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Arrest Of Suspected Serial Killer Brings Relief To Homeless On Streets Of Fort Lauderdale

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The arrest of a suspected serial killer targeting homeless people has brought plenty of relief to those living on the streets.

"It's put chill out my back. I sleep out here every night," said Robert Gass, who is homeless.

The park in front of the Fort Lauderdale Library is home for dozens of homeless people.

Many say they had heard rumors about a man targeting homeless people.

"I went upstairs to the library, I look for news articles for any kind of reference to this and I couldn't find any," Gass said. "And I told everybody it's a lie."

Nathaniel Petgrave
Nathaniel Petgrave is accused of targeting and killing homeless men in Fort Lauderdale. (Source: Broward Sheriff's Office)

It wasn't a lie.

Nathaniel Petgrave was arrested on accusations he targeted five people and killed three.

Not much is known about him. Nobody CBS4's Silva Harapetian spoke with recognized his photo and didn't seem to know any of the victims.

"To the best of our knowledge and everything we've looked it we don't believe he targeted these victims for any reason other than their availability," said Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Steve Novak.

Since police believe he was going after seemingly easy targets, it's leaving the homeless people in Fort Lauderdale worried others may see them as targets.

"You'll see everyone lined up along the wall night here at night like sausages. You can just walk up. We know to watch out. We know to get up when we hear a noise, you know, to see what's going on," said Gass. "But nobody expects to pull a gun on you and shoot you dead."

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