Army veteran charged with attacking two homeless men in Memphis

A Tennessee Army veteran faces charges of first-degree murder and assault in what authorities say were two separate attacks on homeless men.

The latest attack occurred just before 3 a.m. on May 31, when police responded to 911 calls and found a man with gunshot wounds outside a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Memphis. The man, identified as Shaun Rhea, died at the hospital, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY on Wednesday.

The first attack occurred just six days before Rhea’s murder on May 25 at the same hotel. A man told police he was in a portable bathroom outside the hotel where he sleeps every day when an attacker grabbed him, put a knife to his face and cut him behind his left ear as he tried to escape. The attacker also cut his right thumb.

Here’s what we know about the crimes and the veteran who was charged Tuesday.

Killing of Shaun Rhea

A security guard told police he saw a man with a knife spraying Rhea with pepper spray on the day of the fatal shooting. The guard recorded the attack on his phone and told the attacker what he was doing in hopes he would leave, court documents say.

The attacker ran into an apartment and made Rhea wipe the spray from her face. But shortly after, the attacker returned with a gun and shot Rhea multiple times, court documents say.

Investigators examined mailboxes in the apartment building where the attacker was last seen and found the name Karl Loucks. The security guard looked at a lineup of six people and identified Loucks as the man who shot Rhea.

Loucks, 41, was arrested the same day.

During Tuesday’s court hearing, Memphis Police Sergeant Jeremy Cline said Loucks was questioned after his arrest and told investigators he acted in self-defense, according to WTVC-TV.

“Shaun Rhea was unarmed at the time of the attack,” court documents state.

Loucks’ attorney, Blake Ballin, declined to comment on the case when reached by USA TODAY on Wednesday.

First attack on a homeless person

In the attack on a homeless man on May 25, the attacker also fled into an apartment complex.

The victim received stitches at a local hospital. He later told police that he did not know his attacker.

After Loucks’ arrest in connection with Rhea’s killing, the victim identified Loucks as the man who attacked him on May 25.

Who is Karl Loucks?

Loucks is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the war in Afghanistan, Army spokesman Bryce Dubee told WTVC-TV. He was a health specialist in the Army from September 2007 to August 2013 and served in Afghanistan from March 2009 to March 2010, the station reported.

Loucks left the Army with the rank of private first class and was honorably discharged due to post-traumatic stress disorder, his attorney told the outlet.

Ballin, Loucks’ attorney, told WTVC that he is trying to get a psychological evaluation to determine if Loucks’ mental health had anything to do with the shooting.

“If someone in Mr. Loucks’ situation, with his past experiences, his experiences with these events, reasonably felt that he feared for his life or his physical safety, then his actions may have been justified,” Loucks’ attorney told the outlet.

Killing of Shaun Rhea

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