The heads of two NYPD commands serving Manhattan seemingly blasted elected officials on Twitter Sunday after an outburst of gun violence in the city between July 4-5.
More than 20 shootings across the city during the period, leaving four dead and at least 36 people injured. One of the fatal shootings happened in Manhattan, where a young man was shot in the back at 1111 Amsterdam Ave. early on July 5. He later died after being brought by private means to a local hospital for treatment.
On Sunday afternoon, Assistant Chief Kathleen O’Reilly, commander of NYPD Patrol Borough Manhattan North, purportedly took to Twitter to not only condemn the shooting incidents as “disgusting,” but also to take local elected officials — and even protesters — to task.
Disgraceful the amount of people shot in Manhattan North in the past 24 hours! Where are the elected officials and violence interupter!! The community is suffering!!
— NYPD Patrol Borough Manhattan North (@NYPDPBMN) July 5, 2020
That tweet was followed an hour later by a similar missive apparently written by Assistant Chief Stephen Hughes, who heads up Patrol Borough Manhattan South — who focused his ire at Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.
Manhattan DA Cy Vance where are you? No show at any shooting scene!!! Our community is being attacked, there have been 24 people shot in the city in the past 24 hours….Where Are You!!!
— NYPD Manhattan South (@NYPDPBMS) July 5, 2020
NYPD patrol boroughs serve as supervisory commands for individual precincts in certain geographic regions of the city. The patrol borough commanders, as well as the commanding officers for individual precincts, are responsible for the content of their respective Twitter accounts.
Manhattan South includes the 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th and 17th Precincts, as well as the Midtown North and Midtown South Precincts. Manhattan North covers the Central Park Precinct as well as the 19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 30th, 32nd, 33rd and 34th Precincts.
amNewYork Metro reached out to the NYPD for confirmation if Chiefs O’Reilly and Hughes themselves had written the aforementioned tweets. The NYPD and the Mayor’s office were also asked to comment about the content. We are awaiting responses.
As for other departmental leaders, Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison had tweeted earlier on Sunday about the shooting rampage — though his message was an appeal for help in catching the suspects involved.
“The NYPD and the community need to work together as a team to help curb the violence. #helpushelpyoubesafe,” Harrison wrote.
As shootings throughout NYC continue to rise, news articles like these are becoming a daily occurrence. From midnight last night to 9:00 a.m. this morning, there were 21 reported shootings with 37 victims. Out of those 37 victims, three died. pic.twitter.com/J5xn1w4MRf
— NYPD Chief of Department (@NYPDChiefOfDept) July 5, 2020
The NYPD and the community need to work together as a team to help curb the violence. #helpushelpyoubesafe
Anyone with information pertaining to these incidents is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or DM @nypdtips
— NYPD Chief of Department (@NYPDChiefOfDept) July 5, 2020
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea did not mention the shooting spree on his Twitter timeline. On Sunday, he tweeted about attending a memorial ceremony for slain Police Officer Miosotis Familia in the Bronx, and a message of support for the NYPD flown over the beaches of Rockaway in Queens.
Just after midnight three years ago today, Det. Miosotis Familia was assassinated while protecting the people of NYC.
Today, we gather together as one NYPD family to reaffirm our promise to her & her loved ones — to #neverforget Miosotis or her extraordinary service & sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/OeDPmbVije
— Edward A. Caban (@NYPDPC) July 5, 2020
Thank you for sharing Joe, New Yorkers all over the 5 Boroughs support and appreciate the #finest https://t.co/TBO1x9Dl2z
— Edward A. Caban (@NYPDPC) July 5, 2020
