New York City police cars are pictured, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 1, 2021.
New York City police cars are pictured, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 1, 2021. Reuters / Carlo Allegri

New York City police on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the stabbings of three homeless men, one of whom has died.

Trevon Murphy, a 40-year-old homeless man, was brought in as a person of interest on Wednesday morning and then placed under arrest in connection with the stabbings, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a briefing.

Police found Murphy after a witness spotted him near a park in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny said. Murphy was wearing neon-colored shoes, gray backpack and black hoodie with the words "Innocence Project" that matched images of the suspect distributed by the New York Police Department. Police officials said he had a knife in his pocket at the time of his arrest.

The stabbings took place over a seven-day period ending July 11 in different areas of Manhattan.

The first victim on July 5, a 34-year-old man, was asleep on a bench before being awakened by a sharp pain to his stomach, police officials said. He was transported to the hospital where he later died.

The two other victims - a 59-year-old man stabbed on July 8 while lying on a park bench and a 28-year-old man stabbed on July 11 while lying on the ground in a park playground - were in stable condition after their separate attacks.

None of the victims have been identified.

Police said the motivation for the attacks remains unknown. Murphy was previously convicted in Tennessee on a narcotics charge and was wanted on a probation violation.

Officials said Murphy was also arrested and released in April on his own recognizance after he attacked a sleeping roommate in a homeless shelter in the Queens borough of New York City. Murphy is due in court on July 22 in connection with that case.

"I don't think this dangerous person is a reflection of New York," Mayor Eric Adams said at a briefing.

When Adams was elected in November 2021, he promised to reduce crime, but statistics show a 37.8% increase in overall crime, which has risen in New York and other U.S. cities since the pandemic began. However, despite the recent uptick, crime in New York City is still far lower compared with three decades ago.

Studies have shown that homeless people are also more likely to be victims of crimes when compared with the general population.

This is the second case involving attacks on homeless people in New York City this year. In March, Gerald Brevard III, 30, was arrested in Washington, D.C., after allegedly shooting five victims, two in New York.