A person sleeps on a bench in New York's Manhattan subway system. Police in New York have appealed for help to identify a man who shot at least two homeless people, killing one of them as he slept on the street.
"The cases are clear and horrific," said Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, who urged witnesses to come forward.
Video surveillance footage captured that attack, showing the shooter firing at the second man as he slept at about 6am, shortly after the first incident.
On Sunday night, local media reported an attack on a third man, who also appeared to be homeless. He was found dead at around 7pm local time with a "possible gunshot wound," NBC New York reported, citing police.
Mr Adams described the shootings as senseless attacks on people "sleeping on the streets — not committing a crime, but sleeping on the streets."
He and the police urged New York's thousands of homeless people to contact city agencies that can help them find sleeping accommodation.
Homeless people moved out of subways
New York's homeless population has grown in recent years. Mr Adams announced a plan only weeks after taking office in January to move them out of the city's vast system of subway tunnels, where many sleep on cold nights.
His proposal drew sharp criticism from some non-governmental organisations.
"People only stay in the subway because they have no better place to go," said the Coalition for the Homeless.
The appeal comes after a stabbing at New York's Museum of Modern Art on Saturday, when a man leapt over a reception desk and stabbed two employees as they tried to flee.
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