Three teenagers accused of killing homeless men

Police have arrested three teenage boys and charged them with beating to death two homeless men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, police said Tuesday.

The three boys aged 15, 16 and 18, have admitted to attacking two homeless men who were found dead in the city over the weekend, according to police. A third man, who helped identify the attackers, said he was able to escape.

Police said the boys including Alex Rios, 18, used bricks and a metal pole to kill the homeless. The three have been charged with two counts of murder. The identity of the other two is being withheld because they are minors according to the law.

Media report said that a judge set the bond at $5 million each during a hearing on Monday. The CNN said that three were being prosecuted as adults. This despite the fact that the two youngest are being held in a youth detention center.

A survivor of the attack told NBC News the three teenagers attacked the homeless while asleep in the open.

"They thought it was funny. They were giggling and laughing at us, mocking us, calling us homeless. I said, 'I don't know why you guys are bothering us,'" the victim, who goes by the nickname Skeets, said.

Police spokesman Simon Drobik said he felt sick to see the nature of the violence.

"I personally, after reading that complaint, was sick to my stomach because of the nature of the violence and the age of the offenders," Drobik said.

"They are unrecognizable. My question is: Who failed these kids? How did it get to this point? It was so violent. I was sick to my stomach. Homicide detectives had a hard time dealing with it."

According to the CNN, the 15-year-old accused has confessed that the trio "randomly" attacked homeless people throughout Albuquerque over the past year. Their victims include more than 50 people, according to the complaint.

The Los Angeles Times reported that violence against the homeless in the past 15 years has grown in pattern and occurrence.

According to Michael Stoops, a community organizer for the Washington-based National Coalition for the Homeless, there have been at least 1,437 attacks against homeless people resulting in 375 deaths.

Stoops is the lead author of the group's report, "Vulnerable to Hate: A Survey of Crimes and Violence Committed Against Homeless People in 2013".

In 2012, there were 88 attacks and in 2013 the number rose to 109, Stoops said. In each year, there were 18 deaths. There were about 30 percent more nonlethal attacks in 2013 than in 2012, he said.

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