Brooklyn remained a hot spot for gun violence on Monday, as four separate shootings in the borough left one dead and three injured.
The deadly shooting occurred in Bedford-Stuyvesant at 10:37 p.m. on Aug. 17, when a 41-year-old man was slain in front of 61 Bainbridge Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Law enforcement sources said Derrick Garner, 41, of Jerome Avenue in Brooklyn took bullets to his arm and chest. Cops from the 81st Precinct found him at the location after receiving a 911 call about the incident.
Paramedics rushed him to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police did not provide a possible motive for the homicide, or a description of the gunman involved.
Regarding the other shootings in Brooklyn, a 26-year-old man took a bullet to the leg while standing in front of a deli at 1159 Blake Ave. in East New York at 4:25 p.m. Monday.
Officers from the 75th Precinct said the victim showed up at Brookdale Hospital and was reported in stable condition. The victim told detectives that he apparently heard shots and then felt pain. It was unclear where the shots came from.
Four hours later, at 8:22 p.m., a 28-year-old man was shot in the right leg and suffered a graze wound to the head along Hemlock Street near Linden Boulevard.
According to law enforcement sources, the man was shot after a blue four-door sedan pulled up along side him, and a suspect inside the vehicle opened fire. Seconds later, the vehicle took off westbound along Linden Boulevard.
The victim was taken to Brookdale Hospital where his wounds were not life-threatening.
Finally, at about 11 p.m., a 23-year-old man took a bullet to the leg in front of the Applebees Restaurant on Emmons Avenue near Bedford Avenue in Sheepshead Bay.
The victim told police he heard shots being fired, then felt pain. Paramedics brought him to NYU Langone Hospital in stable condition.
Shea says law enforcement is stepping up
More than 50 people were shot last weekend, compounding a summer of shootings across New York City. The NYPD has stepped up patrols, adding detectives to active investigations and putting pressure on gangs believed to be responsible for most of the gun violence.
During a Tuesday morning appearance on NY1 News, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the NYPD is working with its partners in Federal law enforcement, resulting in more gun arrests.
He said many crimes are coming from “a few individuals,” a large number of those coming from Brooklyn, and “they are committing crimes in other parts of the city.”
“It’s been an unbelievable year and we are figuring out how to fight crime, but we need a few things, including resources, community support and attitudes are changing,” Shea said. “No one wants what’s on the streets now, and we will get this under control with our partners. We took 10 guns off the streets with the help of our partners in the Eastern District. We are telling the gangs that there are consequences.”
Shea said their strategy was “precision policing,” not aggressive policing. He explained that the NYPD seeks to work more closely with community groups and federal investigators.
“A lot of people say that we want everything and we do – we want good community relations, but we want safe streets,” Shea said. “But it would be a mistake to go back to stop and frisk.”
Shea admitted that it was a “difficult time” but every meeting he attends, community groups want more help, not less. He charged that there are also impediments, including “a number of laws in place that have gone too far,” referring to the new chokehold law that stops officers from using specific holds to keep a prisoner at bay.
“People are saying they want more policing – every meeting we hear they want attention to low level offenses including gambling, public drinking, drug selling,” he said. “At the end of the day, people of city need to get the service they want and police they want – the answer is not to lock everyone up and throw in jail, it’s really about getting to a sweet spot.”
In the past, Shea has blamed a number of issues for the rise in crime and shootings including release of Rikers prisoners, bail reform, non-functioning courts, proliferation of guns, and a “perfect storm” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
