Miami police have identified the man accused of killing two homeless people and injuring two others in an unprovoked attack.
Brenton Clarke, 36, of Inwood, New York, was arrested shortly after the Thursday morning attack, officials said. He has no arrest history in Miami but does have an arrest history for minor offenses in New York, Miami police said.
A 911 call placed just after 6 a.m. Thursday alerted officials to what they say was a man in his 30s armed with a stick, beating people living on the streets.
Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the other two were transported to a nearby trauma center, officials said. Miami police were working to determine the motive behind the attacks.
READ MORE: Suspect targets homeless in Miami, kills 2 and injures 2 others, say police
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told reporters on Thursday that the suspect first beat one man near a downtown train station before heading down the street to batter another homeless man. He then attacked a homeless couple across the street, Morales said.
Officers responded “within seconds” of the dispatch call, Morales said, chasing down the man and taking him into custody after he tried to run away.
“This is a horrible incident,” Morales said. “The officers on the scene and the Miami Police Department is appalled at this display of unprovoked violence.”
Clarke is being held without bond at the Miami-Dade jail. He's been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery with a deadly weapon. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Clarke, and the Miami-Dade public defender's office didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust Chair Ron Book called the violent attack “tragic” and “senseless.”
“The murder of at least two members of our unhoused community and the hospitalization of two others is tragic,” he said in a statement. “While we grieve the senseless loss of these lives, the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust remains committed and determined to get every person off the streets and into safe housing.”
He applauded Morales and the Miami Police Department investigators for the “swift” arrest of the attack suspect.
“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.”
WLRN News Staff contributed to this story.
