A man sleeps in a wheelchair in a neighborhood crowded by homeless people Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in San Diego. The couple hadn’t heard about the recent assaults on the homeless. At least four homeless men have been brutally attacked since July 3. This map shows the location of those attacks (red markers) and the location of other attacks (blue markers) on homeless people this year, according to news reports.
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Another San Diego homeless man was seriously injured early Wednesday by an attacker police say struck while he was asleep and tried to set him on fire, the latest in a spate of attacks on transients that have left two dead.
The string of attacks began on Sunday and targeted men who were sleeping alone in the early morning hours, with two of them set on fire. The attack occurred downtown but the other three were in different parts of the city.
On Wednesday, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman told reporters that the series of early-morning attacks against the homeless – all believed to have been carried out by the same man – was her officers’ highest priority. One witness told police that Padgett poured an unknown fluid on the victim and then a “whoosh” noise came before the man caught fire.
Homicide investigators say they are absolutely sure that one man is behind all four attacks.
A surveillance video of the man in a cap and backpack has recently been released by the authorities. The victim, whose name has not been released, suffered major upper body trauma.
The body of the first victim in the series, 53-year-old Angelo De Nardo of San Diego, was found in flames in an open area in Bay Park about 8 a.m. Sunday. According to the Miami Herald, he has family in Pennsylvania.
The San Diego police are also using social media to identify the man in question.
On Monday, police responding to a 911 call found 61-year-old Manuel Mason, who suffered life-threatening injuries to his upper torso and remained in critical condition Wednesday. His latest victim, a homeless 23-year-old man, who received burns over much of his upper body after the suspect lit a gasoline-doused rag and placed it on top of the sleeping man, may soon become the third person slain by the suspect.
Police said Wednesday they were getting many calls from people all over the city who thought they might have seen the killer.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconor speaks at a news conference about several murders and additional assaults of homeless citizens Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in San Diego.
The Alpha Project, which provides temporary housing in San Diego, has sent eight representatives to canyons, freeway ramps and other encampments to encourage transients to sleep in groups and in lighted areas, said Bob McElroy, the group’s president. “I can not go into detail why we say that, but we’re quite confident this is the same person responsible for all”.
“There is no doubt in our minds that this person depicted on these photos and depicted on these videos is the person responsible”, SDPD Capt. David Nieslit said at the news conference.
“We really need the public’s assistance”, Nisleit said.
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In 2012, a man was charged in a rampage in nearby Orange County that left six people dead, including four homeless men and a woman and her son. Itzcoatl Ocampo, 25, died in jail before trial. Several of his victims were stabbed.
