NYC has seen 100 shootings in May, the first time the city had hit that number in around five years.
There were 12 shootings during the seven-day period in question last year, while 2020 has seen 55. More than 70 people were wounded in the 55 shootings, with at least 19 injured on Saturday when the city saw over a dozen incidents, most of which occurred in the Bronx. In one of these incidents, a man died after being shot in the neck while washing his car.
"It takes a long time to turn a ship that sees an iceberg directly in front of us,"said New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, adding that the numbers had been trending upward "for a while" and that he had warned of a "storm on the horizon" in December.
Shea also said NYC had seen 100 shootings in May, the first time the city had hit that number in around five years.
The latest figures come only a week after Shea ordered the disbanding of an anti-crime unit which saw plainclothes police officers stopping individuals and searching for weapons. The effort at reform was sparked by nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last month.
Comment: Chicago isn't faring any better. The city just witnessed one of the deadliest Father's Day weekends on record as 104 people were victims of gun violence. This is just after experiencing its deadliest Memorial Day weekend: See also: As woke world protests 'systemic racism' in the USA, Black-on-Black murders break 60-year-old record in Chicago