One Year Later, Locals Hold Vigil for Homeless Men Beaten to Death on the Bowery
Photo: Karlin Chan
This past Monday marked exactly one year since four homeless men were murdered while asleep on the Bowery.
To commemorate the date, neighbors held an intimate community vigil at Kimlau Square to remember the fallen – Chuen Kwok, Anthony Manson, Florencio Moran, and Nazario Vazquez-Villegas. It was a solemn evening without the usual “we should do more” speeches. Instead, passersby and locals gathered to light an electric candle to place beside the framed name of a victim. A woman also brought a food “offering” to place on each of the four benches, traditional in Chinese culture.
October 5, 2019 was a bloodbath on the Bowery. A 24-year-old homeless man name Randy Santos attacked the four victims with a three-foot piece of scrap metal while they slept. Santos was charged with four counts of murder, and one count of attempted murder, for which he pleaded not guilty.
Photo: Karlin Chan
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