Latest Victim Found Murdered, 3 Brutal Crimes Against The Homeless In San Diego Within 24 Hours

Around 6 a.m. on July 4, a man was found murdered in Robb Athletic Field in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, Calif.. This may be the third victim in what is believed to be a string of violent crimes involving three victims in 24-hours time.

It is believed that all three victims were homeless. The latest victim died of blunt force trauma to the upper body and is believed to have been murdered in his sleep.

Another victim was found set ablaze on July 3 around 8:00 a.m. As reported by the San Diego Tribune:

“Firefighters who responded found a flaming corpse and quickly doused it… Investigators haven’t determined whether the man was already dead when he was ignited or if he suffered other trauma. The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the victim’s identity and his cause of death.”

A third victim was found around 4:50 a.m. on July 4 when someone called 911. According to the report released by the San Diego Police Department:

“When officers arrived on scene, they located an adult male with trauma to his upper torso. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital with life threatening injuries.”

Report released by the San Diego Police Department via Facebook.

The man pictured in the above report is listed as a person of interest. At this time he has not been named a suspect.

The San Diego area has a record of violence towards the homeless. Just a few weeks ago a cheerleader named Hailey Jordan Suder gained notoriety for her involvement in the murder of a homeless man. That victim was found near the San Diego river in Santee, CA.

On June 21, at least six homeless people became victims when they were struck and lacerated with unknown objects. The crime occurred in the early morning hours and no arrests have been made.

While it is still unknown if the latest attacks in San Diego were hate crimes, it’s certainly a question on everyone’s mind.

These vicious attacks have left the community shocked and heartbroken, but Ocean Beach has a long track record of intolerance. In Ocean Beach homeless people are often referred to as “trolls.”

Local Facebook groups have seen such a controversy in hate spewed towards “trolls” that administrators have had to block anyone from leaving comments on posts related to the homeless. That has been the case even when the posts are intended to spread tolerance.

Image screen grab via Facebook.
Image screen grab via Facebook.

While the irony of people spilling hate online and referring to anyone else as a troll is rich, it’s not without consequences.

Troll is a derogatory term used to describe homeless people. Those who defend the use of the term troll state that there is a difference between a homeless person and a homeless troll. They say that troll is essentially a behavior and not a category of human beings.

In a post that earned 30 likes, Bernie Mulroy defended his use of the term troll.

Image screen grab via Facebook.
Image screengrab via Facebook.

If troll were a behavior and not a category of people, the word would not consistently be used as a noun.

While Mulroy did point out that mental illness and drug addiction can be factors in homelessness, he forgets important details.

The average passerby does not have the expertise needed to diagnose mental illness or substance addiction. The average passerby is not qualified to make the distinction between a person who is homeless by choice or by circumstance.

There is nothing wrong with condemning an offensive behavior. It would be fine for Mulroy to state that public urination, theft, assault, or even panhandling are immoral or otherwise offensive behaviors.

What is wrong is assigning a categorical name and implying that one group of people is consistently the responsible party for those behaviors. That type of ideology creates stigma and hate. In this case that stigma is assigned to an incredibly vulnerable population.

That stigma is consistently reflected in the community when someone posts online about vandalism or valuables that have gone missing. People are quick to scapegoat “trolls” even if the crime has no witnesses. That stigma might be a contributor to the violence against the homeless in San Diego.

Image screen grab via Facebook.
Image screen grab via Facebook.

In a neighborhood that calls itself the war zone and takes pride in it’s edgy history, one would expect more tolerance.