At least six more New Yorkers were shot between Saturday night and Sunday morning, mere hours after the city passed a grim milestone.
The NYPD reported Sunday morning that there have been 777 shootings in 2020 through Aug. 1, one more than all of the shootings recorded last year. The shootings resulted in 942 victims, 20 more than the total from 2019.
Additionally, the homicide rate is tracking higher, with 237 reported year-to-date through Aug. 1. That’s 46 more than the 181 murder victims reported during the same period last year. Homicides include deadly shootings, stabbings and other murderous acts.
Meanwhile, the city is scrambling to stop the shootings that have terrorized in particular communities of color. The NYPD increased patrols and high visibility post in shooting-prone neighborhoods. Community groups have also launched outreach efforts to stop the violence.
Police officials and elected leaders have pointed the finger at several likely causes of the shooting surge this summer — from courts being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, to criminal justice reforms, to the early release of Rikers Island inmates, to the proliferation of firearms being smuggled in from other parts of the country.
Here is a rundown of shootings from Saturday night and Sunday morning:
Aug. 1, 10:40 p.m. – A 27-year-old man was shot in the right elbow at the corner of Bainbridge Street and Howard Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Cops from the 81st Precinct found the man wounded and he was rushed by EMS to Kings County Hospital in stable condition. Several vehicles were struck by gunfire, and cops found money on the street. Sources said the victim has thus far been uncooperative with detectives.
Aug. 2, midnight – MTA Police reported that a man was shot in the arm inside the Jamaica Long Island Railroad station at Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue, in the 103rd Precinct’s confines. MTA police were handling the investigation, NYPD officials said.
Aug. 2, 1:44 a.m. – A 50-year-old man was shot in the left thigh and shin after a dispute in front of 405 Lexington Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Officers from the 79th Precinct found the man wounded on the ground and he was rushed to Kings County Hospital in stable condition. The suspect fled on foot and remains at large.
Aug. 2, 3 a.m. – A suspect fired into a large gathering in front of 572 East 29th St. in Flatbush, hitting three people, none seriously, police reported. Officers found a 22-year-old man shot in the leg, a 26-year-old man shot in the right torso, and a female struck in the head with bullet fragments. None of the victims have been able to identify the suspect, saying they heard the shots and then felt pain from their injuries.
Aug. 2, 5:30 a.m. – A man and woman were shot in front of 652 Bradford St. in New Lots, police from the 75th Precinct reported. The woman, 42, was hit in the calf, while the man, 40, was struck in the chest and leg. Both were taken to Brookdale Hospital and expected to survive, police officials said. Law enforcement sources did not have a description of the shooter.
Aug. 2, 5:50 a.m. – A man suffering a gunshot wound walked into Wyckoff Hospital, but police did not specify where the shooting occurred. The investigation is continuing.
There were also four reported shootings in Brooklyn besides the ones in which people were shot and one shooting in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Police also reported that a possible off-duty police officer shot himself in the head in his home at 23rd Street in Astoria, Queens. No further information was available as yet.
Anyone with information in regard to any of these shootings is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
