2 dead, 2 hurt in what police are describing as an attack on homeless people in Miami

Grethel Aguila and David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Jan 16, 2025

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MIAMI — Two people are dead and two others injured after a man went on a beating rampage in downtown Miami early Thursday morning.

It appears all four of the people attacked with what police say was a stick are homeless, Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told reporters during a press briefing Thursday afternoon.

Police received a 911 call about a man with a stick beating others at 6 a.m. Two minutes later, nearby officers saw a man matching the description of the suspect near the area of North Miami Avenue and Sixth Street, Morales said.

The man ran away, but officers quickly caught him, Morales said.

According to witnesses, the attack began on First Avenue and Northwest Sixth Street, with the man, who police have not named, beating people “with some sort of stick item,” Morales said. He then walked eastbound on Sixth Street, approaching North Miami Avenue and beat another man, Morales said.

“There were several individuals attacked, all of them homeless,” Morales said.

He then crossed the street and beat two other people, Morales said.

“Unfortunately, two of the four individuals who were attacked are now deceased,” the chief told reporters.

The man in custody is a 30-year-old man who police have not identified because their investigation continues, Morales said. Detectives on Thursday afternoon were still talking to witnesses and looking at video evidence, he said.

The man does not have any criminal history in Miami, said Morales, but does “have some minor criminal run-ins with police in up in New York.”

Police are asking anyone with information about the attack to call the department at 305-579-6111 or anonymously at CrimeStoppers at 305-471-8477.

“The officers on scene and the Miami Police Department are appalled at the display of unprovoked violence, and we will make sure that our investigators pay close attention so we can hold this individual accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Morales said.

Following the attacks, the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust released a statement saying the incident is “a senseless loss of these lives” and said the organization “remains committed and determined to get every person off the streets and into safe housing.”

“Our deep appreciation to Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales and his team at the Miami Police Department for their swift apprehension of a suspect in this senseless set of murders and attacks on our community’s most vulnerable and for what we know will be an aggressive prosecution by State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s office,” Ron Book, chair of the group, stated.

This report will be updated as more information becomes available

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