Philadelphia man accused of assaulting 6 people as they slept on city streets

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Philadelphia’s District Attorney Larry Krasner said he wants to make an example out of a man who admitted to assaulting six people as they slept on the street in Center City earlier this month.

Naeem Morgan is facing a number of charges including assault, reckless endangering and harassment for the alleged attack, which was videotaped by his friends.

Assistant DA Peter Sawan said the incident happened just before 3 a.m. on July 4.

“Naeem Morgan, while walking by the Pennsylvania Convention Center, physically assaulted and harassed six unhoused individuals,” Sawan said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “He kicked, pushed and threw objects at those unhoused individuals. Furthermore, he would scream at them to ‘get a job.’”

“Video capturing the assaults was recovered from multiple social media platforms as well as surveillance video in the area,” said Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith. “The six individuals who were the victims of the assaults are as of yet unidentified.”

The people who videotaped the incident are still being sought by police.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said assaults against residents who do not have a home will not be tolerated.

The DA’s office said Morgan was identified by police bodycam video from a previous incident and confessed to the crimes. He was arrested on Monday after a warrant was issued in the case.

Reverend Robin Hynicka of Arch Street United Methodist Church said this kind of abuse is, unfortunately, not uncommon.

“We are making the point that our unhoused, unsheltered neighbors matter. And thank you for that,” Hynicka said. “In my opinion, as a theologian, this is what I would call the anti-good Samaritan story.”

Krasner said there have been other similar harassment incidents of people living on the street, as well as more serious attacks.

“In fact, if you look at the history of serial killers, you will find over and over and over they very deliberately and specifically target vulnerable people thinking they can get away with it and thinking that the system, whether it is the police, prosecutors or others, won’t care,” he said. “Well, the answer is we care, and we are outraged.”

Morgan could receive a minimal sentence with mandated alcohol treatment, prosecutors say, since he has confessed and claims he was under the influence at the time of the incident.