Morgan Holmes was 54 when he was killed on March 9, 2022. He was living in a tent near 4th and New York Avenue NE in Washington, D.C., when attackers stabbed and shot him and then set the shelter on fire. Burns initially obscured the violent nature of his death.

Investigators later linked Holmes’s killing to a string of attacks on men experiencing homelessness in Washington, D.C., and New York City over a nine-day span. Ballistics tied the same .22 caliber weapon to multiple scenes. Police released images of a suspect; a tipster identified him as 30-year-old Gerald Brevard, who was arrested by federal agents and charged with first-degree murder in Holmes’s death and related offenses. Reports note Brevard had a history of mental illness.

Holmes had been a husband, father and grandfather. In youth in Philadelphia he was an honor student and a dancer; after Army service he struggled with mental illness for decades and later became unhoused. A memorial service at the site drew ministers and community members who called for more dignity and care for people experiencing homelessness.

If anyone knew Morgan or has information about the attacks, please share what can help the ongoing investigation.