Attacks On Homeless Leave One Dead
Assailants armed with baseball bats or sticks beat three homeless men in separate attacks Thursday, killing one of the victims, police said. One of the attacks was caught on a university surveillance video.
Police said the attacks may be related but they aren't yet sure.
Two to four young white males were involved, police said. Officials released the surveillance video from Florida Atlantic University showing two men beating one of the victims with what appear to be bats.
The incidents came as the Washington-based National Coalition for the Homeless designated another city in Florida, Sarasota, the meanest city in the nation toward the homeless.
Sarasota bans sleeping outside overnight without permission on public or private property. A judge recently upheld the ordinance passed by city commissioners in August after two similar no-camping rules were declared unconstitutional.
Norris Gaynor, 45, died from his injuries, and the other two men were in serious condition at Broward General Medical Center, according to police. The survivors were not identified.
"I know that there was no confrontation prior to the incident," said Detective Kathy Collins. "They seem to just come out and started beating them immediately."
One of the assaults occurred near the Broward Center for Performing Arts and the other was near a church.
"It's horrifying and most of these guys that are down here are harmless. I mean, really, they are nice guys," city resident Mariane Kroustasis told CBS station WFOR.
Collins said police are asking other homeless if there have been other incidents.
"We've been trying to contact them to see if there may be any cases where they maybe have not reported it to the police, and maybe they've been associated with these crimes, so maybe we'll get some leads that way as well," she said.
The annual list of the 20 worst cities for treating the homeless in 2005 ranks Lawrence, Kan., as second meanest, and Little Rock, Ark., third. Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and Houston were also among the top 10.
Sarasota officials say the no-lodging rule helps keep the city's homeless out of unsafe and unhealthy camps.
Forty-five people were arrested last year for violating the ordinance, which gives police the option of transporting suspects to a shelter instead of jail.
According to the Coalition's report, released Wednesday with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, homelessness, as measured by increased demands for emergency shelter, went up nationally. It estimated that 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness.
The list of Meanest Cities:
- Sarasota, Fla.
- Lawrence, Kan.
- Little Rock, Ark.
- Atlanta
- Las Vegas
- Dallas
- Houston
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Santa Monica, Calif.
- Flagstaff, Ariz.
- San Francisco
- Chicago
- San Antonio
- New York City
- Austin, Texas
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Phoenix
- Los Angeles
- St. Louis
- Pittsburgh