It’s already looking like it’s going to be a long, hot summer.
According to NYPD statistics, shootings in New York City increased by a staggering 50% last week compared to the same period last year, with the number of gun victims also increasing significantly.
The data showed 24 shootings occurred across the five boroughs in the week ending Sunday, leaving 30 people injured – a significant increase from 16 shootings during the same period in 2023, when 18 people were injured.
This is just part of a month-long trend that has seen an increase in gun violence.
“Summer hasn’t even officially started yet, and it’s already getting out of hand,” one Brooklyn police officer told the Post. “Everyone has guns, and shooters are getting younger. It’s a bad formula for fighting crime.”
The NYPD recorded 117 victims in 98 shooting incidents over the past month, a 44% increase in victims and a 32% increase in shooting incidents compared to the same month in 2023, when 81 people were shot in 74 incidents.
“It’s that time of year again,” Christopher Herman, a former NYPD crime analyst and assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in gun violence, said Wednesday.
“The weather’s getting warmer, kids are out of school, people are on vacation, all of those things are part of the story,” Hellman said. “It’s common. I expect we’ll see a couple more shootings today or tomorrow.”
City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak responded to the data by saying Mayor Eric Adams “is clear that public safety is a prerequisite for prosperity.”
“Following double-digit declines in shootings in both 2022 and 2023, a decline in the number of shootings and gunshot victims citywide so far this year, as well as a decline in overall crime, the NYPD is aware of this month’s increase and is focused on addressing it,” the spokesperson said. “Additional resources are being committed to impacted police stations, and we will not rest until all New Yorkers feel safe and secure.”
On Sunday, Father’s Day, five shootings occurred, leaving three people dead and four injured.
Police said a 44-year-old man was shot in the face, a 40-year-old man was shot in the chest and a 37-year-old man was shot in the leg in a shooting Sunday night in Inwood, leaving the two older men dead.
About 30 minutes before the attack, police said, Tyreek O’Garro, 32, was shot multiple times at Brevoort Houses, a public housing development in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and later died at Kings County Hospital.
Two people were shot in Livonia Park in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn on Saturday night: A 53-year-old woman was shot in the leg and torso, and a 70-year-old man was shot in the left leg, police said.
This was one of five shootings that day.
On June 11, a fight escalated in midtown Manhattan when an armed bystander pulled out a gun and opened fire on a 39-year-old man who was threatening a food stall worker with a knife.
The victim was shot in the leg but survived.
The previous day, an 84-year-old woman in East Flatbush was hit by a stray bullet while using a walker and was injured in her left arm. She was rushed to a hospital where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
“It’s a miracle,” victim Althea Lawson told The Post from her hospital bed. “I don’t have words to thank God I’m still here today. I’m so glad it didn’t hit me in the head!”
Despite the recent spike in shootings, most serious crimes are down in New York compared to last year, and homicides are down nearly 15% so far this year compared to 2023.
Police statistics showed 157 homicides had been reported through Sunday, down from 184 during the same period last year, while burglaries were down nearly 10 percent and motor vehicle thefts were down 10.5 percent.
Shootings have also declined slightly so far this year, with 465 people injured in 392 incidents as of Sunday, compared with 423 incidents resulting in 494 injuries during the same period last year.
However, other crimes have been gradually increasing over the past year, with rapes increasing from 583 at this time last year to 734 this year, and robberies increasing from 7,120 at this time last year to 7,505 this year, an increase of 7.5 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.
Felony assault cases are also on the rise, with 12,950 cases so far in 2024 and 12,252 cases so far in 2023.
