the current homelessness crisis in San Diego.
Addressing a Humanitarian Crisis
Michael McConnell, a full-time homeless advocate who sits on multiple local and national committees on homelessness said he "loves working on this issue because it has a beautiful rippling effect" of helping improve communities in basically every way, from public safety to tourism. Since the attacks began Sunday, McConnell's taken to the streets to let homeless people know about the attacks and encourage them to sleep in groups and stay out of secluded areas.