The killings of three homeless people in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have led to a state of fear in the community after police determined that the murders may be connected, local news station WAFB reports.
Three people, all of whom were homeless, have been shot and killed in two separate incidents in the past month in the city.
"People are scared," said one person, identified only as Amanda, who has spent years living on the streets in Baton Rouge.
"I have a knife in my back pocket," she added. "I have mace in my purse, and I know how to go fisticuffs with you."
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul told WAFB at a press conference that the cases are being thoroughly investigated, and said that he believes the murders are related, though he cannot be positive at this point.
"Despite these people being classified as homeless, these are very active, aggressive investigations. These are real people, have real families, real lives, and so the detectives know that and they see that, and they take this work to part," added East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore.
Both Paul and Moore said that the city will work with organizations that provide shelter to the homeless in order to keep them safe and off the streets.
"Certainly having the police chief say that, Hillar Moore say that, that's important. It's important not to sleep outside, it's not safe today, it wasn't safe yesterday. It's never safe," said Michael Acaldo, director of St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge.
"The beds that we can provide to the community are always of urgent nature and certainly now even more so, and so we're doing the best we can with what we have available in ensuring if somebody comes to us in search of shelter, we're providing that to them," he added.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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