Homeless Man Found Dead at Calvert Street

A man was found dead June 20 after 10 p.m. in the 3600 block of Calvert Street NW, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. He was identified as Joel Johnson, 53, and pronounced dead at the scene. He was stabbed and had other injuries.

Johnson was described by police as homeless and found in a courtyard of St. Luke’s Mission Center in Glover Park and next to the condominium, Georgetown Heights, close to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

According to MPD Second District Commander Melvin Gresham, “A number of homeless men were sleeping outside of the St. Luke’s Mission at Calvert and Wisconsin when an altercation resulted in one of the men being stabbed. The men were all associates, and this was not a random act.”

St. Luke’s Shelter is a small, year-round facility that helps homeless men transitioning into jobs, housing and recovery programs. The church merged with Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, where it holds services.

The Rev. Charles Parker, a pastor at Metropolitan, told the Washington Post that the killing “is a great tragedy and I think a real indictment of our community.” Parker, who said that Johnson was not staying at the shelter and did not know him, added that it is sad that those in need “don’t have the resources available that they need.”

No arrests have been made.