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Chiefs of two Manhattan NYPD bureaus blame elected officials for outburst of shootings

manhattannorthsouthtweets-070520
Tweets by the commanders of Patrol Borough Manhattan North and Manhattan South posted on July 5, 2020 reacting to a series of shootings across the city between July 4-5. (Screenshots)

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.

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.

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.

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.