Six people were shot overnight in Manhattan and the Bronx Monday night into Tuesday — including a brother and sister standing at the Bronx memorial to their brother who was slain just three days ago.
Law enforcement sources said the pair were shot as they stood in front of 1186 Seward Ave. in Eastchester at about 10:37 p.m. on Aug. 3. Officers from the 43rd Precinct reported that three men approached the memorial where the two were standing with a group and began firing at the two.
The woman 33, was struck in the right leg, while the male, 29, was hit in the right thigh. Both were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center where they are expected to survive.
The two were memorializing Forest Byrd, 34, of Yates Avenue in the Bronx, who was killed in a hail of gunfire on Burke Avenue on August 1. The reasons for the shooting are not immediately known.
This was the third known shooting at a memorial to a New York City shooting victim this year. Most recently, a man was shot in the shoulder in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn at the memorial to two teens killed on a basketball court on July 26.
The latest shootings happened a day after the NYPD announced a 177% increase in shootings during the month of July, and that the year’s total number of shootings outpaces the casualties suffered in 2019.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea on Monday described the situation as being “in the middle of a perfect storm,” and he said we were not out of it yet.
“Amid the ongoing challenges of these times, the NYPD’s commitment to public safety never wavers,” Shea said. “Our men and women officers represent the best of the policing profession and work every day alongside those they serve in an ongoing joint mission to protect life, prevent crime and build safer neighborhoods for everyone across our great city.”
None of the wounds from the other overnight shootings were life-threatening at this time, police say. Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were relatively quiet, police say, possibly dampened by the impending tropical storm.
Here is a rundown of those incidents:
Aug. 3, 8:30 p.m. – A 30-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were shot while walking at Fifth Avenue and West 132nd Street in Manhattan near the Lincoln Houses, a NYCHA development. The man was struck in the left arm and the woman was hit in the left leg, according to police from the 32nd Precinct. Both were taken to Harlem Hospital by private vehicle, where they are in stable condition.
The victims told detectives from the 32nd Precinct Detective Squad that they heard shots and then felt the pain from the wounds. They could not describe the attacker.
Aug. 3, 9:30 p.m. – A 24-year-old man was shot in the left leg at 141st Street and Lenox Avenue in Manhattan. Cops from the 32nd Precinct found him at the location after receiving reports of a person shot. He was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where he was in stable condition; police sources said he was “highly uncooperative” with detectives.
August 4, 3:30 a.m. – A 21-year-old man was hit three times in the upper torso by a hail of gunfire from an unknown direction at the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 39th Street. Manhattan South detectives found the victim with three gunshot and EMS rushed him to Bellevue Hospital.
The victim told police that he heard the gunshots and then felt the pain, but did not see who fired the shots. Video from nearby buildings was being studied for possible suspects. No motive has been given, police say.
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). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
