New York City gun crimes surging

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As the boom of fireworks receded from the New York City skies Saturday night, gunfire, stabbings and acts of violence were reported across the boroughs, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and injuries to more than three dozen others.

The New York City Police Department says at least 42 people were shot since 9 a.m. Sunday morning and at least nine of those victims died from their injuries. A spokesperson for the department said most of those shootings occurred within a 15-hour period.

NYPD leadership called out city officials on Twitter, demanding action and pleading for help to stop the overwhelming violence.

Assistant Chief Stephen Hughes asked Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance why he hasn't responded to any shootings in the previous 24 hours. Unions representing officers in the department pointed blame toward Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson for creating what the unions called an "unacceptable environment."

Mayor Bill de Blasio did not directly comment on the violence Sunday evening, but a City Hall spokesperson said, "The health and safety of New Yorkers is our top priority, which is why we are drilling down on problem spots with the NYPD."

The spike in violence caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who tweeted: "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 majority of the shootings occurred within a 9-hour window between 12 a.m. and 9 a.m. Sunday, Chief Rodney Harrison said in a tweet. Sunday morning, the chief said 37 people were shot in the first nine hours of the day and at least three of those people died.

NYPD spokespersons confirmed a large shooting at a party in Manhattan that injured at least five people, a fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man in Brooklyn, as well as a stabbing in Queens near 52nd Street and Lincoln Avenue. At least one person stabbed was transported to a hospital and one suspect was still outstanding as of Sunday morning, officials said.

New York City shootings over the last seven days skyrocketed by 142 percent compared with the same time period in 2019, from just 26 last year to 63 in 2020, according to NYPD data obtained by News 4.

For several weeks now, gun violence has more than doubled on New York City streets with some 24-hour periods recording dozens of New Yorkers sustaining injuries from gunfire. Take the hours following the 4th of July holiday; the NYPD said gun violence in a nine-hour window resulted in the deaths of three people and left nearly three dozen people injured.

In the lead up to the holiday weekend, three people were shot in Brownsville, including one that died from a gunshot to the head. At least seven more shootings in the city late Thursday night and into early Friday morning. In three separate drive-by shootings before midnight, a teen in Crown Heights was shot in the buttocks; a man in Far Rockaway was shot in the torso; and a man was shot in the torso in Mott Haven, according to the NYPD.

The surge in gun violence impacting those of all ages, as an 11-year-old boy was on his porch when a bullet tore through his leg in an unrelated shooting on Tuesday – becoming one of nine shot throughout the five boroughs in a 24-hour span ending Wednesday.

The week prior, June 21-27, shootings recorded by police increased by 127 percent from 2019 to 2020. And the week before that, June 14-20, there were 55 shootings in 2020 compared to just 12 the same week in 2019, NYPD data shows; that's a 358 percent increase. A total of 74 people were wounded in the 55 shootings with at least 19 of them injured in a single day.

Gun violence has taken the lives of New Yorkers in a city already rocked by a pandemic virus and violent protests over police brutality.

Some of the youngest victims include recent high school graduate and basketball star 17-year-old Brandon Hendricks. He was shot and killed June 28.

One day prior, two people were gunned down by a suspect with an AR-15 in the middle of the day. Police said Charles Hernandez, 47, shot Chioteke Thompson, 23, and Stephanie Perkins, 39, just after 12 p.m. in Brooklyn.

19-year-old Erica Lopez of Connecticut was shot and killed steps away from Madison Square Park just after midnight that same day. A few hours earlier, on June 26, a 7-year-old girl was grazed by gunfire when a fight broke out nearby in East Harlem.

The rise in shootings has exceeded a troubling trend that started earlier this year but there has been no clear reason why the number has skyrocketed. The increase comes on the heels of NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea disbanding an anti-crime plainclothes unit that had focused on stopping people and searching for guns.

The overnight violence extended to the NYPD, which reported at least four officers involved in attacks that left two with minor injuries.

The violence continued into Sunday night. Police say a 29-year-old man was gunned down in his car with his 4-year-old daughter inside at 221 East 170 St. just before 6 p.m. The man died from his injuries but his daughter was unharmed.

A few miles away from that incident, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the chest and rushed to the hospital where police say he was being uncooperative with their investigation. Then, just a few hours later, a shooting involving three men in an argument at 306 East 171 St. left a 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old man dead. Police were interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence but no suspect has been arrested.

In the Bronx, a bullet shot through the front window of a marked patrol vehicle overnight narrowly missed two officers sitting inside, the NYPD said early Sunday. Shards from the window cut one of the officer's face, the department said, but he is expected to be OK.

The incident happened just before midnight in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. The officers were seated inside the vehicle just outside the 40th Precinct.

It was not immediately clear if police were the intended target. The NYPD did not have any suspect description Sunday morning.

An hour earlier, in Brooklyn, two uniformed officers were seated in an unmarked police vehicle when a suspect threw a lit firework through a window, a police spokesperson said. The explosion from the firework left one of the officers with minor burns and lacerations, according to the official.

The firework attack occurred near Gates Avenue and Stuyvesant Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant shortly before 11 p.m., the department said. Police said the suspect fled the scene.