A man with a stick killed 2 homeless people in Miami in an 'unprovoked' attack, police say

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A man wielding a stick killed two people in Miami in an “unprovoked” attack on four homeless people, law enforcement officials said. The suspect was taken into custody following the beatings, which police say were carried out early Thursday.

A 911 call placed just after 6 a.m. Thursday alerted officials to what they say was a 30-year-old man armed with a stick, beating people living on the streets of Miami.

Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told reporters Thursday that the suspect first beat one man near a downtown train station before heading down the street to batter another homeless man. He then attacked a homeless couple across the street, Morales said.

Officers responded “within seconds” of the dispatch call, Morales said, chasing down the suspect and taking him into custody after he tried to run away.

“This is a horrible incident," Morales said. “The officers on the scene and the Miami Police Department is appalled at this display of unprovoked violence.”

Officials have not yet released the suspect's name while they continue investigating, saying he has no local criminal history but has had some “minor run-ins with police” in New York.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.