City police are searching for the person who brutally murdered an elderly homeless man outside of the Potomac Plaza apartments last week, just blocks from GW residence halls.

Yoshio Nakada, 61, was found unconscious on the 2400 block of Virginia Ave. at about 8 a.m. on Dec. 24. He was pronounced dead at the scene, near Ivory Tower and the Hall on Virginia Avenue, and subsequently identified on Monday afternoon.

D.C. Medical Examiner spokeswoman Beverly Fields said Nakada died from multiple chop wounds to the head, skull fractures and a subarachnoid hemorrhage – a form of stroke.

The murder occurred down the street from Miriam’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen that serves homeless people in the area.

“We knew him really well,” said Adam Rocap, senior case manager at Miriam’s Kitchen. “It’s been really hard because he was a really joyful and precious member of our community.”

Rocap added, “We’re shocked, we’re outraged, we’re saddened by the senseless and brutal murder.”

With no arrest made, Miriam’s Kitchen is asking the homeless to be cautious.

“We are encouraging people to be careful and if they are sleeping outside to sleep in groups,” Rocap said.

The case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide and Sexual Offenses branch.