In his years without a home, Gregory Hammett has fought off heat, cold, wind, ice, rain, snow, rats, insects, hunger, riots and robbers.

       This week, he added a serial killer to the list of things homeless people like him have to be afraid of in the nation’s capital.

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       “This is something new,” said Hammett, a 62-year-old Army veteran from Arizona who, with his flowing silver hair and beard, looks like Gandalf in camo and on crutches.

       There are about a dozen tents dotting the grounds surrounding the Christopher Columbus statue outside Union Station, an encampment that sprouted during the pandemic. On Monday morning, the chatter there was all about the “coldblooded killer” that the mayors of D.C. and New York said has shot five men living on the streets in both cities. And the people in the tents worry that it’ll mean the end of their encampments.

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       “It is heartbreaking and tragic to know that in addition to all the dangers that unsheltered residents face, we now have a coldblooded killer on the loose,” D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a joint statement Sunday night.

       Homeless encampments are becoming part of the American landscape

       Police in both cities have a good photo of a “person of interest” in the shootings, two of which were fatal. He looks smooth-headed, is possibly bearded and wears blue latex gloves when he shoots, according to the photos released by police.

       The shootings began March 3 in D.C., where gunshots summoned police at 4 a.m. to the 1100 block of New York Avenue in Northeast, where a man was shot while outside. Five days later, another man was shot in the face and hands and ran away, screaming for help. Both men survived.

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       But on March 9, a fire on New York Avenue was extinguished by firefighters who found a man who had been shot and stabbed before being set on fire.

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       The killer was quiet after that. But on Saturday, he shot two people asleep in Lower Manhattan, killing one.

       By Sunday, police connected the dots and made an announcement.

       “We all just heard about it today,” said Marty Mercer, 51, who signs letters with the address “Tent City outside Union Station, Washington D.C.”

       “You’re already in danger when you’re out here,” Mercer said. “There were two stabbings and a rape recently. You’re always scared and nervous.”

       Surrounding the mighty sculpture of Columbus at Union Station are piles of clothing, takeout food and boxes of doughnuts left for the men and women who stay there. And there’s a sorting and haggling routine that happens every morning.

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       “You go ahead and have those,” a man known as Mole tells a woman asking about a box of ribs that someone had left.

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       “I’ve been homeless since I was 14,” said Mole, who got his street name because he sees better in the dark than in daylight. “And I’m 55. I’ve been attacked, sure. But a killer? Haven’t seen that.”

       The folks of the encampment wondered Monday who the killer is and what the motive might be.

       “He’s out to get rid of us, one by one,” one said.

       “Maybe he’s one of us, and he’s blending in,” another suggested.

       Violent attacks against the homeless were on the rise and especially horrific last year, when a man was beheaded in Colorado, a sleeping woman was attacked by four kids in Washington state and a sleeping man was set on fire in New York.

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       In late 2020, the National Coalition for the Homeless looked at 20 years of statistics and saw a steady rise in hate crimes against the unhoused.

       Violence against the homeless is on the rise

       Yet folks like Mole and Hammett sleep outside because they feel safer there than they do in a shelter.

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       “Last time I was in a shelter, there was a fight and they knocked over a bunk bed,” Hammett said. “I had to get out of the way because I have a rod in my leg and I’m not walking again if I go down.”

       Advocates worry that the recent attacks will lead cities to clear encampments. That’s something most people want — but only if there’s a solution to house folks that’s more humane and productive than a shelter.

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       “Our point has always been that we don’t want to see anyone living on the streets,” said Ann Marie Staudenmaier, a staff attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. “But that’s often safer than being in the horrible congregate shelters.”

       Another fear?

       “Jail,” Hammett said. “I’m worried they’re going to use this as an excuse to throw anyone who is homeless in jail. Now what good is that?”

       At Columbus Circle, the folks outside talked about keeping watch and taking turns looking out for the killer. They feel under attack and unwanted, again.

       “Most of the homeless people are just trying to take care of themselves,” Hammett said. “Without being burdens to others.”