ON THE STREET, HOMELESS FIND THEIR SAFETY IN NUMBERS

targeted at random, authorities said.

Lewis’ slaying frightened Adamson so much that she made her adult daughter and her daughter’s girlfriend, who stays with her on the street, check into a shelter. Another homeless couple, who only gave their names as David and Kellie, also fled the streets, taking shelter in the basement of an apartment building. Others seek safety in numbers.

“It’s just easiest if you don’t stay to yourself. You get to know the homeless community that way; if something happens, you’re told about it,” Adamson said. “If anybody walked up to me, got to know me and said, ‘You know I stay by myself,’ I’d moved them into my camp so they wouldn’t be by themselves, because I don’t want anybody to get hurt out there.”

Crime statistics involving homeless victims were not readily available. In any case, crimes against the homeless are widely underreported, Metro spokesman Officer Aden Ocampogomez said.

Victims often aren’t comfortable reporting suspects for fear of retribution, and sometimes they can’t effectively make a report because of substance abuse or mental illness issues, he said.

“Sometimes it’s challenging with homeless people, because they can’t really tell us where it happened or when it happened,” said Metro homicide Lt. Dan Mcgrath.

A team of officers and staff from nonprofit assistance agencies regularly patrol the streets to offer homeless services. Since 2017, the team has made 3,700 contacts, helping get 135 people off the streets, officials said.