Las Vegas police asks public for help on crimes targeting homeless

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) has made an appeal to the public to help them catch a shooter targeting homeless people in a series of attacks.

Four shootings that happened in less than a week were committed by the same suspect, a LVMPD press release on Tuesday said.

The suspect was described as a white or Hispanic male adult approximately 6 ft (1.82 m) tall, driving a Hyundai Tucson that was either silver, grey, or a light blue.

The most recent shooting happened on Friday. Surveillance footage showed the suspect approaching a homeless man sleeping under the bridge in downtown Las Vegas early morning and shooting him dead.

LVMPD's Lt. Dan McGrath described the killing as "basically an execution."

Two other attacks occurred on Jan. 29, leaving one dead and another with a wound to the head.

A shooting the same day in Nevada's Logandale, about an hour's drive northeast of Las Vegas, was considered to resemble the other three cases as the shooter's vehicle appeared to be the same one.

The LVMPD is asking residents with information about the four incidents, or with surveillance footage, to make contact them.

"We must find this suspect. He is armed and dangerous and targeting our homeless, the most vulnerable citizens," said Capt. Robert Plummer of the department said in an official video. Enditem