Eleven people were killed among 48 people shot in 30 shootings over the 4th of July weekend in New York City.
ABC 7 reports an increase in gun violence has sparked criticism in NYC, with many police officers specifically criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance.
“Manhattan DA Cy Vance where are you? No show at any shooting scene!!!,” NYPD Manhattan South Assistant Chief Stephen Hughes wrote on Twitter. “Our community is being attacked, there have been 24 people shot in the city in the past 24 hours.”
Complete No Show in Manhattan North!! Shame!! https://t.co/vF9KBWrZdS
— NYPD Patrol Borough Manhattan North (@NYPDPBMN) July 5, 2020
“Complete No Show in Manhattan North!! Shame!!” Assistant Chief Kathleen O’Reilly added. “Where are the elected officials and violence interrupter!! The community is suffering!!”
A spokesman for Vance told the New York Post that the DA’s office has a standard policy and practice of sending Assistant DAs to crime scenes and having them brief the DA and “execute advice and instructions from the DA and other supervisors at the scene and throughout the course of an investigation and prosecution.”
“It’s unclear what the Manhattan District Attorney could substantively contribute at a crime scene,” Danny Frost said in a statement. “We do not hold premature mini-press conferences which would potentially violate ethical rules and interfere with evidence collection.”
NBC New York reports police unions also blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson for creating an “unacceptable environment.”
CBS reports shootings are up 140% and shooting victims are up nearly 160% over the same time last year. President Donald Trump has vowed to take action if Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio don’t.
“Chicago and New York City crime numbers are way up. 67 people shot in Chicago, 13 killed. Shootings up significantly in NYC where people are demanding that @NYGovCuomo & @NYCMayor act now. Federal Government ready, willing and able to help, if asked!” the president tweeted Sunday evening.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea blamed the increase in violence on the declining population at Rikers Island, partly due to coronavirus concerns and long-term plans to close the jail complex.
“Look at the Rikers population of the last year … ask a sane person. It’s about half. Where is that other half right now? We’ve transplanted general population to the streets of New York City, and it’s extremely frustrating,” Shea said.
NBC reports most of the violence occurred Saturday night and early Sunday morning, coinciding with the Independence Day holiday. At least 42 people were shot over a 15-hour period, according to the New York City Police Department; nine of those died.
Fatal shootings included a 45-year-old man shot in the head on Staten Island; a 19-year-old shot in the chest in East Flatbush; two men in their 20\u2032s in the Claremont section of the Bronx; a 40-year-old man fatally shot in the chest in Brooklyn; and a 21-year-old shot in the chest in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
An NYPD vehicle was also struck by a bullet while two cops were inside Sunday morning. According to ABC, a male officer was injured by shattered glass and a female officer was treated at the hospital after having a ringing sensation in her ear.
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