3/16/2022 - Addenda
I missed a couple of good ones….
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Wall St Journal
Spokesman-Review
Amazon to build affordable housing near transit stops
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Wall St Journal
Police identify suspect as Gerald Brevard III, who was sought in at least five unprovoked attacks and two deaths
By Omar Abdel-Baqui and Sadie Gurman
Updated March 15, 2022 4:42 pm ET
Surveillance images provided by the New York Police Department show a man suspected of shooting two homeless people in New York on Saturday.
Photo: /Associated Press
A man with a history of mental-health issues was arrested Tuesday in connection with a string of shootings targeting homeless people in Washington, D.C., and New York City, law-enforcement officials said, as they continued to investigate what motivated the violence.
Federal agents, acting on tips from the public and ballistics evidence, arrested Gerald Brevard III, 30 years old, of Washington, at about 2:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in the southeast part of the district.
Police said they believe he is responsible for at least five unprovoked attacks against homeless people, resulting in one death in Washington and one death in New York this month. He was charged Tuesday with three shootings in the district, including with first-degree murder in the death of one of the men, 54-year-old Morgan Holmes, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said.
“He has not offered a motive,” Chief Contee said. “We’re not certain he has a connection to the victims. We believe that it’s random.”
The suspect shot two men sleeping on the street in Manhattan Saturday morning, killing one man, who had gunshot wounds in his head and neck, police said. In Washington, he shot three homeless men between March 3 and March 9, according to police. One of the men, Mr. Holmes, whom authorities found when responding to a tent fire, died.
Among other clues, agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced and connected ballistic evidence—including .22 caliber shell casings—found at the scenes, officials said.
Tips were instrumental in making an arrest, according to law-enforcement officials.
Police in Washington on Monday received an anonymous tip that led to Mr. Brevard, who later posted a picture that appeared to reveal his whereabouts, though initial efforts to find him were unsuccessful, Chief Contee said. More tips poured in after police released photos Monday afternoon, leading to his capture.
“The tips we received…led us directly to contacts, movements, locations and a name,” said New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
Law-enforcement officials said it was unclear why the suspect came to New York.
New York Police Chief of Detectives James Essig said the suspect, whom he didn’t name, has no criminal history in New York or known connections to the city. In the Washington region, court records show Mr. Brevard has a long history that includes misdemeanors and at least one felony.
In one case in 2019, a judge found Mr. Brevard mentally incompetent, and ordered him temporarily committed to a psychiatric hospital run by the District of Columbia’s Department of Behavioral Health, court records show. He was later found competent and pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the records, which noted subsequent probation violations.
Barbara Bazron, director of the behavioral health department, confirmed he had been in the hospital for a competency assessment and that he was enrolled in services at another district agency in 2018.
Chief Essig urged the public to continue to submit information.
“We’re working with the Manhattan district attorney, we’re gathering all our evidence,” he said. “This is two days old, 48-hours old. I’m very confident we’ll get there.”
Officials from the cities announced on Sunday that they believe the same man was responsible for the shootings, sparking a manhunt and mayors from both cities urging homeless people to seek shelter.
“We promised that we’d bring this killer to justice,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday. “We kept that promise.”
Write to Omar Abdel-Baqui at omar.abdel-baqui@wsj.com
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Spokesman-Review
Amazon to build affordable housing near transit stops
Associated Press
SEATTLE – Amazon said Tuesday it will spend more than $120 million to build affordable-housing units close to transit stations near Seattle and Washington, D.C, the latest example of a tech company trying to address the affordable housing crisis critics say the industry has exacerbated.
Amazon said it is working with Sound Transit and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to construct a total of 1,060 homes near four public transit sites. The Washington state sites are in SeaTac and Bellevue. The other sites are Maryland in the cities of New Carrollton and College Park.
Amazon is building out another corporate hub in Arlington, Virginia, and is expanding operations in Bellevue, near its Seattle headquarters.
“We know that our investment in these areas brings many economic opportunities for residents in the region, but we also acknowledge that this growth needs to benefit everyone in the community,” Catherine Buell, director of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, said in a statement.
That funding comes from a commitment Amazon made in January 2021 to launch its Housing Equity Fund, a $2 billion initiative to preserve and create 20,000 affordable homes.
Microsoft has said it will spend at least $750 million toward affordable housing in the Seattle area following years of complaints that the tech boom had worsened the problem as salaries in the sector and housing prices escalated.
Employees walk through a lobby at Amazon’s headquarters on Nov. 13, 2018, in Seattle. Amazon said Tuesday it will spend more than $120 million to build affordable-housing units close to transit stations near Seattle and Washington, D.C.
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