Ignoring the undergirding mental illness aspect of homelessness is not compassion; it is reckless policy.
The tragic case of the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife in their Brentwood, Calif. home, allegedly by their once-homeless, drug-addicted son, who was arrested for the crime last night, illustrates how untreated mental illness and addiction perpetuates cycles of instability, violence, and suffering that extend beyond the individual to families and often, entire communities. Earlier this month, in Bethpage, Long Island, beloved deli owners were fatally stabbed inside their family-run A & A Italian Deli by their 30-year-old son, Vito D’Ambrosio, who, like Rob Reiner’s son, shared a history of violence, drug abuse, and homelessness.
These familial homicides demonstrate that addiction, mental illness, and homelessness are not just an inner-city problem. But recent subway assaults by violent homeless individuals in New York City — ranging from slashing commuters to setting riders on fire — show how homelessness combined with untreated mental illness and addiction can escalate into violence that endangers both vulnerable individuals, their families, and the wider public.
In one of the more recent incidents in a growing number of subway attacks, Tyquan Manassa, a homeless man with 14 previous convictions for assault and criminal mischief, slashed the faces of two men waiting for the subway in Queens. Earlier that same November 2025 day, Manassa had caused mayhem at a City homeless shelter when he attacked a sleeping shelter resident and did $1,000 worth of damage to property at the shelter.