(NewsNation) — Police in New York and Washington, D.C., asked the public for help in finding a suspect in the shootings of five homeless people, two of whom died, and they got it.

A tip called in Monday helped police identify their subject as Gerald Brevard, 30, and at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took him off the street outside a gas station in the nation’s capital.

Police say they haven’t discovered a motive for the shootings, and say Brevard hasn’t provided one. Searches of Brevard’s social media accounts have come up empty, as well. He has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapons, assault with intent to kill and first-degree murder while armed.

The task for detectives now is to find out just how many victims there are among the homeless community, known frequently for avoiding police involvement. Departments in other cities are being contacted to see if they’ve had similar crimes that might be tied to Brevard.\

After the arrest, Robert Contee, chief of police in Washington, D.C., said, “I send my condolences to the families and friend here in DC and NYC. We hope Brevard’s arrest provides a sense closure for you but also relief to our vulnerable population here in the District of Columbia.”

Brevard was previously charged with violent crimes in Virginia and D.C. He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and sent to a psychiatric facility in 2019. Eventually, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in prison. That sentence was suspended. .

Despite ballistics linking a .22-caliber weapon to five separate shootings in NYC and D.C., Brevard is only being charged in Washington for now. When asked why charges weren’t yet filed in New York, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said, “We don’t have enough to make an arrest. We’re working with the Manhattan district attorney. We’re gathering all our evidence … I’m very confident we’ll get there, and when we’re able to, we’ll announce an arrest.”