Homeless, not faceless: After killings, a community mourns

NEW YORK (AP) — They were figures in Chinatown's street scene: the homeless octogenarian whom residents respectfully greeted as "uncle." The itinerant preacher and blogger who tapped out posts on his laptop in a park. And the man who had a home and family on Staten Island but liked to spend time with friends in Chinatown.

Everyday threads in the fabric of a vibrant urban neighborhood, they were ripped out by brutality. They and another man, about whom little is known, were beaten to death after being attacked in their sleep.

The Oct. 5 killings have trained scrutiny on the city's struggle to reduce homelessness, but they also have spotlighted a certain sense of community. After a vigil for all of the victims last week, dozens of people paid respects Thursday to Chuen Kok, 83, at a memorial service arranged by area residents.

"A lot of people who saw him every day cared about him," said Kim Mui, one of those who brought him food, offered him money and encouraged him to go to shelters over the years.

Kok and three others — Anthony Manson, Florencio Moran and Nazario Vásquez Villegas — were bludgeoned to death with a metal pipe as they slept on streets around a Chinatown square a few blocks from City Hall, police said. A fifth man was critically injured.

Randy Santos, 24, has been charged with murder. He hasn't entered a plea, and his lawyer has declined to comment.

Santos and some of the victims were part of a New York City homeless population that includes over 60,000 people in shelters and likely thousands more on streets, subways and other public spots. A January count found nearly 3,600 unsheltered homeless people, down about 8% in two years but still above average for the decade. Advocates for the homeless have long questioned the reliability of the annual...