Arrest made in Downtown Miami homeless attack that killed two

Arrest made in Downtown Miami homeless attack that killed two


MIAMI – An arrest has been made in the unprovoked attacks on the homeless in Downtown Miami that left two dead.

Brenton Clarke, 36, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery with a deadly weapon.

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Brenton Clarke 

Miami-Dade Corrections


According to his arrest affidavit, surveillance camera video captured Clarke walking by and then stopping to watch a person sleeping on a sidewalk of NW 6 Street near North Miami Avenue just after 5 a.m. on Thursday morning. He then walked off. About 40 minutes later, police said the video showed Clarke returning to the area and staring at two others sleeping on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from the first person. They said he was armed with a metal rod and started beating the two sleeping together.

Clarke, who is from Inwood, New York, reportedly then ran across the street and started beating the first person who caught his attention. After taking some of their belongings, Clark ran toward NW 1 Avenue.

In the area of NW 1 Avenue, just north of NW 6 Street, surveillance video shows Clarke beating another person sleeping on the sidewalk before running off, according to the arrest report.

Around 6 a.m., Clarke returned to the scene of the first attack and beat the first person who caught his attention with what was described as a “large wooden stick,” according to the police. He then reportedly crossed the street and attacked the two others who had been sleeping on the sidewalk. When an armed passerby went to confront him, Clarke ran off, according to police.

Police saturated the area and Clarke was spotted at NW 2 Avenue and NW 5 Street. The arrest report noted that he had wet stains on his pants and shoes which were later determined to be blood splatter. The report said Clarke was “exhibiting a frantic behavior and was running in the middle of the road” in an apparent attempt to flee the area. He was taken into custody after a brief foot chase.

According to police, one of the people he attacked on the sidewalk of NW 6th Street and the person he beat on NW 1 Avenue both died from their injuries. The two who had been sleeping together on NW 6 Street were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, one was critically injured.

“This is a horrible incident,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales. “The officers on the scene and Miami police are appalled at this display of unprovoked violence and we will make sure our investigators pay close attention so we can hold this individual accountable to the full extent of the law.”

Morales said it was not clear what Clarke’s motive was or if he attacked those people because they were unhoused.  



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