Violence in New York City's immigrant shelters has become so bad that authorities have installed surveillance cameras and police are considering installing metal detectors to combat the influx of knives. Wait until you get it,” officials and law enforcement officials said.
Recent bloodshed includes a stabbing on Jan. 7 and another large brawl and knife stabbing on Thursday, both of which occurred at a tent city shelter on Randall Island.
“They're not using metal detectors. … If they were, the knives wouldn't have happened,” a security guard at the site told the Friday Post, adding that arrivals at the shelter are being screened for identification only. It was pointed out that no tests had been carried out.
“Anyone can have a knife, anyone can have anything. So it's not a good environment,” he said.
“The security situation is not good. It's not safe. It's not safe. We're doing our best, but we're outnumbered.”
Jose Chica, 42, who recently arrived from Ecuador, said conditions at the shelter were “dangerous.”
“There are many problems here. I will not interfere with anyone. Nobody.”
Security cameras were being installed at the temporary shelter Friday morning, and metal detectors were being installed to further strengthen security there and elsewhere as the city struggles with a large influx of people from Central and South America. Discussions on adding . A total of 150,000 people have arrived in New York since the spring of 2022.
A law enforcement official told the Post on Friday that it's time to seriously consider security measures at immigration facilities, and failing to do so will put public safety at risk.
“We cannot continue down this path of continuing to admit hundreds of people without establishing these safety measures. We need to do this for the sake of our staff, immigrants, and New Yorkers in general,” the official said. .
“Without metal detectors and cameras, we cannot continue to have thousands of people gathering together under these restrictive conditions. Now we are dealing with an influx of knives. Please wait until you put it in.”
The increased security measures began after two knife attacks this month on Randall Island, including a fatal stabbing on January 7 that police said stemmed from a dispute over a woman.
Officials said the 24-year-old victim was severely assaulted by four people at the shelter after talking to one of the man's girlfriends. One of the attackers pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the neck and chest area. The victim was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Asylum seekers told the Post at the time that migrant groups were becoming sectarian, split into armed “camps” based on ethnicity or national origin, and crime was worsening.
“Everyone has a knife,” immigrant Mauricio Pinto said after the stabbing.
More than once, the smoldering violence has escalated into full-scale brawls, most recently on Thursday afternoon, when two rival groups of migrants armed with knives and stones began fighting inside a shelter, before clashes spilled onto the streets. Officials said the incident had spread.
A 24-year-old man was stabbed during the chaos. He was taken by paramedics to Harlem Hospital, where his condition was listed as stable. Police said the suspect remained at large as of late Friday afternoon. After the disturbance, 18 people were arrested.
The incident follows an incident on January 6 when someone allegedly tried to cut a line of about 400 asylum seekers outside Manhattan's East Village Immigration Center and spilled coffee on others in line. It was a reflection of another group conflict that erupted in violence in response.
In the ensuing scuffle, one man punched the line cutter, causing him to fall to the ground, witnesses said.
At least two NYPD officers were injured and two men were arrested in the scuffle.
High tensions and harsh conditions have led to at least one incident of domestic violence on Randall's Island. The immigrant was arrested on Friday morning after allegedly punching his partner.
Beyond the prevalence of unchecked violence, the deteriorating situation on Randall Island appears to be taking a terrible toll on the health of its temporary residents.
On Friday afternoon, a teenage girl suffered a seizure in one of the small tents erected outside the shelter for people told to find another home. Her immigrant held her in her arms, and as her legs trembled and spasmed, she desperately called for her help.
Police at the scene loaded her into a van and comforted her until an ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later.
“There are no beds there. They are staying here because it's better than being on the street,” a migrant told reporters about those in makeshift tents, and a woman who suffered a seizure was evacuated to beat the cold. He added that he sometimes jumps over the fence to go to the school's bathroom.
