Man accused of fatally beating 2 homeless people in Miami

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MIAMI — Miami police have identified the man accused of killing two homeless people and injuring two others in an unprovoked attack.

Brenton Clarke, 36, of Inwood, New York, was arrested shortly after the Thursday morning attack, officials said. He has no arrest history in Miami but does have an arrest history for minor offences in New York, Miami police said.

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A 911 call placed just after 6 a.m. Thursday alerted officials to what they say was a man in his 30s armed with a stick, beating people living on the streets.

Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the other two were transported to a nearby trauma centre, officials said. Miami police were working to determine the motive behind the attacks.

Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told reporters on 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 man 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.”

Clarke is being held without bond at the Miami-Dade jail. He’s been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery with a deadly weapon. Online court records didn’t list an attorney for Clarke, and the Miami-Dade public defender’s office didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.